‘AN UNACCEPTABLE MISTAKE’: Media reports quoting anonymous U.S. officials suggesting the Chinese spy balloon that traversed the United States from Jan. 28 to Feb. 4 was able to collect more intelligence than the Pentagon admits has irked Republican lawmakers, who are demanding more answers from the Biden administration.
“We have consistently learned more from press reports about the Chinese surveillance balloon than we have from administration officials,” fumed Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee. “These revelations clearly demonstrate that the administration made an unacceptable mistake.”
According to NBC News, China controlled the balloon so it could make “multiple passes” over some sensitive military sites, “at times flying figure-eight formations,” while beaming “electronic signals,” including “communications from base personnel,” back to Beijing in real time. CNN reported that the U.S. has not been able to rule out the possibility that the Chinese could wipe the balloon’s data remotely, which would limit the extent the U.S. could assess the intelligence damage.
In a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Wicker asked a number of pointed questions and requested that the answers be provided in an unclassified format so they can be shared with the American public. “I intend to hold this administration accountable,” Wicker said.
CHINESE SPY BALLOON WAS ABLE TO GET INTELLIGENCE ON US MILITARY SITES: REPORT
‘LITTLE ADDITIVE VALUE’: At the Pentagon, deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh insisted that the undisclosed “precautionary steps” taken to limit Chinese intelligence collection were largely successful.
“Because of the steps that we were able to take, we were able to prevent transmission of – of certain aspects of our sites to be transmitted,” Singh told reporters at an afternoon briefing. “But in terms of transmission back to the PRC and what was able to be transmitted back, I just don’t have further information for you at this time.”
“As of right now, we’re still doing an assessment of what exactly the intel was that China was able to gather,” Singh said. “But we do know that the steps that we took provided little additive value for what they’ve been able to collect on from satellites before.”
In a conference call with reporters, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said he could not confirm reports that the balloon intercepted communications from sensitive military sites, nor would he say if the balloon flew in figure-eight patterns over U.S. bases.
“I’m not going to get into confirming all its movements one way or the other, but it absolutely had self-maneuvering capability from remote operators,” he said. “I mean, we said at the time, that this thing had a propeller, it had a rudder, it had the ability to speed up and slow down and turn. It had maneuverability. And we were very honest about that from the very beginning.”
“It’s entirely likely that we will not be able to, for understandable reasons, share with you or with the public much of the detail of what we learn,” Kirby added. “But I don’t want to get ahead of where we are in that process. That analysis is still ongoing.”
PENTAGON DOWNPLAYS INTELLIGENCE GATHERED BY CHINESE SPY BALLOON SURVEILLANCE
BALLOON WASN’T TAKING IN ‘MONTANA’S WONDERFUL SCENERY’: The balloon loitered over Malmstrom Air Force Base and Montana’s ICBM fields, according to Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), who accused the Biden administration of misleading Congress about the severity of the Chinese spy mission.
“The administration’s explanation that the balloon had ‘limited additive value’ is little comfort to Montanans and the American people and weak spin on an issue the administration mishandled from start to finish,” Daines said in a press release. “This is just the latest national security embarrassment from an administration that continues to project nothing but weakness on the world stage. Unfortunately, when it comes to national security, it has real-world consequences.”
“The Chinese Communist Party didn’t send a spy balloon over one of our nation’s nuclear missile bases to give folks a view of Montana’s wonderful scenery,” Daines said. “The NBC News story confirms what Americans knew all along: the Chinese Communist Party was spying and gathering intelligence to use against us.”
CONGRESS INQUIRES ABOUT CHINESE SPYING RISKS FROM CARGO CRANES: REPORT
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HAPPENING TODAY: The Finnish flag is being raised over NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, today, as the alliance welcomes its 31st member on this, the 74th anniversary of the founding of the Western alliance in 1949.
“We will raise the Finnish flag for the first time here at the NATO headquarters. It will be a good day for Finland’s security, for Nordic security, and for NATO as a whole,” said Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at a news conference ahead of today’s gathering of NATO foreign ministers and a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission. “It is an historic and great day for NATO and for Finland.”
The final step in Finland’s accession to NATO comes today when Turkey — the final member to give it approval — hands its letter of acceptance to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at NATO headquarters, as the United States is the depositary of NATO’s founding documents.
WHAT FINLAND BRINGS: Stoltenberg said adding Finland to NATO will make Finland safer and the alliance stronger.
