Tag - military

 
 

MILITARY

Ukrainian officials inspect a Russian cruise missile shot down near Kyiv in January 2023.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 5, 2024
U.S. preeminence is threatened by a real 'missile gap'
The U.S. isn’t just being tested politically. Its military dominance also is in question, partly due to overextension.
Kim Yung-ho
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 6, 2024
South Korean official says U.S. troops likely to stay even if Trump is re-elected
Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho said this was the case because the U.S. Congress had already decided the matter in a defense bill it recently passed.
Critics — including a number of reporters in the Pentagon press corps — slammed the decision not to release information that U.S. Secretary of State Lloyd Austin was ill until Friday, five days after he was hospitalized.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 6, 2024
Pentagon keeps defense chief's hospitalization under wraps for days
The news — which was released five days after Lloyd Austin was hospitalized — emerged as Washington faces a growing crisis in the Middle East.
Containers of Danish shipping and logistics company Maersk are seen in Copenhagen in September.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 1, 2024
U.S. sinks three ships and kills 10 after Houthi Red Sea attack
The naval battle occurred Sunday as the attackers sought to board the Singapore-flagged Maersk Hangzhou, Maersk and U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III in 2021. The U.S. military carried out strikes on three sites used by Iran-backed forces in Iraq on Dec. 25 after an attack wounded American personnel earlier that day, Austin has said.
WORLD
Dec 26, 2023
U.S. launches strikes on Iran-backed militants in Iraq after attack
The report comes amid fears of broader conflict in the region, the same day an Israeli air strike in Syria was said to have killed an Iranian commander.
A woman holding an umbrella walks near a fluttering Taiwanese flag outside the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall in Taipei in November.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Dec 25, 2023
What’s at stake in Taiwan’s January presidential election?
Depending on the outcome, the closely watched vote could have markedly different security and economic implications for the entire region.
A Houthi fighter stands on the Galaxy Leader cargo ship in the Red Sea in a photo released Nov. 20.
WORLD
Dec 23, 2023
U.S. says Red Sea patrol will be able to thwart Houthi attacks
The force will patrol "the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to respond to and assist as necessary commercial vessels,” Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said.
Some analysts say China seeks ambiguity in defense relations to constrain what Beijing sees as U.S. military provocations in the region.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 22, 2023
U.S. and China top brass speak for first time in over a year
U.S. Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown and Gen. Liu Zhenli of China's People's Liberation Army touched on "a number of global and regional security issues."
A mobile missile launcher awaits the order to fire a Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile from an undisclosed location in North Korea in this undated picture released Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 19, 2023
Japan, South Korea, U.S. begin sharing real-time data on North Korean missiles
The data-sharing system was activated as Pyongyang confirmed that it tested a solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile a day earlier.
A group of 79 soldiers at the U.S. Army’s jungle training school prepare to enter a river on the Hawaiian island of Oahu on Nov. 29. Far from the deserts of the Middle East, the Army is instructing troops in Hawaii on the skills needed for a potential clash with China.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 16, 2023
U.S. military returns to the jungle, training for future threats
Far from the deserts of the Middle East, the Army is instructing troops in Hawaii on the skills needed for a potential clash with China.
U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2023
Henoko base relocation project enters new phase in Okinawa
The project to relocate a U.S. military base to the Henoko coastal area is entering a new phase five years after land reclamation began there.
U.S. President Joe Biden hugs Brittany Alkonis, wife of Lt. Ridge Alkonis, on the day of the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in Washington on Feb. 7.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 15, 2023
U.S. Navy officer jailed in Japan transferred to U.S. custody
Lt. Ridge Alkonis has been serving a three-year prison term since being convicted of negligent driving over a fatal car crash.
Construction work is conducted in the Henoko coastal area in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, on Thursday.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2023
Okinawa promotion spending to fall to ¥267.8 billion in fiscal 2024
The outlay would stand below ¥300 billion for the third successive year, according to a government estimate.
A law requires the Pentagon to inform Congress and extensively justify any program when costs exceed the original estimate by 15%, 25% or as much as 50% depending on the categories measured.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 15, 2023
New U.S. ballistic missile costs risk project termination
A U.S. Air Force review will take about 45 days before a determination is made as to whether the ICBM program exceeds congressional cost thresholds.
A Ground Self-Defense Force V-22 Osprey aircraft takes part in a live-fire exercise at the East Fuji Maneuver Area in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, in May.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 13, 2023
U.S. and Japan defense chiefs call Osprey safety 'top priority'
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara asked that the U.S. military not resume Osprey flights until the aircraft's safety could be ensured.
A China Coast Guard vessel uses a water cannon against a Philippine supply boat as it carries out a mission to deliver provisions to the Second Thomas Shoal in the disputed South China Sea on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 11, 2023
Manila summons Chinese envoy after tense weekend in South China Sea
The moves came after the Philippines said one of its vessels was rammed and others "directly targeted” by a China Coast Guard ship with a water cannon.
A U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter jet on display at the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, Paris, in June.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 11, 2023
U.S. F-16 crashes into sea off South Korea after in-flight problem
The plane crashed into the sea after it experienced "an in-flight emergency over the Yellow Sea.” The pilot ejected the jet and is in good condition.
Ground Self-Defense Force personnel take part in a military drill involving a V-22 Osprey aircraft in June 2022.
EDITORIALS
Dec 8, 2023
The Osprey crash has lessons for the U.S.-Japan alliance
The U.S. and Japan bungled the initial response to the crash of an Osprey aircraft in Japan. Both must learn to improve communication in the future.
Spectators watch as a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off with a payload of 21 Starlink satellites from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Feb. 27.
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 7, 2023
Starlink arctic test paves way for U.S. government contracts
Smooth performance under extreme conditions makes satellite service a crucial asset in an increasingly vital area of competition with Russia and China.
U.S. military Ospreys and helicopters are lined up on a runway at the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, on Dec. 1
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 7, 2023
U.S. military grounds all Osprey aircraft after Japan crash
A preliminary investigation into the crash last week indicated that problems with the aircraft — not a mistake by the crew — had led to the deaths.

Longform

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals