(NewsNation) — Daily military exercises are routine around the world, and since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, military flexing seems to be happening far beyond Eastern Europe.
In the U.S, a video just released by the U.S. Army is highlighting training drills in “the last frontier,” Alaska, showing American paratroopers with the 25th Infantry landing.
U.S. forces have increased there in the past two years.
Retired Col. Mark Cancian, with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said this is a regularly-scheduled exercise American forces are undertaking.
“It’s not driven by the current crisis, but it is driven by competition with Russia,” he said, noting that Alaska is a mere 55 miles away from the country governed by President Vladimir Putin.
One country’s show of military might took a dangerous turn in Southeast Asia, and stirred new tension between India and Pakistan.
India said Friday it accidentally fired a missile into Pakistan this week because of a “technical malfunction” during routine maintenance. Pakistan warned that there could be “unpleasant consequences” from the incident.
“A high-speed flying object was picked up inside Indian territory,” Pakistan military spokesman Major General Babar Iftikhar said.” From its initial course, the object suddenly maneuvered toward Pakistani territory, and violated Pakistan’s air space.”
Asia is accustomed to regular testing and flexing by North Korea toward South Korea.
But new to the Pacific Ocean, there have been joint patrols by Chinese and Russian warships.
Taiwan shared footage of recent military exercises there that simulated a potential attack from China.
For many, the shows of military might everywhere play differently these days. While military exercises might not normally get a lot of attention, there’s renewed interest in them in light of the war in Ukraine.
Military experts are especially concerned about accidental firings, like what happened between India and Pakistan. Both of those countries are armed with nuclear weapons.