“We have to remember that Finland is among the few countries in Europe that actually didn’t reduce the investments in defense, didn’t reduce the readiness of the armed forces at the end of the Cold War,” he said. “They have trained and built a large army over many years and maintain that high level of readiness.”
“Finland will bring to the Alliance substantial military forces well trained, well equipped with also large reservist army and also now investing in new advanced, more than fifth generation aircraft F-35s, more than 60,” Stoltenberg said, noting that with the addition of Finland, NATO’s land border with Russia more than doubles.
“President Putin went to war against Ukraine with a declared aim to get less NATO. He wanted NATO to remove our forces, our structures from all allies that have joined after 1997, meaning all allies in Central Eastern Europe, and he wanted NATO to make it absolutely clear that NATO’s door was closed for any new membership. He’s getting the exact opposite,” Stoltenberg said.
FINLAND JOINS NATO AS ALLIES DELIGHT IN DEFYING PUTIN’S DEMANDS
WHAT ABOUT SWEDEN? Finland’s success in joining NATO comes as its neighbor Sweden is still being blocked by Turkey over a dispute about the extent to which Sweden has cracked down on groups Turkey considers terrorists.
“I’m absolutely confident that Sweden will become a member. It’s a priority for NATO, for me to ensure that happens as soon as possible,” Stoltenberg said. “My position is that Sweden has delivered on the commitments they made when they signed the trilateral memorandum of understanding, together with Finland, Sweden, and Turkey at the NATO summit in Madrid last year.”
Stoltenberg says that in his meetings with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, he “made it clear that that the time has come to ratify Sweden.”
“Of course, you are all aware of that this is an era, this is not an area where we look fully eye-to-eye in Ankara and at the NATO headquarters,” he added. “The best way of addressing those issues is to sit down, meet, consult and find a way forward.”
AND UKRAINE? Stoltenberg said NATO is still committed to admitting Ukraine to the alliance but said, practically speaking, that can only happen after the war with Russia ends.
“NATO’s position remains unchanged, and that is that Ukraine will become a member of the alliance. At the same time, you all have to understand that the main focus now is to ensure that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign independent nation.” Without that, Stoltenberg said, “the whole issue of membership will not be relevant.”
The NATO ministers will be discussing a multi-year program for Ukraine, and the U.S. is expected to announce another round of military assistance focused on building up Ukraine’s ammunition stocks ahead of an expected counteroffensive in the coming months.
“I think you will find it very consistent with the things we’ve done in the last few weeks, in terms of making sure that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have the kinds of ammunition that they need as they prepare for what we can all expect to be additional, bitter fighting here in the weeks and months ahead,” said Kirby during the White House conference call.
BAKHMUT HAS NOT FALLEN: Despite claims by Wagner Group head Yevgeny Prigozhin that his mercenary forces captured the Bakhmut city administration building and, therefore, “legally control” Bakhmut, the U.S. said Ukraine continues to hold much of the largely destroyed city.
“I can confirm that the Ukrainians are still fighting hard for Bakhmut, that they’re still in the battle, so the city hasn’t fallen to the Russians,” said Kirby. “But even if the Russians do get it, [it] isn’t going to change the battlefield dynamics from a strategic perspective. It still appears to us that Mr. Prigozhin wants Bakhmut largely because there’s a gypsum mine there and because he can see economic benefit there.”
“The Wagner Group continues to just push their recruits, many of whom are still convicts, right into a meatgrinder,” Kirby said. “But as far as we can see today, the battle over Bakhmut is not over. The Ukrainians have not been repulsed, and again, it continues to be quite violent.”
McCARTHY TO MEET TSAI: House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) office has confirmed McCarthy will meet tomorrow in California with Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen, a move that is being denounced by China as “undermining the China-US relations and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”
“We strongly oppose any form of official interaction and contact between the US side and Taiwan authorities,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Mao Ning at her regular press briefing. McCarthy, she said “needs to abide by the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques, refrain from sending wrong signals to ‘Taiwan independence’ forces.”
McCarthy is scheduled to meet with Tsai at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library outside Los Angeles as she “transits” the U.S. after state visits to Belize and Guatemala.
“There’s no reason for the Chinese to overreact here,” said Kirby yesterday. “She has transited six times before and every other previous President of Taiwan has transited the United States. So there’s — there’s nothing uncommon, there’s nothing atypical about it,
CHINA COMPLAINS ABOUT KEVIN MCCARTHY ‘SENDING WRONG SIGNALS’ TO TAIWAN
ISIS LEADER KILLED: The U.S. Central Command is reporting the death of senior ISIS leader Khalid ‘Aydd Ahmad al Jabouri in northwest Syria yesterday after an airstrike by U.S. forces.
