Welcome back to World Brief, where NATO launches the largest air force deployment exercise in the alliance’s history, Italians remember former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and Honduras opens an embassy in China.
War Games
After six years of careful planning, NATO officially launched its 2023 Air Defender military exercise in Germany on Monday; 23 NATO countries—including newest member Finland—will participate, as will nonmember Sweden, whose bid to join the alliance has been stalled by Turkey and Hungary. Japan, which last month began talks to establish the bloc’s first liaison base in Asia to counter China, is also participating as an observer.
The 12-day training includes more than 250 aircraft and 10,000 personnel, making it the largest air deployment exercise in the bloc’s history. Officers will test how well aircraft from various nations communicate with one another as well as the effectiveness of cargo and fuel flight crews, both of which are used extensively by Ukrainian troops in Kyiv’s war against Russia. According to German Air Force Lt. Gen. Ingo Gerhartz, who is overseeing the exercise, Air Defender will also include an “evacuation from an airfield”—a direct response to the United States’ chaotic evacuation at Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport in August 2021.
Most importantly, though, Air Defender’s primary purpose is to demonstrate NATO unity in the face of Russian aggression, Gerhartz told reporters in Berlin. According to the German general, this was his principal objective in proposing the exercise in 2018. “The trigger for me back then was the capture, the annexation of Crimea,” he said. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, Gerhartz said, NATO members on the alliance’s eastern flank closest to Russia want reassurance that they will be defended should the Kremlin turns its sights on them.
And although Gerhartz insisted that the exercise is not “directed at anyone” and is strictly “of a defensive nature,” NATO officials likely hope it will also show Russian President Vladimir Putin that the alliance is far from backing down in its support for Ukraine as Kyiv begins its long-awaited counteroffensive.
Today’s Most Read
- Solving the Mystery of Henry Kissinger’s Reputation by Stephen M. Walt
- China Is Rewriting the Law of the Sea by Peter A. Dutton
- Ukraine’s Big Counteroffensive Gets Underway by Jack Detsch
The World This Week
Tuesday, June 13: U.S. President Joe Biden hosts talks with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
The European Parliament votes on the Artificial Intelligence Act.
Wednesday, June 14: Lebanon’s Parliament convenes to elect a new president.
Wednesday, June 14, to Saturday, June 17: Russia hosts the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
Thursday, June 15: Greek party leaders take part in an electoral debate.
Friday, June 16: A delegation of African leaders meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Friday, June 16, to Sunday, June 18: Japan hosts a G-7 transport ministers meeting.
Saturday, June 17: India hosts a G-20 agriculture ministers meeting.
Berlin kicks off the Special Olympics World Summer Games.
Sunday, June 18: Mali holds a constitutional referendum.
What We’re Following
The talented Mr. Berlusconi? Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s longest-ruling post-World War II leader, died on Monday at age 86. The former media tycoon served as prime minister three times, during which he formed close relationships with leaders including Putin and former Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi, faced tax fraud accusations, and became mired in numerous sex scandals, including one with a 17-year-old dancer. “For many, it might be tempting to think of him as a pathetic joke,” journalist Barbie Latza Nadeau wrote in Foreign Policy, “but he was far too wealthy and powerful for that.”
Berlusconi is not the only former European leader to make headlines. Ex-Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was arrested on Sunday as part of an investigation into the potential illegal financing of the Scottish National Party (SNP). The investigation first began in 2021 following claims around the mishandling of roughly $750,000 in campaign donations. “Innocence is not just a presumption I am entitled to in law. I know beyond doubt that I am in fact innocent of any wrongdoing,” Sturgeon said upon her release without charge just hours later. Sturgeon’s husband, who served as the party’s former chief executive, as well as the SNP’s former treasurer were also arrested in April and released without charge. Sturgeon last made news following her unexpected resignation in February after failing to secure Scotland’s independence.
Sidling up. Honduras cemented its diplomatic relations with China on Sunday when it opened its first official embassy on the mainland. The event, which occurred as part of Honduran President Xiomara Castro’s six-day visit to China this week, comes after Honduras broke its decadeslong ties with Taiwan to establish formal relations with Beijing in March in an effort to secure economic investment and debt relief.
On Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that he is willing to discuss a free trade agreement with the Central American nation. The two leaders also approved new import deals and encouraged joint energy and telecommunications initiatives.
Ring of Fire. More than 12,600 Philippine residents fled their homes this weekend following the eruption of Mount Mayon, the Philippines’ most active volcano. The explosion is still spewing lava and sulfuric gas, forcing everyone within a 4.3-mile radius to prepare for evacuations as lava flows reach almost 1,700 feet from the volcano’s summit.
Authorities initially placed Albay province, where Mount Mayon is located, under a state of emergency on Friday after raising its alert status the day before. The Philippines is home to 300 volcanoes, including 24 active ones, and is part of the Ring of Fire, a belt of volcanoes and earthquake sites around the Pacific Ocean. Mount Mayon last erupted in 2018 and forced more than 74,000 people to evacuate their homes.
Odds and Ends
It’s mid-June, which means it’s time for El Salto del Colacho, or “The Flight of the Devil,” Spain’s annual baby-jumping festival. In the northern village of Castrillo de Murcia, residents protect their newborns from evil by placing them on mattresses on the ground and having a man dressed as a club-wielding Satan jump over them. This 17th-century tradition not only purifies the babies’ souls but also reportedly leaves spectators—and this FP writer—speechless.