A Senate investigation has uncovered new evidence of American technology enabling Russia’s war in Ukraine, raising the prospect that combatants on both sides of the bloody struggle are using U.S.-powered tools. National Security Tech Reporter Ryan Lovelace examines the findings, which paint an unsettling picture of alleged U.S. industry complicity in the Russian invasion — despite hundreds of sanctions the Biden administration has imposed on Moscow.

The Russian defense industry will keep growing this year, according to British intelligence analysts, pointing to a sharp increase in Russia’s production of artillery rounds in 2023. At the same time, a U.K. analysis of average Russian war deaths since 2022 estimates the figure has risen to its highest level in recent months.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. says Manila has no choice but to stand up to China’s aggression and illegal territorial claims in the South China Sea. He made the assertion Monday on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Australia, where other nations in the region voiced support for the Philippines.

The development follows a surge of friction between Chinese and Filipino vessels over clashing sovereignty claims in what Manila calls the “West Philippine Sea.” Washington Times Asia Editor Andrew Salmon has closely covered what U.S. analysts describe as a prime example of China’s regional muscle-flexing and expansionism against its smaller neighbors, several of which are economically bound to Beijing but militarily aligned with Washington.

China claims sovereignty over virtually the entire South China Sea, one of the most valuable waterways of global shipping. Beijing is at odds with the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei, who all have staked their own claims to islands, reefs and undersea resources in the sea. China’s Foreign Ministry accuses Manila of taking provocative actions and sharply denies “Chinese harassment of the Philippine ships.”

House Republicans are increasing pressure on the Biden administration over illegal immigration ahead of November’s presidential election. GOP Rep. Debbie Lesko has announced new legislation that would declare the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border an “invasion,” a move that could add legal heft to the Texas state government’s defense of its strict new enforcement laws.

The bill highlights the unprecedented number of illegal immigrants nabbed crossing the southern border, including a 400% increase in terrorism suspects detected by the Border Patrol, as well as the flow of fentanyl, reports The Washington Times’ Stephen Dinan.  His account cites House Majority Whip Tom Emmer’s assertion that the southern border is “Joe Biden’s crime scene.”

In an interview with The Times, Mr. Emmer predicted voters will reward the GOP in November for its efforts to try to plug the illegal immigration flood. The Minnesota Republican also challenged Mr. Biden’s claim during a visit to the Mexican border last week that a bipartisan deal could be passed in Congress if only former President Donald Trump would stay out of the fight or, better yet, endorse the bill.

The U.S. government must ensure the contractors it partners with on artificial intelligence divest themselves of ties to the Chinese government, writes scholar and human rights activist Jianli Yang. Mr. Yang homes in on friction between Microsoft and Washington, noting a recent White House characterization of the U.S. software giant’s plan for AI safety and security as “incomplete.”

“This characterization seems fair given that the company, which has an AI lab in China, recently found itself subjected to a hack that exposed the email accounts of the U.S. ambassador to China, the assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the secretary of commerce to Beijing-linked hackers ahead of a critical U.S.-China meeting,” Mr. Yang writes. He adds that Microsoft “continues to maintain a strategic partnership agreement to bring advanced AI and machine learning capabilities to China‘s top drone manufacturer, Shenzhen DJI Innovation Technology Co., even though the Department of Defense has blacklisted the company’s products from the U.S. over espionage and national security concerns.”

Shoshana Bryen, the senior director of the Jewish Policy Center, meanwhile, argues that the Biden administration is quietly punishing Israel in the war with Hamas. “Unable to persuade Israel to subordinate its national security policy to the dictates of the U.S. government and its allies in the European Union, Qatar and the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, the Biden administration has initiated sanctions and pressures of varying sorts against Israel and Israeli entities,” Ms. Bryen writes.

“The most recent move is an American investigation of the Israeli company Finkelstein Metals,” which according to The Jerusalem Post, is the sole supplier of metal bars for producing ammunition for the Iron Dome, she notes, arguing that the pressure “represents a nasty measure to remind Israel that Washington can make life difficult,” as the Biden administration demands Israel “substitute an American vision of the Middle East for that of its elected government.”