The ISIS leader was said to be responsible for planning ISIS attacks in Europe and for developing the leadership of ISIS’s network.
“ISIS continues to represent a threat to the region and beyond,” said Gen. Erik Kurilla, commander of the U.S. Central Command, in a statement released this morning. “Though degraded, the group remains able to conduct operations within the region with a desire to strike beyond the Middle East.”
CENTCOM COMMANDER SAYS ISIS-K WILL BE ABLE TO STRIKE US INTERESTS IN ‘UNDER SIX MONTHS’
The Rundown
Washington Examiner: Chinese spy balloon was able to get intelligence on US military sites: Report
Washington Examiner: Pentagon downplays intelligence gathered by Chinese spy balloon surveillance
Washington Examiner: Congress inquires about Chinese spying risks from cargo cranes: Report
Washington Examiner: China complains about Kevin McCarthy ‘sending wrong signals’ to Taiwan
Washington Examiner: Philippines announces four bases for US military, angering Beijing
Washington Examiner: Milley says Chinese military believes conflict with US ‘inevitable,’ but he doesn’t
Washington Examiner: US reporter detained in Russia on espionage charges files appeal
Washington Examiner: WATCH: Crenshaw says Biden foreign policy of ‘peace through strength’ forgets the strength part
Washington Examiner: WATCH: Anna Giaritelli grills Mayorkas after he refuses to call border a ‘crisis’
Washington Examiner: Finland joins NATO as allies delight in defying Putin’s demands
Washington Examiner: Editorial: Repeal the AUMF
Washington Examiner: Finland’s Sanna Marin leaves office with America’s thanks
Washington Examiner: Philippines gives US war planners big boost with new base locations
AP: With no peace in sight, NATO countries eye more Ukraine help
New York Times: Ukraine Prepares Assault With Fresh Weapons but Weary Troops
AP: Congressman: US support for aid to Ukraine is ‘overwhelming’
19fortyfive.com: Will Ukraine’s Spring Offensive Bring Kyiv Victory – or Set the Stage for Defeat?
Reuters: China’s Intensifying Nuclear-Armed Submarine Patrols Add Complexity For U.S., Allies
Defense News: Gilday Expects New U.S. Navy Force Study To Call For More Than 373 Ships
Defense News: Ingalls Shipbuilding Weighs Changes To LPD After DoD Pauses Line
USNI News: CNO Wants To Pursue Multi-Year Buy For Stalled Amphibious Ship Program
Bloomberg: Cost to Fix Gears on $13 Billion Aircraft Carrier Has Contractors Dickering
Defense News: Navy Admiral Wants Data To Decide Ship Decommissionings
New York Times: Strange Days At United Nations As Russia Takes The Helm Of The Security Council
Air Force Times: Fatter Recruits Now Welcome as Air Force Revises Its Rules
AP: Pandemic pounds push 10,000 U.S. Army soldiers into obesity
Virginian-Pilot: USS George H.W. Bush Deployment Extended; Return Of More Than 5,000 Sailors Delayed
Air & Space Forces Magazine: BAE Systems to Produce Upgraded Electronic Warfare Suites for F-35
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Can Gas-Hauling Cargo Planes Fuel the Air Force in the Pacific?
