Tag - defense

 
 

DEFENSE

A Chinese Navy ship heads northeast in the Tsushima Strait about 130 kilometers southwest of Tsushima, Nagasaki Prefecture, on Saturday.
JAPAN
Sep 10, 2024
Chinese ships enter Sea of Japan ahead of military drills with Russia
Local media in Japan suggested the Chinese ships were on their way to drills with Russia announced by Beijing on Monday.
While there are similarities between the geopolitical competition involving the U.S. and the former Soviet Union, such as global rivalry and ideological divisions, key differences suggest the situation with China does not constitute a new Cold War.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 10, 2024
A new ‘Cold War’ with China might be the best hope for the future
The current situation is often described as "a new great game," a world in which our time and challenges result from the stirring of old empires.
A Ukrainian military sapper places red flags next to a part of a Russian cluster bomb while demining a field in the Kherson region of Ukraine on April 4.
WORLD
Sep 10, 2024
Cluster bombs have killed or wounded over 1,000 in Ukraine since 2022
Cluster munitions can be dropped from planes or fired from artillery before exploding in midair and scattering bomblets over a wide area.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un used a speech Monday marking the 76th anniversary of his country's founding to reiterate a pledge to exponentially increase the number of nuclear weapons Pyongyang possesses.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 10, 2024
North Korea's Kim says 'no limit' on number of nukes country builds
The policy is a response to the “grave threat” posed by an expanding U.S.-led “nuclear-based military bloc” surrounding his country, he said.
A law enforcement officer stands guard in front of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kyiv on May 15.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 10, 2024
Ukraine summons Iranian diplomat as Tehran denies missile transfer to Russia
CNN and the Wall Street Journal reported last week, citing unidentified sources, that Iran had transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia.
While nuclear weapons are difficult to use without catastrophic consequences, Vladimir Putin’s rhetoric aims to frighten Ukraine's allies into halting arms support.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 9, 2024
How to read Putin’s next nuclear threat
Historical analogies show that nuclear threats rarely succeed, but Russia’s signals of desperation should not be ignored.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits O Jin U Artillery Academy in the country on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 9, 2024
After U.S.-South Korea nuclear drills, North girds for ‘long-term’ faceoff
Pyongyang vows to take “practical measures” after accusing Washington and Seoul of deploying nuclear-capable assets to the region and staging drills.
U.K. Ambassador to Japan Julia Longbottom says the Indo-Pacific region offers a unique opportunity to not only tackle shared security concerns but also to generate new sources of economic growth.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 9, 2024
U.K. envoy to Japan pushes back on Indo-Pacific disengagement concerns
The region — and Japan — remain “critical" to Britain's interests, Ambassador Julia Longbottom told The Japan Times.
U.S. agencies and Congress are increasing scrutiny of China's influence and technology transfers at American universities, fearing Beijing exploits open research to bypass export controls and national security laws.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 8, 2024
Georgia Tech to end China partnerships following concerns over military ties
In May, U.S. lawmakers wrote a letter to Georgia Tech asking for details on its research with China's Tianjin University on cutting-edge semiconductor technologies.
A Mid-Range Capability, or Typhon, launcher with the 1st Multi-Domain Task Force arrives in the Philippines on April 8, in the capability’s first deployment to the Indo-Pacific region.
JAPAN
Sep 7, 2024
U.S. eyeing midrange missiles in Japan for drills, U.S. Army secretary says
U.S. Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said deploying the unit that hosts the missile system had been discussed during her visit to Japan last month.
Gabon President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema waves as he arrives at Beijing Capital International Airport ahead of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing on Sep. 1.
WORLD
Sep 7, 2024
U.S. pitches deal to thwart Chinese military base in Africa
The U.S. is assembling an economic and security assistance package for Gabon in a bid to prevent China from establishing a military footprint there.
Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara (left), Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong (center left), Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa (center right) and Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles gather for their two-plus-two meeting in Queenscliff, Australia, on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 5, 2024
Japan and Australia look to closer cooperation to deter China
The quasi-allies have committed to coordinate their national security policies “more closely than ever before.”
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's US-2 amphibious plane
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2024
Japan to continue production of MSDF US-2 amphibious plane
The Defense Ministry has sought ¥21.9 billion ($150 million) for the acquisition of one US-2 aircraft in its fiscal 2025 budget request.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning has said that Chinese ships passing through the Tokara Strait are exercising the right of transit passage, "which is completely legitimate and legal."
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2024
China says its military ships going through Tokara Strait have right of transit
The sailing was part of a series of recent moves by the Chinese military near Japan that Tokyo has said are “cause for concern.”
Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy arrives to attend a Cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street in London on Aug. 6. Lammy said the decision to suspend the licenses did not amount to a blanket ban or an arms embargo, but only involved those that could be used in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 3, 2024
U.K. suspends 30 of its 350 arms export licenses to Israel
The suspension is due to the risk such equipment might be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law, its foreign minister David Lammy says.
A satellite image shows what is believed to be a deployment site for a Russian nuclear-powered cruise missile, including five nuclear warhead storage bunkers (right) and bermed launch positions (lower left), in Vologda, Russia.
WORLD
Sep 3, 2024
U.S. researchers find probable launch site of Russia's new nuclear-powered missile
Russia's Vladimir Putin has said the weapon — dubbed the SSC-X-9 Skyfall by NATO — has an almost unlimited range and can evade U.S. missile defenses.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's Aegis destroyer Chokai
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2024
Japan to add Tomahawk launch function to Aegis destroyer Chokai
Deployed at the MSDF's Sasebo base in Nagasaki Prefecture, the Chokai will be the first Japanese Aegis destroyer equipped with a counterstrike capability.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to the media in front of an F-16 fighter at an undisclosed location in Ukraine on Aug. 4.
WORLD
Sep 1, 2024
Ukraine's Zelenskyy presses U.S. to green light deeper strikes into Russia
Washington has provided Ukraine with more than $50 billion worth of military aid since 2022, but has limited the use of its weapons.
A Chinese Navy Shupang-class survey ship
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2024
Tokyo protests after Chinese Navy ship enters Japanese territorial waters
The move came just days after Japan strongly protested the first entry into its airspace by a Chinese military aircraft.
Members of the Ground Self-Defense Force hold a live-fire exercise at the GSDF's training grounds in the East Fuji Maneuver Area in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, in May. Japan's Defense Ministry is seeking another record-breaking budget for fiscal 2025.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 30, 2024
Japan seeks another record-breaking defense budget for fiscal 2025
The request by the Defense Ministry is expected to send a clear message to both its allies and adversaries.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?