Washington's announcement it will continue its operations in the South China Sea has drawn a sharp response from China. Beijing has warned such "intervention" may not be a good idea, naming conflicts in the Middle East as examples.

"Western countries have a long history of failing to establish orderly rule over parts of the world. The Middle East is a classic example," Chinese state news agency Xinhua said on Wednesday, adding that "[t]heir intervention has led to chaos in Syria, Iraq and Libya." Saying that countries outside the region might only cause more problems in the dispute, Beijing has warned them to stay out of the issue, which it says "should be left to the countries of East and Southeast Asia."

The dispute over the South China Sea, which includes the Spratly and the Paracel Islands, involves rival territorial claims from China, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan. China also has ongoing territorial disputes in the region with Malaysia and Brunei.

US military forces are present in the area, with Washington claiming it can operate wherever international law allows. The sea is a strategic water route in the region, with cargo traffic worth several trillion dollars moving through it annually.

In 2007, Putin informed the Western world that Russia will develop a secret weapon to counter US advances. This was said in response to the US missile defense system that was being developed at the time (previously prohibited in international law.) Russia's counter-measure weapon is now almost complete. With the NATO missile defense system on Russia's doorstep - the threat to international security is very real; not that you would know it via mainstream Murdoch media.

In 2002, the United States unilaterally and without consultation, withdrew from the landmark Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty. President George W. Bush noted that the treaty is "now behind us," describing the ABM Treaty as a Cold War relic.

Signed in 1972, the ABM Treaty barred both the US and the USSR from deploying national defenses against long-range ballistic missiles. The treaty was based on the premise that if either superpower constructed a strategic defense, the other would build up its offensive nuclear forces to offset the defense.

The superpowers would therefore quickly be put on a path toward a never-ending offensive-defensive arms race, as each tried to balance its counterpart's actions. Until Bush took office, the Treaty was referred to as a "cornerstone of strategic stability" because it facilitated later agreements, reducing U.S. and Russian strategic nuclear arsenals.

The US, assuming that a weakened Russia will never again be in a position to counter US hegemonic power, proceeded to encroach on Russia's borders through its manipulation of NATO objectives.

Today, there is no instrument in international law that prevents the possibility of mutually assured destruction. Putin has been sending out warnings for over 10 years - all of which fell on deaf ears. Who will push the button first?

Hours before the deadline to register to vote in Labour's leadership election, Jeremy Corbyn challenger Owen Smith insists he's a better electoral bet for the party, but polls put the Welsh MP far behind the current leader.

Speaking to the BBC Radio 4 Today program on Wednesday morning, Smith once again argued that "Jeremy has still got a lot to say for the Labour Party, but I don't think Jeremy is a leader." Instead, the member for Pontypridd suggested he's the candidate with both the radical rhetoric and the policies needed to win Labour power at the next general election.

But a recent YouGov poll doesn't back his claims, with Corbyn rating 56 points against Smith's 34 head-to-head. The same survey found that 31 percent of Labour members believe Corbyn is likely to lead the party to an electoral victory, while only 8 percent think Smith could do the same. Interestingly, more than a third of members also associate Corbyn with a likely defeat in 2020, while only 20 percent see Smith as a liability.

A lawsuit filed against security giant DynCorp in a Washington DC federal court alleges that the company deliberately overcharged the US government and inflated costs while providing training for Iraqi police between 2004 and 2008. DynCorp International remains a Pentagon contractor despite the charges brought against the company by the US Justice Department.

"The United States filed a False Claims Act complaint against DynCorp International Inc. (DynCorp) alleging that it knowingly submitted inflated claims in connection with a State Department contract to train Iraqi police forces," says a statement released Tuesday.

Let's cut to the chase; as much as the Pentagon may have finally concluded that Russia holds undisputed conventional superiority in the European theater, the only possible rationale for NATO's existence is unchanged; the US must keep the military occupation of Western and Central Europe till the end of days. And the justification for the "project" must be anti-Russian hysteria.

Thus the perennial, bogus, "threat" narrative. The myth of imminent 'Russian aggression' against the poor Baltic nations. These recurrent NATO talk-fests staged as former Soviet - or Maoist - 'party conferences'. The impression/illusion sold by the lame duck Obama administration that they are benevolently 'concerned' about European security. And, of course, the Russian counterpoint; the suspicion that NATO is no less than engaged in fabricating serial declarations of war.

The whole show might be derided as a juvenile mind game. Still, it's taken seriously. 'NATO has begun preparations for escalating from a Cold War into a hot one', sentenced Mikhail Gorbachev. There are indeed elements pointing to how serious the current geopolitical juncture is. The Obama administration won't do anything - even as that hopeless nullity, deputy national security advisor Ben Rhodes, states that, 'continued aggression by Russia would provoke a response by NATO and a greater alliance presence in Eastern Europe'. Western corporate media, meanwhile, predictably surfs the hysterical monster waves of Russia demonizing.

