War Exercises Continue Between the U.S. and Russia

Despite the recent meeting between Joe Biden and Putin seeming to go well on the surface, the United States and Russia are continuing to exercise war drills against one another. In actions performed by the two nations this week, it looks as if the pressure is continuing to escalate as relations resume deterioration. 

In reporting from the Daily Mail, at least 20 Russian warships, submarines and 20 fighter jets are taking part in an exercise possibly only 35 miles away from Hawaii. Last week, Russia conducted drills before the meeting of the two Presidents. But during that time they were approximately less than 500 miles away from the state. This is a massive step closer to the United States of America as tensions between the two nations tighten. Again, these are the biggest war exercises since the Cold War. 

Russia continues to claim that they are still less than 500 miles away, but unconfirmed satellite images from June 19th appear to show them much closer, ranging around 35 miles from the U.S. state of Hawaii. On June 17th, the Navy admitted that the USS Carl Vinson and a strike group were sent to operations in the area within the United States. They have not released any explanation of why. But it seems to be obvious why they have established the deployment of forces. 

U.S. Indo Pacific Command spokesman Captain Mike Kafka told CBS News in a statement that they are, “monitoring the Russian vessels operating in international waters in the Western Pacific. We operate in accordance with international law of the sea and in the air to ensure that all nations can do the same without fear or contest and in order to secure a free and open Indo- Pacific. As Russia operates within the region, it is expected to do so in accordance with international law”.

The exercises seem to show the simulation of Russian forces sinking a U.S. aircraft carrier. American F-22 fighter jets have been scrambled for the second time this month in response to the actions. In both instances, no Russian forces have entered the U.S. Air Defense Identification Zone. 

This all comes after the United States tested a 40,000 ton bomb off the coast of Florida. It set off a small earthquake felt in the state registering a 3.9 on the richter scale. The Navy designed this not to test the weapon itself, but to test the capability of the new U.S. warship the USS Gerald R. Ford’s capability to maintain its readiness through an explosion of such a magnitude. Seeing success from the trial, a Navy press release stated, “the first in class aircraft carrier was designed using advanced computer modeling methods, testing and analysis to ensure the ship is hardened to withstand battle conditions, and these shock trials provide data used in validating the shock hardness of the ship”.

Aside from all of this, it is important not to lose focus and become distracted from the actions of China as well. The 100 year anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party is July 1st. Last week, it flew nuclear bombers over Taiwan in a show of force over the nation. The new Quad pact between the ally nations of the U.S., Australia, Japan and India continue to remain strong, ready to stand against China or any forces that threaten the independence and safety of any of our ally nations in the region.

In China, they are taking actions against their own people in preparation for the date. They are removing citizens from the country and forcing them into the cities, with flight restrictions imposed over main industrial areas as well as a crackdown over any social dissent in the nation from its own people. A crackdown on cryptocurrency is also happening to the people of China, as to restrict any financial freedom of its own people. It seems like the CCP is preparing for something greater than a mere celebration of its 100 year anniversary, and the United States with our ally nations should be paying close attention to what is happening there right now. 

I personally still hope that relations between Russia and the United States have the potential to actually improve. Once again, as I have said before, if Russia sides with China against the U.S. and our allies, this is a nightmare scenario. If Russia were to help us stand against China, reflecting the actions of World War 2, the chances of this all becoming a situation far out of hand would lower drastically.

With the recent news, that hope seems far-fetched, but still far from impossible. The best-case scenario here would be for U.S. and Russian tensions to de-escalate, while the people of China themselves stand up to the CCP by their own will. Here’s to hoping this is how the story goes, as this is still a possible outcome as well. With the 100 year anniversary of the CCP right around the corner, all we can do for now is to watch and see how the world turns moving forward into the future.