Denmark and the U.S. signed a Defense Cooperation Agreement in December 2023, the latest move by a Nordic nation to strengthen military ties with Washington. AFP/GETTY IMAGES THE WATCH STAFF Denmark and the U.S. have agreed on a pact that would allow U.S. forces to operate on Danish soil for the next decade. The deal further strengthens Arctic alliances and helps strengthen the rules-based international order. The 10-year agreement was signed on December 21, 2023, following similar defense arrangements between the U.S., Finland and Sweden earlier that month. The Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA), which Denmark and the U.S. worked out…
The Watch
Doug Fitzgerald, scenario manager for U.S. Southern Command, provides instruction during the Tradewinds 2024 Scenario Development Conference in December 2023. MAJ. TIFANI SUMMERS/U.S. ARMY SOUTH MAJ. TIFANI SUMMERS/U.S. ARMY SOUTH Military planners from Caribbean communities and partner nations met in December 2023 to script an exercise designed to improve interoperability and help them counter threats together. Planners from Barbados, Canada and the United States were part of the Tradewinds 2024 (TW24) Scenario Development Conference (SDC) in San Antonio, Texas, December 5-7.The three-day conference also included interagency partners from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Implementation Agency for Crime and Security, and Regional…
The Royal Canadian Navy’s first Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship, HMCS Harry DeWolf, pulls into Naval Station Norfolk in December 2021. The Royal Canadian Navy launched its fifth AOPS in December 2023. KRIS R. LINDSTROM/U.S. NAVY THE WATCH STAFF The Royal Canadian Navy’s latest Artic and Offshore Patrol Ship (AOPS) is in service, the fifth of six such vessels forming a central role in the country’s Arctic defense and sovereignty. Two months ahead of schedule, the 103-meter future HMCS Frédérick Rolette launched in December 2023 at the Halifax Shipyard. Final preparations and sea trials await before a handover to the…
FORUM Staff The People’s Republic of China (PRC) continues to face international criticism for violating the sovereignty of nations across the globe with its “overseas police service stations,” clandestine offices established in many cases without the approval or knowledge of countries that become their unsuspecting hosts. Rights advocates say the stations are bases from which the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) tracks and harasses dissidents living abroad. Those findings have sparked investigations from Europe to the Indo-Pacific to North America, where discoveries warranted criminal charges. Safeguard Defenders, a nongovernmental organization (NGO) based in Spain, revealed 102 of the police outposts in…
The Enduring Shield missile defense system, produced by U.S. defense contractor Dynetics, a subsidiary of Leidos, has successfully passed early tests. LEIDOS THE WATCH STAFF Enduring Shield, the ground-based mobile multi-launch missile and drone defense system, is on track as the $237 million project cleared its latest tests. U.S. defense firm Leidos announced December 19, 2023, that Enduring Shield successfully completed the risk reduction flight demonstration. The next stages of development will include the initial shipment of launchers. Enduring Shield utilized the Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) interface to launch an AIM-9X missile interceptor during the demonstration, showcasing the capabilities…
DIÁLOGO AMERICAS The Iranian regime’s Spanish language news channel HispanTV, which portrays terrorism as “resistance” and is actively involved in incitement and disinformation campaigns in Latin America, is a growing cause for concern, U.S.-based think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) indicated in a late 2023 report. “Tehran maintains an international propaganda and disinformation campaign, which seeks to discredit Israel and the Jewish communities of the Diaspora, presenting them as villains,” Luis Fleischman, sociology and political sciences professor at Palm Beach State University in Florida, told Diálogo. HispanTV targets Spanish-speaking audiences worldwide and broadcasts its content through a variety of platforms, from…
The Niirala border checkpoint between Finland and Russia is pictured in Tohmajärvi, Finland, on December 15, 2023. Finland announced its border with Russia would remain closed until January 14, 2024, because of Russia’s efforts to send waves of migrants through. AFP/GETTY IMAGES THE WATCH STAFF The Finnish government has extended its border closures with Russia for the third time, with border restrictions remaining in effect until February 11, 2024. Finland first closed its Russian border in November 2023 after Moscow sent waves of migrants to overwhelm border crossings, endangering the Nordic nation’s national security. It’s the latest act of Russian…
The Royal Bahamas Defence Force recently collaborated with U.S. and Turks and Caicos Islands security personnel to apprehend a smuggling operation that was transporting nearly $3 million in marijuana. ROYAL BAHAMAS DEFENCE FORCE THE WATCH STAFF Cooperation between regional allies and partners resulted in the arrest of four men smuggling nearly 3,000 pounds of marijuana in the Bahamas. The Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF), the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) and the U.S. collaborated to apprehend the high-speed vessel near Ragged Island in Bahamian waters, according to a news release from the RBDF. The late December 2023 interception was made…
Laser-guided bombs on the flight deck of the HMS Elizabeth aircraft carrier are ready to be loaded into F35-B Lightning jets for a live-fire exercise. U.K. MINISTRY OF DEFENSE THE WATCH STAFF A United Kingdom-led naval expeditionary force patrolled the Baltic Sea, United Kingdom waters and Norwegian Sea in December 2023 to maintain security in the High North. The mission was a response to prevent further damage to critical infrastructure in the region. Undersea communication and gas cables in the Baltic were targeted in October 2023. The Finnish National Bureau of Investigation said evidence points to the cargo ship Newnew…
Yasin Abu Bakr, right, led a small army that stormed Trinidad and Tobago’s Parliament in 1990. He is shown here speaking with a fellow member of his group, Jamaat al Muslimeen, at their compound in Trinidad. Bakr, who was never convicted of any charges, died in October 2021. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS DR. SANJAY BADRI-MAHARAJ Trinidad has become the epicenter of radical jihadi sentiment in the Caribbean, some of which has found expression in violent criminal gangs. A group called the Jamaat al Muslimeen began in the 1980s as a small criminal organization. It obtained funding, training and weapons from Libya,…