Opinion

In Wendell Minnick’s article “Upgrades on All Fronts” (May 11), he seemed to make a lot of sensational yet groundless speculation and subjective statements to describe the current Taiwan-US arms sales.

US Defense Secretary Ash Carter recently visited Berlin to assure allies that the US would deter aggression. NATO leaders are worried that Russia might invade the Baltics in a Crimea-style fait accompli, and then threaten nuclear escalation unless the alliance backs down.

The US-China relationship is entering a new phase. Beijing has become more confident, global and assertive. In a relationship that has unique cooperative and competitive elements, none will stress that relationship more than those concerning the South China Sea.

Recently, US Defense Secretary Ash Carter visited Silicon Valley hoping to help the nation’s capital tap the innovative spirit of the world’s digital capital. He met with Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, power-brunched with the financial seers at Andreessen Horowitz and lectured at Stanford.

Congressional defense appropriators and authorizers are engaged in an oversight food fight over the Ohio-class replacement program to acquire the next-generation ballistic missile submarine.

Little — virtually nothing — has been said about the way the budget over the next decade will shape the defense industry.

The threat of nuclear war between Russia and the West, long relegated to Cold War history, reappeared last year as the crisis in East-West relations escalated.