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Russia, China, and Iran have kicked off their annual joint military drills in the Gulf of Oman.
Some shit you should know before you read: Roughly a month ago, Chinese AI startup DeepSeek launched its R1 model, a high-performing AI system that shocked the industry by being developed for just $5.6 million—a fraction of the billions of dollars spent by US companies like OpenAI, Google, and Meta on similar models. Unlike its American counterparts, which rely on massive infrastructure and cutting-edge chips, DeepSeek used only 2,000 Nvidia H800 chips, which are older and less advanced, to train its model efficiently. This breakthrough raised significant concerns about whether China is closing the AI gap with the US, potentially challenging America’s technological dominance.
What’s going on now: This year’s joint naval exercises, dubbed “Security Belt-2025,” are bringing together a wide range of warships and military forces from Russia, China, and Iran in the Gulf of Oman, a region of immense strategic importance. Russia has sent a fleet including 15 combat ships, support vessels, and gunboats, with notable contributions such as the Rezky and Russian Hero Aldar Tsydenzhapov corvettes, as well as the Pechenega tanker from its Pacific Fleet. China has deployed the Type 052D guided-missile destroyer Baotou and the supply ship Gaoyouhu, which are part of a nearby naval escort task force. Iran, hosting the drills, has sent a stealth missile corvette and a patrol ship, with forces from both its regular navy and the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy.
According to all three, their drills will include maritime security operations, simulated strikes on naval targets, visit-board-search-seizure (VBSS) exercises, and search-and-rescue drills.
Beyond the participating nations, the exercises are being observed by military representatives from multiple countries, including Azerbaijan, South Africa, Oman, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Qatar, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and Sri Lanka.
Trump responds: While aboard Air Force One yesterday, President Trump was asked about the drills and if he had any concerns. Trump said he was not worried about the drills. When asked why, Trump said, “Because we’re stronger than all of them. We have more power than all of them. I rebuilt the military. Unfortunately, Biden did nothing with it, but I rebuilt the military.”
