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NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh has told his Chinese counterpart that military deployments on their disputed Himalayan frontier were undermining relations and called for disengagement to preserve “peace and tranquility”. Relations between the two Asian powers have been fraught since a high-altitude clash that left 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese troops dead in June 2020. The neighbors have since massed tens of thousands of soldiers along the […]
by Max Blenkin, with Andrew Beatty in Sydney Agence France-Presse CANBERRA, Australia (AFP) — Australia launched its biggest defence shakeup in decades Monday, vowing to turn a military that is “no longer fit for purpose” into a fighting force that could deter China or any would-be foe. Defense Minister Richard Marles unveiled a strategic review that called for a sharp shift toward long-range deterrence — using missiles, submarines and cyber tools to keep adversaries at […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Joe Biden will welcome Philippines President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to the White House on May 1 in a sign of a warming bond between the two nations amid US tensions with China over Taiwan. Biden will reaffirm Washington’s “ironclad commitment to the defense of the Philippines, and the leaders will discuss efforts to strengthen the longstanding US-Philippines alliance,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. The White House […]
by Yan ZHAO / Jack MOORE Agence France-Presse TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Physician Lin Yuh-ting has taken time out of her weekend to learn civilian defense tips she can relay to her two young children in case China invades self-ruled Taiwan. There are no weapons, just vital training on how to react to China’s hybrid warfare. The classes are part of a growing Taiwanese urgency to be ready for a worst-case scenario after seeing the […]
The United States has sent a naval warship through the Taiwan Strait in a “freedom of navigation” operation days after China staged massive war games around the self-ruled island. The USS Milius guided-missile destroyer “conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit” on Sunday, the US Navy said, in the first US operation in the waters separating Taiwan from mainland China since January. Beijing launched three days of military exercises around Taiwan on April 8 in which […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — NATO is the world’s biggest military alliance, bringing together 30 European and North American countries who commit to defend each other in the event of attack. After Finland joins on Tuesday, it will have 31 members. The alliance was formed at the start of the Cold War to protect Western Europe against the threat of Soviet aggression but its remit and reach have expanded over time. Here is a brief history […]
by Elias HUUHTANEN Agence France-Presse IMATRA, Finland (AFP) — When Russia invaded Ukraine, a new iron curtain severed once-close ties between Moscow and Helsinki — something Ari Joronen can see with his own eyes from his farm in eastern Finland. “The trees have been cleared because of the new border fence,” he says, overlooking part of his property in the town of Imatra that adjoins the Russian border, a few hundred meters from his house. […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia’s defense ministry said Tuesday that its navy had fired test anti-ship missiles at mock targets in the Sea of Japan during military exercises. Russia’s Pacific Fleet drills came a week after Tokyo’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited Ukraine. “In the waters of the Sea of Japan, missile boats of the Pacific Fleet fired Moskit cruise missiles at a mock enemy sea target,” the ministry said on Telegram early on Tuesday. […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for his country to expand production of “weapon-grade nuclear materials” and build more powerful weapons, state media reported Tuesday. Kim’s latest threat, a doubling-down on an earlier promise to “exponentially” ramp up nuke production, came as a US Navy carrier strike group arrived in South Korea on Tuesday. Kim was briefed by officials from the country’s nuclear weapons institute, the official Korean Central […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — The Chinese military said it had tracked a US warship in the South China Sea on Thursday and “warned it to leave” waters claimed by Beijing. China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea — a strategic waterway through which trillions of dollars in trade passes annually — despite an international court ruling that the assertion has no legal basis. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei all have overlapping […]
by Sunghee Hwang Agence France-Press SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea said Monday it had test-fired two strategic cruise missiles from a submarine, as South Korea and the United States kicked off their largest joint military exercises in five years. Nuclear-armed Pyongyang said the test verified its “nuclear war deterrence means in different spaces” as it slammed the drills — known as Freedom Shield — which will run for 10 days from Monday as […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States increasingly worries that China will use its power in global supply chains as an additional weapon to advance its political and military might, a report released Wednesday showed. The “Annual Threat Assessment” issued by the Director of National Intelligence said China is already using its supply chain dominance to force foreign companies and countries to transfer technologies and intellectual property to it. But the US intelligence community […]
