Defence

China and the US are still talking but it seems the talk is how to make the crisis or crises on the horizon less risky. In the meantime both sides are preparing for the worst. On Wednesday, the process was taken a step further with the launch of the new AUKUS security arrangement, bringing together the US, the UK and Australia.

During the exercises Russian military units, together with contingents from Armenia, Belarus, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia practiced joint operations to repel advancing enemy forces, conduct maneuverable defence and deliver a massive strike and defeat a hypothetical enemy penetration.

Throughout the oil boom in the last quarter of the 20th century and since, the GCC countries were seen in the United States, Britain, France and elsewhere in Europe through the prism of being major oil exporters and arms importers. Western countries and the Arab Gulf monarchies need each other. But for their friendship to last it needs to be rebuilt on a different basis than has been the case so far.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken are visiting Arab Gulf states where they will meet several leaders. The two US officials are travelling on a separate itinerary which also includes Europe, hoping to build some support after the aftermath of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. The trip will also serve to reassure allies of US support and the rejection of extremism. 

It seems that the crisis in Afghanistan has focused minds in Brussels. On Thursday (2 September) EU defence ministers are meeting to discuss the crisis and how to learn lessons from it. Hovering at the top of the agenda is the EU's own capacity - or more precisely lack of capacity -  to act in these and similar situations. But the meeting is "informal" and no decisions are expected until later in the year.