Tag: military exercises

US, S. Korea to end key joint military exercises

by Kang Jin-kyu The US and South Korea announced Sunday an end to key annual large-scale military exercises in support of diplomatic efforts to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons programme. The decision comes days after the conclusion of US President Donald Trump’s second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi, which ended without a formal agreement but with both sides suggesting they would keep talking. There are close to […]

No plans to cut back US-South Korea drills: Pentagon

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The Pentagon is not considering cutting back the joint US-South Korean military exercises that have drawn angry condemnation from Pyongyang ahead of a planned US-North Korea summit, an official said Thursday. “There’s been no talk of reducing anything. There’s been no talk of changing our scope,” Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said. The exercises “are defensive in nature and the scope hasn’t changed … This is about safeguarding the alliance,” she […]

Philippines, US launch smaller military exercises

by Mynardo MACARAIG Agence France Presse MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — The Philippines and the United States launched annual military exercises in Manila on Monday but the longtime allies scaled them down in line with President Rodrigo Duterte’s pivot to China and Russia. Duterte has in his 10 months in office sought to weaken ties with the United States, the Philippines’ mutual defense treaty partner and former colonial ruler that he has said are diminishing as a […]

China, Russia to stage military drills in S.China Sea

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China and Russia were to start war games in the South China Sea on Monday, Beijing’s defense ministry said, in a show of force after an international tribunal invalidated the Asian giant’s extensive claims in the area. The eight-day joint drills will include exercises on “seizing and controlling” islands and shoals, Chinese navy spokesman Liang Yang said in a statement. They will involve surface ships, submarines, fixed-wing aircraft, ship-borne helicopters, marine […]