Tag: military

Myanmar rebels claim killing and capturing junta troops

YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — A Myanmar ethnic rebel group said Tuesday it had captured 14 junta troops and killed an unspecified number, in the latest blow to a fragile peace in the only region to have seen no post-coup crackdown. Days after its putsch last year, the junta reaffirmed a ceasefire with the Arakan Army (AA), which has for years fought a war for autonomy for Rakhine state’s ethnic Rakhine population. Thanks to the truce, […]

Amanda Lee named first female pilot in US navy aviation team

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US Navy’s famed aerial display team, the Blue Angels, named Lieutenant Amanda Lee on Monday as its first female pilot to fly fighter aircraft. Lee, of Mounds View, Minnesota, was one of six new officers selected for the 2023 air show season, the navy said in a statement. After a five-month training program, she will fly F/A-18 “Super Hornet” for the navy’s elite demonstration team founded in 1946. Lee […]

Taiwan general charged in China spying case

TAIPEI, June 24, 2022 (AFP) – A retired Taiwanese general and another senior officer were indicted on Friday for their involvement in developing a spying network for China, prosecutors said. Taipei and Beijing have spied on each other since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949, when the losing Nationalist side fled to the island. The major general, identified by his family name Chien, and a retired lieutenant colonel surnamed Wei were charged […]

Myanmar’s Suu Kyi moved to solitary confinement in prison

YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — Ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi remained in strong spirits after being transferred from house arrest to prison, a source with knowledge of the case said Thursday, and would “calmly” face her new solitary confinement. Since being deposed in a coup last year, Suu Kyi had been under house arrest at an undisclosed location in Naypyidaw, accompanied by several domestic staff and her dog, according to sources familiar with the […]

ASEAN must step up pressure on Myanmar junta: UN expert

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Southeast Asia’s regional bloc must increase pressure on Myanmar’s junta or there will be more death and suffering, a UN expert warned Thursday, after a long period of stalled diplomacy. Myanmar has been in turmoil and its economy paralysed since the February 2021 coup that ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was transferred from house arrest to solitary confinement in prison this week. Efforts by the 10-member Association […]

Trial of Myanmar’s Suu Kyi moved to prison compound: source

YANGON, June 21, 2022 (AFP) – Hearings for the trial of ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi will be moved to a prison compound in the military-built capital Naypyidaw, a source with knowledge of the case said Tuesday. The Nobel laureate, 77, was detained by the military when it ousted her government last year and faces a raft of charges that could see her jailed for more than 150 years. She has since been […]

A Chinese invasion of Taiwan: Too costly to countenance?

by Sean Chang with Rebecca Bailey in Hong Kong and Ludovic Ehret in Beijing Agence France-Presse MAGONG, Taiwan (AFP) — On Taiwan’s tiny Penghu islands, the missile bases that sit next to white-sand beaches and bustling fish markets are a visceral reminder of the constant threat of attack from China. Despite the huge military discrepancy between the two sides, many analysts believe Taiwan’s location, inhospitable terrain and US support mean China would find a full-scale […]

Russia has ‘strategically lost’ Ukraine war: UK armed forces chief

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Russia has already “strategically lost” its war with Ukraine, suffering heavy losses and strengthening NATO, the UK’s chief of defense staff said in an interview published on Friday. “This is a dreadful mistake by Russia. Russia will never take control of Ukraine,” said Tony Radakin, the country’s highest-ranking military officer, adding it would emerge a “more diminished power”. “Russia has strategically lost already. NATO is stronger, Finland and Sweden are […]

China accuses Australia, Canada of ‘disinformation’ over jet encounters

Beijing on Tuesday accused Australia and Canada of “spreading disinformation” over allegedly dangerous manoeuvres by Chinese military pilots in international airspace. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a day earlier hit out at “irresponsible and provocative” actions by Beijing’s air force after Canadian aircraft deployed in Japan narrowly avoided a collision with Chinese jets late last month. The incident has again heightened tensions between Beijing and Ottawa, just as a lengthy crisis over Canada’s 2018 arrest […]

US, South Korea fly warplanes after North’s missile tests

  South Korea and the United States flew warplanes including stealth fighter jets over waters around the Korean peninsula Tuesday in a fresh show of force following recent missile tests by the North, Seoul said. Sixteen South Korean warplanes, including F-35 stealth fighters and four US F-16 jets, formed an attack squadron over the West Sea — also known as the Yellow Sea — to “respond to the enemy threat,” Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff […]

Myanmar villagers accuse junta troops of burning spree

Myanmar junta troops have torched hundreds of buildings during a three-day raid in the country’s north, local media and residents said, as the military struggles to crush resistance to its rule. The Sagaing region has seen fierce fighting and bloody reprisals since the coup last year, with local “People’s Defence Force” (PDF) members clashing regularly with junta troops. Analysts say the informal militia has surprised junta forces with its effectiveness, and the military has on […]

Myanmar junta says will carry out first judicial executions in decades

    Myanmar‘s junta will execute a former lawmaker from Aung San Suu Kyi’s party and a prominent democracy activist, both of whom were convicted of terrorism, in the country’s first judicial executions since 1990, a spokesman told AFP on Friday. Four people, including former MP Phyo Zeya Thaw and democracy activist Ko Jimmy, “who were sentenced to death will be hanged according to prison procedures”, junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun told AFP. The junta has […]