Tag - defense

 
 

DEFENSE

U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the first national security memorandum detailing how intelligence agencies should use and protect artificial intelligence technology.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 25, 2024
White House urges agencies to adopt AI for military and spy use
U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the nation must extend its lead on AI while also managing the risks.
A Japan Ground Self-Defense Force battle tank fires ammunition during a live fire exercise at East Fuji Maneuver Area in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, in May.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 25, 2024
Defense tax hikes hinge on election results
Ruling and opposition parties share a recognition that Japan faces a tough security environment.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pose for a group photo at a meeting on Ukraine reconstruction at the United Nations on Sept. 25.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 24, 2024
Shifting the paradigm in Ukraine
In Ukraine, inaction — the refusal to permit Ukraine’s government to act in self-defense — possesses the quality of death.
Former Japanese Ambassador to Ukraine Kuninori Matsuda speaks during an interview on Wednesday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Oct 24, 2024
Ex-Japan envoy says North Korea troops have changed Ukraine war
Joint exercises between Russian and North Korean troops are Pyongyang's "de facto participation in the war," said Kuninori Matsuda.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits a training base at an undisclosed location in North Korea in a photo released on Oct. 4.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 24, 2024
U.S. says North Korean troops in Russia, possibly to fight in Ukraine war
But the U.S. defense chief and other officials said that it remained to be seen what exactly the North Korean troops would be doing in Russia.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend a meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, on Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 24, 2024
China and India bury the hatchet — for now, at least
Despite the agreement to disengage, the lack of trust is palpable. We are still just one misstep from an army patrol from another dangerous flare-up.
Visitors walk past China's first nuclear missile on display at the Military Museum in Beijing.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 24, 2024
China speeds nuclear-weapons buildout, U.S. defense agency says
The Defense Intelligence Agency’s report offers the most detailed accounting yet of the country’s bid to catch up to the U.S. in an area where it lagged.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks at a news briefing following meetings with top Ukrainians officials in Kyiv on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 23, 2024
U.S. defense chief confirms North Korean troops are in Russia
The remarks follow claims by Kyiv and Seoul that Pyongyang is dispatching soldiers to fight against Ukraine.
An apartment building damaged by a Russian air strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on Oct. 1
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 23, 2024
Selling out Ukraine casts shame on the West
This war started because Moscow refuses to tolerate a successful democratic, independent neighbor, which also remains the chief impediment to ending it.
A man spreads fertilizer on a paddy field in Ilan County, Taiwan, in 2008.
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 23, 2024
Preparing for a Chinese blockade, Taiwan maps out wartime food plans
China's latest war games around the island, carried out last week, included blockading key ports and areas, and assaulting maritime and ground targets.
The Hobart-class destroyer HMAS Sydney fires an SM-6 missile during Exercise Pacific Dragon 2024 in August.
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 22, 2024
Australia to buy advanced U.S. long-range missiles to boost deterrence
The SM-2 IIIC and SM-6 missiles, similar to those being procured by Japan, will be progressively rolled out across the Royal Australian Navy’s warships.
An F-35B stealth fighter jet lands on the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Kaga helicopter carrier during a test on Sunday of the southern coast of California.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2024
F-35B fighter makes first landing on de facto aircraft carrier Kaga
The Maritime Self-Defense Force is conducting tests to determine if there are issues with such aircraft taking off from the vessel while verifying other procedures.
ASEAN leaders pose for a group photo during the 21st ASEAN-India Summit in Vientiane on Oct. 10. U.S. President Joe Biden was notably absent once again from this years ASEAN gathering.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 21, 2024
The U.S. risks irrelevance in Asia
While the Biden administration has boosted U.S. influence in the short term, the long-term outlook for Washington is one of increasing irrelevance in Asia.
A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system (THAAD) in Guam in 2023. A team of U.S. military personnel has reached Israel to prepare an advanced THAAD air defense system that the Biden administration is sending to thwart more attacks by Iran and its allies.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 21, 2024
THAAD anti-missile system is 'in place' in Israel, U.S. says
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the system is ready to be put into operation "very quickly."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said his government has intelligence that 10,000 troops from North Korea are being prepared to link up with Russian forces fighting Ukraine, warning that such a move would be “the first step to a world war.”
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 21, 2024
Zelenskyy seeks 'strong reaction' to North Korean involvement in Ukraine war
The Ukrainian leader has urged partners to take measures in response to claims Pyongyang is sending thousands of troops to fight beside Russia on the front lines.
Group of Seven defense chiefs attend the grouping's first-ever defense ministers' meeting in Naples, Italy, on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 20, 2024
G7 defense chiefs voice concern over Chinese military drills around Taiwan
The defense chiefs singled out China over a number of concerns, though their decision to emphasize Taiwan, in particular, is unlikely to go over well in Beijing.
Masami Oka
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 20, 2024
Masami Oka named first head of fighter jet international body
The announcement of the trilateral body between Japan, Britain and Italy was timed to coincide with a meeting of their defense ministers on Saturday.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 20, 2024
Japan and U.S. defense chiefs voice 'sense of crisis' amid China military moves
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also agreed to work toward bolstering their command-and-control frameworks.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (from left), U.S. President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron pose for a family photo at the Chancellery in Berlin on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 19, 2024
Biden and allies in Berlin vow no let-up in support for Ukraine
In a joint statement, the leaders "reiterated their resolve to continue supporting Ukraine in its efforts to secure a just and lasting peace."
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council meeting in Moscow on Sept. 25 where he called for changes to rules on the use of Russia's nuclear deterrent.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 18, 2024
Putin's nuclear doctrine isn't his worst threat
These kinds of signals should be seen as weapons in and of themselves, which makes it vital to distinguish between what’s real and feigned.

Longform

An ongoing shortage of rice has resulted in rising prices for Japan's main food staple.
Why Japan is running out of rice — and farmers to grow it