Five Things to Know, May 15, 2023
1. Large-scale aerial drills are underway again over the Korean Peninsula, nearly a month after South Korea carried out similar training with the United States. More than 60 South Korean aircraft are taking part in the weeklong, biannual Soaring Eagle exercise that kicked off Friday. It consists of aerial combat scenarios, ground-to-air missile simulations and aerial refueling training, according to a Ministry of National Defense news release.
2. China sentenced a 78-year-old United States citizen to life in prison Monday on spying charges, in a case that could exacerbate the deterioration in ties between Beijing and Washington over recent years. Details of the charges against John Shing-Wan Leung, who also holds permanent residency in Hong Kong, have not been publicly released.
3. Defense budget work on Capitol Hill remains halted until Congress finds a compromise on the looming debt limit crisis. House Armed Services Committee members were supposed to begin public work on their initial draft of the annual defense authorization bill last week, but Republican leaders halted those plans until sometime next month. Senate lawmakers similarly have pushed back the defense policy work until mid-June, after they see what political deals are made in the next few weeks.
4. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in Britain Monday on his whirlwind European tour, as the staunch ally of Kyiv promised to give Ukraine hundreds more missiles and attack drones in an effort to change the course of the war. Zelenskyy landed by helicopter at Chequers, the British leader's official country retreat, and was greeted by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. It’s Zelenskyy’s second trip to the U.K. since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
5. American investors plan to develop facilities at a former U.S. naval base in the Philippines that could include the installation’s airport, according to Philippine government news outlet. Cerberus Capital Management, a New York-based private equity firm, took control of a large shipyard in Subic Bay last year. Eight hundred Philippine navy sailors are now stationed in part of the installation, the government-run Philippine News Agency reported Friday.