Tag - defense

 
 

DEFENSE

The Ground Self-Defense Force's Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade takes part in a military drill on the uninhabited Irisuna island in Okinawa Prefecture, close to the prefecture's main island, in November. Japan's defense-related spending for fiscal 2024 is expanding to 1.6% of its gross domestic product.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 29, 2024
Japan ups defense spending to 1.6% of GDP with eye on 2027 goal
The budget edges closer to the 2% of GDP standard that many Western nations have targeted, which Tokyo aims to achieve by 2027.
Ukrainian servicemen rest at a side of a road leading toward the Ocheretyne area in the Donetsk region on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 29, 2024
Ukraine warns of 'worsened' front as Russia claims fresh gains
Russian troops are advancing in the eastern Donetsk region even as Kyiv awaits the arrival of much-needed U.S. weapons.
The U.S. should use diplomacy to achieve a cease-fire in Ukraine as a prolonged conflict could reshape global power dynamics and strengthen China.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 28, 2024
Biden's focus on Ukraine risks Indo-Pacific security
The U.S. should use diplomacy to achieve a cease-fire in Ukraine, as a prolonged conflict could reshape global power dynamics and strengthen China.
Palestinian children stand amid the debris of a house destroyed by overnight Israeli bombardment in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 28, 2024
Some U.S. officials say Israel may be violating international law in Gaza
A joint submission from four U.S. bureaus raised "serious concern over non-compliance" with international humanitarian law.
U.S. soldiers from the Eighth Army participate in a competition at the Rodriguez Live Fire Complex in Pocheon, South Korea, on April 19.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 27, 2024
U.S., South Korea outline visions for cost-sharing on troops
The allies named envoys last month to launch early talks for a new deal to take effect in 2026.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara said he has instructed his ministry to investigate whether or not there have been any further incidents.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 26, 2024
Five senior SDF officers punished for mishandling secret info
They passed on secret information to personnel within their units who were not cleared to handle such data.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Friday
WORLD / Politics
Apr 26, 2024
Top U.S. and China diplomats talk tough amid warnings of new ‘downward spiral’
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi did not mince words when addressing a raft of contentious topics, including trade, Ukraine and Taiwan.
U.S. President Joe Biden gives a speech after signing into law a bill providing billions of dollars of new military aid to Ukraine at the White House on Wednesday.
EDITORIALS
Apr 26, 2024
Passing of U.S. aid package is a win for global peace
The aid for Ukraine is critical: Its military has been running short of ammunition and Russia has been exploiting its advantage to make battlefield gains.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara (third from left) attends a ceremony last month for the Ground Self-Defense Force's systems communications and cyber school.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 26, 2024
The glitch in Japan's plans to bolster U.S. defense
Japan has suffered high-profile hacks in recent years that have elevated concerns over whether Tokyo can fully support its security partners.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the Kim Il Sung Military University in Pyongyang on Thursday, to mark the 92nd anniversary of the founding of the country's army.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 26, 2024
Kim Jong Un tests new rockets that could boost ability to hit Seoul
The test of a 240-millimeter multiple rocket launcher is the second this year reported by state media.
The Oresundsverket natural gas-fired power plant, operated by Uniper, in Malmo, Sweden
WORLD / Politics
Apr 26, 2024
Sweden plans for worst-case scenario: War spreading in Europe
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has prompted Sweden to prepare for any possible contingency, including war coming to Europe.
A ship, identified by the Royal United Services Institute as the North Korean registered cargo ship Angara, is seen docked alongside a larger vessel at the Zhoushan Xinya Shipbuilding Co. wharf in Zhoushan, China, in February.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 25, 2024
Images show China harboring ship tied to Russian arms transfers
Satellite images show China is docking a ship that has moved containers believed to be full of North Korean munitions around Russia.
When comparing Ukraine’s military situation in 2024 to Europe’s in 1941, Russia’s defeat seems entirely possible.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 25, 2024
Ukraine is far from doomed
When comparing Ukraine’s situation in 2024 to Europe’s in 1941, Russia’s defeat seems entirely possible.
Palestinian women in Gaza sit amid the rubble of a residential building they once lived in, which was destroyed by an Israeli raid earlier this month.
COMMENTARY
Apr 25, 2024
Biden must prove he doesn't have a double standard for Israel
If the U.S. wants to convince the world that it doesn't have a double standard, it should condition military aid to Israel on its use of American weapons.
The Pentagon initially opposed the long-range missile deployment, fearing the loss of the missiles from the American stockpile would hurt U.S. military readiness.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 25, 2024
The U.S. quietly shipped long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine
Long-range missiles from a $300 million military aid package the U.S. approved on March 12 have already been used twice in Ukraine.
People backing Ukraine gather outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Tuesday. The Senate on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to approve a long-stalled $95 billion package of aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 24, 2024
Congress passes Ukraine aid bill in boost to Kyiv — and Taipei — after long delay
The package, which had been delayed amid objections from Republican hard-liners, could be signed into law as soon as this week.
A crew member walks past an SH-60K helicopter on the deck of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Hyuga-class Ise helicopter carrier during a joint exercise between the U.S. and Japan in the Philippine Sea on Jan. 31.
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2024
U.S. military and MSDF ocean observation ship to join hunt for crashed helicopters
The search effort is ramping up as officials work to narrow down the cause of the deadly crash.
Missiles are launched during a simulated nuclear counterattack drill at an undisclosed location in North Korea in this image released Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 23, 2024
North Korea holds first 'nuclear trigger' drills as U.S. and South set for cost-sharing talks
Pyongyang said the exercises, which came ahead of U.S.-South Korea talks on cost-sharing for hosting troops, were “a clear warning” to the North's enemies.
An employee prepares to place a mortar into a box at an arms production facility in an undisclosed location in Ukraine.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Apr 23, 2024
Cash shortages and attacks take toll on Ukraine's growing arms sector
Firms are struggling to fund production and secure long-term deals, and all are concerned about being targeted in intensifying Russian missile strikes.
A volunteer sits near a Starlink terminal constructed for local residents at a street in Kherson, Ukraine, in November 2022.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Apr 23, 2024
Starlink highlights economic security challenges facing democracies
The system has stirred a variety of debates over the issue of military application of civil technology.

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Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.