The real action in fact is that multiple industrial military security surveillance complex actors in the Beltway are frantically jockeying for position in the next 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue set up, which might as well translate into a Clintonesque Gotterdammerung. As I stressed before, there's been a frank admission by a US general in London that the Big Picture may spell out Hot War, as Putin, Professor Stephen Cohen and indeed Gorbachev have already warned.

So the strategic outlook by the Pentagon is clear; we have already entered Dr Strangelove 2.0 territory. Forget about that unmovable force, the Taliban; forget about elaborate counter-insurgency ops; forget about deranged jihadis of the Daesh kind. The real game ahead is all about the possibility of war against 'high-end enemies' - Russia and/or China.

Russia is worried over political turbulence in neighboring countries but is confident in due security level at its borders, Russian president's press secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

"Naturally, turbulence at our borders is alarming and we have to keep a close eye on the situation, analyze it," he told journalists when asked whether Russia plans to enhance control at its borders following aggravation of the political situation in a number of neighboring countries, such as Turkey, Armenia and Kazakhstan.

"The country's security along its border perimeter is ensured at a proper level. However necessary measures are being taken in view of the latest reports," Peskov said.

At the same time, he noted that the situation in Turkey, Armenia and Kazakhstan cannot be considered in the same way. "Each concrete case should be analyzed individually," he added.

Commenting on the situation in Turkey, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko expressed concern over the situation in his state and called upon the head of the KGB to defend his country from a possible coup. This has been reported by local media.

Lukashenko stated that the conflict in Donbass, NATO's expansion to the East, the coup attempt in Turkey, and attacks on police in Armenia and Kazakhstan are worrying him.

"I cannot but be disturbed by the situation surrounding Belarus. Thank God that we have so far managed to contain all sorts of negative manifestations...."

Lukashenko accordingly instructed the head of the KGB to more attentively follow the situation in Belarus in order to defend the state when need be.

"The situation is very difficult. We should therefore maintain peace and calm in the country no matter what it takes," the Belarusian president added.

The tension over territorial disputes in the South China Sea have seems to overcome even the issue before of Senkaku/Diayu Islands. Vietnam and the Giant country are also involved in their worst political conflicts which are already decades over a platform of oil drilling near the Paracel Islands.

And because of the anti-China protests in Vietnam, this brought the relation of both countries' to a temporary freeze. Moreover, the Philippines' detention of Chinese fishermen has increased the discord between the China and the country.

And will all these conflicts occurring at the same time, the issue in the South China sea becomes even more serious.

Behind this picture of the issue, we have seen the United States criticizing China, expressing support for Vietnam and guarded the Philippine Military. But we haven't heard Russia, China's "strategic partner," take a stand on this big issue, who now think that the relationship between Russia and China are not as good as before. Even on the Senkaku/Diaoyu dispute between Vietnam and China, Russia has kept a cryptic position.

In a report by Mu Chunshan, a Beijing-based journalist on The Diplomat he said, "In my eyes, however, this does not mean that Russia's is of two minds in its relationship with China."

Turkey is ready to work towards restoration of peace and stability in the region together with Russia and Iran, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a telephone conversation with Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani on Monday.

"Today, we are determined more than ever before to contribute to the solution of regional problems hand in hand with Iran and Russia and in cooperation with them," the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) quoted Erdogan as saying. The Turkish president informed Rouhani about the situation in Turkey. "At present, the situation is getting back to normal but it is too early to say that everything is over," Erdogan said.

For his part, Hassan Rouhani gave credit to the courage and political maturity of the Turkish people who stood up to defend the legitimate authorities.

"Stability and tranquility in Turkey have a positive impact on the atmosphere in the whole region. We have no doubt that tranquility in the Islamic world countries does not suit terrorists and some superpowers," the Iranian president stressed. He said that the past few days had shown who was Turkey's friend or enemy both at home and abroad.

A group of insurgents took an abortive coup attempt in Turkey late on July 16. The main confrontation took place in Ankara and Istanbul. The country's leaders announced later that the coup attempt had been thwarted. According to the latest reports, 208 Turkish nationals died, 100 insurgents were killed and about 1,500 people were injured.

Who would have imagined that the people who helped bring you the 2014 Kiev Maidan coup are now apparently opposed to the removal of elected leaders by force?

If they've somehow seen the light after those efforts contributed to the destruction of Ukraine, that'd be fair enough, but it doesn't appear to be the case.

In reality, if you'll excuse the allusion to Damascus, there hasn't been a bunch of Pauline conversions. Instead it's all about 'interests' and it doesn't seem to matter how shameless or brazen they are in pursuing them.

Pro-NATO politicians in Europe and North America have long used the pretence of "democracy promotion" to justify the club's relentless expansion eastwards. For all that, their reaction to last weekend's events in Turkey has finally blown that cover. Because, let's be frank, sensible folk have long insisted that their real ambition has always been to install or maintain western-friendly regimes in strategically important countries. At this time, the response to the Ankara turmoil seems to confirm those suspicions.