Top News: U.S. defense chief Austin to visit Israel France 24 Rejoining Open Skies would send ‘wrong message’ to Russia, State tells partners Defense News U.S. military cites rising risk of Chinese move against Taiwan ABC United States Rejoining Open Skies would send ‘wrong message’ to Russia, State tells partners Defense News4/7/21 The United States appears unlikely to rejoin the 34-nation Open Skies Treaty over its concerns about Russian noncompliance, with the Biden administration telling international partners in a recent diplomatic memo obtained by Defense News that doing so would send the “wrong message” to Russia. U.S. retires planes used to monitor Russia under “Open Skies” treaty Wall Street Journal4/5/21 The U.S. Air Force has decided to retire the planes used for nearly three decades to fly monitoring missions over Russia, taking a step that raises questions about whether President Biden plans to rejoin a treaty with Moscow that dates to the end of the Cold War. East Asia New “hypersonic missile technology” college created at North Korea’s national defense university Daily NK4/7/21 North Korea recently established a new college focused on “hypersonic missile technology” at the Kim Jong Un National Defense University ahead of the start of the academic year on Apr. 1. U.S. military cites rising risk of Chinese move against Taiwan ABC4/7/21 The American military is warning that China is probably accelerating its timetable for retaking Taiwan, the island democracy that’s widely seen as the most likely trigger for a potentially catastrophic U.S.-China war. China champions Iran sanctions relief as Vienna meeting seeks to bring U.S. back to nuclear deal South China Morning Post4/7/21 China’s representative at Vienna meeting says U.S. should remove illicit sanctions against Iran, and Iran ‘should resume full compliance on this basis.’ ANALYSIS: China’s Nuclear Ambiguity and its Implications for India Observer Reach FoundationKartik Bommakanti, Suyash Desai 4/7/21 China’s evolving security dynamics with the United States have compelled it to rethink its nuclear strategy to achieve effective deterrence. Middle East U.S. defense chief Austin to visit Israel France 244/6/21 U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will visit Israel next week for meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz. OPINION: The window for an Iran missile deal is already closing Bulletin of Atomic ScientistsJohn Krzyzaniak 4/7/21 Calls to limit Iran’s missile program have become all the rage in Washington. Russia and Europe ANALYSIS: The increasing Russian nuclear threat The Heritage FoundationPatty-Jane Geller, Peter Brookes 4/6/21 Despite the New Strategic Arms Reductions Treaty (New START), Russia is able to increase its nuclear weapons stockpile both quantitatively and qualitatively.