HAMBURG: German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt warned Thursday that Europe was in a “drone arms race” while sounding the alarm about a hostile Russia.
While he spoke in parliament, the German armed forces launched a three-day exercise dubbed “Red Storm Bravo” in the northern port city of Hamburg meant to simulate NATO troop movements in case of conflict in a Baltic country.
Germany, a strong backer of Ukraine against Russia, has seen a rise in unidentified drone flights over military bases and critical infrastructure in recent months.
Dobrindt, citing hybrid threats and “aggression” from Russia, said Germany was strengthening its “operational capabilities by developing drone defense systems.”
“We are engaged in an arms race between the threat posed by drones and the means to counter them,” he said, citing recent incidents in Poland, Romania, Denmark and Norway.
Dobrindt said Germany would boost investment and change its aviation safety rules to allow it to better “detect, defend and intercept” unmanned aerial vehicles.
Berlin accuses Russia of carrying out sabotage, espionage, surveillance and destabilization operations.
But German authorities have so far been reluctant to shoot down drones for fear that debris could cause casualties.
Drone warfare has been a core feature of the Ukraine conflict and NATO countries bordering Russia hope to build a “drone defense wall” — a network of technological and military solutions to counter these aerial threats.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who took office in May, has announced ambitious plans to build up the armed forces, citing the threat posed by Russia.
The military exercise in Hamburg is set to involve around 500 soldiers as well as police, firefighters and other emergency services, and see a convoy of armored vehicles cross through the city.
“In the fictional exercise scenario of Red Storm Bravo, we assume an escalating conflict in the Baltic region,” said a spokeswoman for the German army, or Bundeswehr. “To achieve effective deterrence, troops and personnel will be deployed through Hamburg.”
Away from public view, a drill will simulate a “mass casualty incident” in a harborside area, local media reported.
Protests under the rallying cry “No War Games in Hamburg,” organized by left-wing groups, are expected outside Hamburg’s city hall on Friday and near the central railway station on Saturday.
Germany says Europe in ‘drone arms race’, citing Russia threat
https://arab.news/5hqf7
Germany says Europe in ‘drone arms race’, citing Russia threat
- Germany has seen a rise in unidentified drone flights over military bases and critical infrastructure in recent months
- Dobrindt, citing hybrid threats and “aggression” from Russia, said Germany was strengthening its “operational capabilities by developing drone defense systems“
Cambodia shuts Thailand border crossings over deadly fighting
- Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said Trump “didn’t mention whether we should make a ceasefire” during their Friday phone call
- Across the border, a Cambodian evacuee said she was “sad” the fighting hadn’t stopped despite Trump’s intervention
BANGKOK: Cambodia shut its border crossings with Thailand on Saturday, after Bangkok denied US President Donald Trump’s claim that a truce had been agreed to end days of deadly fighting.
Violence between the Southeast Asian neighbors, which stems from a long-running dispute over the colonial-era demarcation of their 800-kilometer (500-mile) border, has displaced around half a million people on both sides.
At least 25 people have died this week, including four Thai soldiers the defense ministry said were killed in the border area on Saturday.
The latest fatalities were followed by Phnom Penh announcing it would immediately “suspend all entry and exit movements at all Cambodia-Thailand border crossings,” the interior ministry said.
Each side blamed the other for reigniting the conflict, before Trump said a truce had been agreed.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said Trump “didn’t mention whether we should make a ceasefire” during their Friday phone call.
The two leaders “didn’t discuss” the issue, Anutin told journalists on Saturday.
Trump had hailed his “very good conversation” with Anutin and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet on Friday.
“They have agreed to CEASE all shooting effective this evening, and go back to the original Peace Accord” agreed in July, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The United States, China and Malaysia, as chair of the regional bloc ASEAN, brokered a ceasefire in July after an initial five-day spate of violence.
In October, Trump backed a follow-on joint declaration between Thailand and Cambodia, touting new trade deals after they agreed to prolong their truce.
But Thailand suspended the agreement the following month after Thai soldiers were wounded by land mines at the border.
In Thailand, evacuee Kanyapat Saopria said she doesn’t “trust Cambodia anymore.”
“The last round of peace efforts didn’t work out... I don’t know if this one will either,” the 39-year-old told AFP.
Across the border, a Cambodian evacuee said she was “sad” the fighting hadn’t stopped despite Trump’s intervention.
“I am not happy with brutal acts,” said Vy Rina, 43.
- Trading blame over civilians -
Bangkok and Phnom Penh have traded accusations of attacks against civilians, with the Thai army reporting six wounded on Saturday by Cambodian rockets.
Cambodia’s information minister, Neth Pheaktra, meanwhile said Thai forces had “expanded their attacks to include civilian infrastructure and Cambodian civilians.”
A Thai navy spokesman said the air force “successfully destroyed” two Cambodian bridges used to transport weapons to the conflict zone.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Saturday urged both sides to “cease all forms of hostilities and refrain from any further military actions.”
Thailand has reported 14 soldiers killed and seven civilian deaths, while Cambodia said four civilians were killed earlier this week.
At a camp in Thailand’s Buriram, AFP journalists saw displaced residents calling relatives near the border who reported that fighting was ongoing.
Thailand’s prime minister has vowed to “continue to perform military actions until we feel no more harm and threats to our land and people.”
After the call with Trump, Anutin said “the one who violated the agreement needs to fix (the situation).”
Cambodia’s Hun Manet, meanwhile, said his country “has always been adhering to peaceful means for dispute resolutions.”
