A soldier during NATO's "Allied Spirit" exercise in Germany with the participation of forces from countries including Slovenia and North Macedonia.
Afrasianet - The situation in the Balkans continues to attract increasing interest from Russian and international observers, as the pace of armaments in the region accelerates.
Pressures on international waterways are also of further concern, in light of the attempt to use them as leverage cards in conflicts, in parallel with the current administration's approach to ensure long-term military superiority.
The Russian website "On News" presents what it describes as a strengthening of NATO's military presence in the Balkans and an increase in pressure on Serbia.
In addition, it points out that Croatia, Slovenia, and North Macedonia are sharply increasing their military spending, buying modern Western weapons, and Croatia has also reinstated compulsory military service. This is making the Balkans region rapidly becoming one of the most militarized regions in Europe.
According to the site, the focus is on heavy equipment, modern weapons systems and an increase in the number of military personnel.
Croatia is particularly active in this regard. After a 17-year hiatus, Zagreb has reinstated compulsory military service for two months and reached an agreement with the United States on the accelerated delivery of Black Hawk helicopters and HIMARS missile systems.
Slovenia is also undergoing fundamental changes. Until recently, it was considered one of the least armed countries in the alliance. However, the authorities have now raised defense spending to 2.03% of GDP. The government has also announced its intention to raise this to 3% by 2030.
Meanwhile, Slovenia is implementing the largest rearmament program in its history, taking delivery of modern battery armored personnel carriers and planning a significant increase in troop numbers.
At the same time, North Macedonia is actively strengthening its military capabilities. After joining NATO, the republic has raised its defense spending to record levels.
Russian scarecrow
According to the website, the leaders of the countries of the countries of the region officially explain the increase in military spending by the need to confront Russia. In particular, the Slovenian and Croatian authorities point to Moscow as a major threat to European security. In this context, the Balkan countries continue to support Kyiv.
It seems that the real reason behind these developments, according to the website, lies not so much in Russia as in the situation surrounding Serbia.
NATO countries are steadily tightening their military and political grip on Belgrade. Today, almost all of Serbia's neighbors are members of NATO, with the exception of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the Bosnian Serb Republic opposes any further rapprochement with NATO.
Progress on the Kosovo issue remains one of the West's strategic goals, while Belgrade continues to adhere to its policy of military neutrality and does not recognize Kosovo's independence.
At the same time, Serbia is facing ongoing pressure in its foreign policy on this issue, especially in light of the continued Russian-Serbian cooperation, with Moscow supporting Serbia on the international stage, while Belgrade remains Russia's key partner in the region.
The Corridor War
The same website addressed the escalation of tensions around the world's main sea lanes, amid direct indications that it conveys about the possibility of imposing restrictions on international navigation.
The site identified several dangerous areas at once, from the Baltic Sea to the straits of the Middle East, where the situation around international sea lanes is deteriorating rapidly.
London and Brussels are working on plans to close the Baltic Sea and the straits leading to it, prompting a strongly worded response from Nikolai Patrushev, an aide to the Russian president.
Systematic threat
According to the website, the pressure on sea lanes is increasing, and not only in the Baltic Sea, but also in other vital areas of the world, such as the Strait of Hormuz, which has effectively become, according to the website, a war zone.
Moreover, he indicates that similar pressure has been recorded in the Bab al-Mandab Strait as well as at the eastern entrances to the Suez Canal, so that the pressure on the sea routes has become systematic, according to the website.
He adds that a "restrictive" scenario is being prepared in the Gulf of Finland, in light of statements by Western officials with the intention of strengthening NATO forces in the Baltic Sea region.
According to the website, this threatens the possibility of restrictions on Russian navigation in the Gulf of Finland, which not only affect the country's military capabilities, but also seriously complicate export operations.
Alternative solutions
On the other hand, the website points out that Russia is developing new transportation routes in response to the growing threats, most notably the Transarctic Transport Corridor, as it will connect sea and river roads, in addition to ports, railways, and highways.
According to the website, this project is important to ensure the transportation of local, international and transit goods, even under external pressures.
The aim of this approach is to reduce reliance on traditional roads at risk and strengthen the resilience of the country's transport system, especially given the possibility of a blockade of the Kaliningrad region, the website reports, the consequences of which Russia has warned.
Symptoms of the U.S. Decline
In an article on the website "Al-Sharq Al-Jadeed", writer Brian Berlitic discussed the announcement of the US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, the establishment of a 120-day task force called "Project Meridian", with the aim of ensuring long-term US military superiority through absolute technological control on the next-generation battlefield.
However, the project is not a path to greatness, but rather a symptom of inevitable decline.
In his view, this initiative itself is a tacit acknowledgment of the growing military weakness of the United States.
He explains that U.S. weapons are increasingly lagging behind, according to his reading, in terms of capabilities and quantities in direct and proxy wars and conflicts around the world.
He adds that this proposal tries to cover up the essence of the problem, which is the existence of a system in which financial monopolies and corporations have dominated, driven by profit, at the expense of American foreign and domestic policy.
Berlitech argues that U.S. military force is not used to protect U.S. national security, but to undermine the security of other nations.
He also considers the claim that without the United States, others would have sought global dominance is false.
He alleges that Russia and China, while having the ability to extend their influence globally, deliberately choose not to do so, and that they use military force, according to his reading, only in response to what he describes as a U.S. blockade and aggression.
Interests of the Influential
The Meridian project is based on fantasy rather than reality, as the United States will not be able to keep pace with a multipolar world, neither in terms of speed nor in scope.
In his view, if the United States does not realize the limits of its profit-based system and turn it into a purposeful system, no projects will work.
He concludes that given the dominance of financial interests in politics, media, and education, it is impossible to talk about this shift, and that the United States is using its remaining power to "tip the balance of power," that is, to destroy the multipolar world order, in the hope of emerging from the chaos victorious.
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Source: Russian Press