Air Force Times: Advocates Sue DOD to Find Out What Sickened Troops at Uzbek Air Base
Air & Space Forces Magazine: The Air Force’s Final MC-130H Heads to the Boneyard
Space News: Lockheed Martin selected by Australia for military satcom project
Wall Street Journal: Opinion: Tuberville: The The Pentagon Shouldn’t Wage Culture War
Forbes: Opinion: Why Leidos Believes It Is A Good Cultural Fit For The JADC2 Challenge
Calendar
TUESDAY | APRIL 4
7 a.m. Brussels, Belgium — Two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers at NATO headquarters, with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_212528.htm
7 a.m. National Harbor, Md. — Navy League 2023 Sea-Air-Space Exposition, with Defense Undersecretary for Acquisition and Sustainment William LaPlante; Joint Chiefs of Staff Vice Chairman Adm. Christopher Grady; Assistant Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric Smith; Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro; and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday https://seaairspace.org/
9 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies “Smart Women, Smart Power” virtual discussion: “Beyond America’s Coastline,” with Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan https://www.csis.org/events/beyond-americas-coastline
12:45 p.m. Brussels, Belgium — News conference by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg after day one of a two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers at NATO headquarters https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_212528.htm
1:30 p.m. — Center for a New American Security virtual discussion: “Peninsula Plus: Enhancing U.S.-South Korea Cooperation on China, Multilateralism, and Military and Security Technologies,” with Lami Kim, director of Asian studies at the U.S. Army War College; Alex Ward, national security reporter at Politico; and Andrew Yeo, chair of the Brookings Institution’s Center for East Asia Policy Studies https://www.cnas.org/events/virtual-event-peninsula-plus
4 p.m. 1000 Massachusetts Ave. NW — Cato Institute discussion: “Cut the Budget, Change the Strategy,” focusing on the defense budget, with former Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller; and Justin Logan, director of defense and foreign policy studies at Cato https://www.cato.org/events/cut-budget-change-strategy
WEDNESDAY | APRIL 5
9 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW — Center for Strategic and International Studies: “Global Security Forum focused on Transatlantic Defense,” with Adm. Christopher Grady, Joint Chiefs vice chairman; William LaPlante, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment; Marek Magierowski, Polish ambassador to the U.S.; and German Air Force Gen. Chris Badia, deputy supreme allied commander transformation, NATO https://www.csis.org/events/2023-global-security-forum-transatlantic-defense
9 a.m. — Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies in-person “Spacepower Security Forum,” with Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman; Lt. Gen. DeAnna Burt, deputy chief of space operations for operations, cyber, and nuclear; Derek Tournear, director, Space Development Agency; and Lisa Costa, chief technology and innovation officer, U.S. Space Force https://mitchellaerospacepower.org/event
10 a.m. — Hudson Institute virtual discussion: “Managing China-Related Proliferation Challenges,” with Youngjun Kim, professor of international politics at Korea National Defense University; Yeseul Woo, Ph.D. candidate at King’s College London; and Maximilian Hoell, senior policy fellow at the European Leadership Network https://www.hudson.org/events/managing-china-related-proliferation-challenges
10:30 a.m. 789 Massachusetts Ave. NW — American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research discussion: “A National Strategy for Countering North Korea,” with Joseph DeTrani, senior adviser at the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea; Robert Joseph, senior scholar at the National Institute for Public Policy; and Greg Scarlatoiu, executive director of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea https://www.aei.org/events/a-national-strategy-for-countering-north-korea
THURSDAY | APRIL 6
9 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “Ways Ukraine can join the European Union within a reasonable timeline and with clear conditions for accession,” with Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olga Stefanishyna https://www.csis.org/events/conversation-olga-stefanishyna
10 a.m. — Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies “Aerospace Nation” event with Lt. Gen. Richard Moore, deputy chief of staff for plans and programs, U.S. Air Force; and Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant, deputy chief of space operations, strategy, plans, programs, and requirements, U.S. Space Force https://mitchellaerospacepower.org/event/april-6
2 p.m. 1789 Massachusetts Ave. NW — American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research discussion: “Reconstructing Ukraine’s Infrastructure,” with R. Richard Geddes, nonresident senior fellow, AEI; Natalie Jaresko, managing director of EY-Parthenon; Matthew Murray, adjunct professor at Columbia University; former U.S. trade representative Robert Zoellick, senior counselor at the Brunswick Group; and former Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), distinguished visiting fellow in the practice of public policy, AEI https://www.aei.org/events/reconstructing-ukraines-infrastructure
FRIDAY | APRIL 7
9 a.m. 1957 E St. NW — George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs annual conference: “China’s Economic Development and U.S.-China Economic Relations” https://calendar.gwu.edu/event/annual_conference_on_china
11 a.m. — Washington Post live virtual discussion: “U.S. military readiness and innovation in a new international and technological era,” with Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), a member of the House Armed Services Committee; and retired Adm. Harry Harris, former commander of the U.S. Pacific Command https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“President Putin went to war against Ukraine with a declared aim to get less NATO. He wanted NATO to remove our forces, our structures from all allies that have joined after 1997, meaning all allies in Central Eastern Europe, and he wanted NATO to make it absolutely clear that NATO’s door was closed for any new membership. He’s getting the exact opposite.”
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, on Finland formally becoming NATO’s 31st member state today
