Tag - defense

 
 

DEFENSE

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' announcement is believed to be part of a push by Japan as it vies with Germany for a lucrative contract to build new Mogami-class frigates for Australia.
JAPAN
Feb 26, 2025
MHI to ramp up Australian business activities with eye on frigate contract
The expansion is seen as a push by Japan to improve its chances of securing a winning bid over Germany to supply the Australian Navy with seven to 11 warships.
The People's Liberation Army Navy's Jiangkai-class frigate Hengyang, part of a flotilla sailing inside Australia's exclusive economic zone on Wednesday, is seen at an undisclosed location in this image taken on Feb. 11.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 26, 2025
'Provocative' Chinese warship near Australia puts Japan on notice
Canberra surmised that China's military moves were intended to “shape the responses of those in the region and observe and learn from our reactions.”
Canada's Liberal Party leadership candidates gather for a debate ahead of the March 9 vote to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in Montreal on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 26, 2025
U.S. threats mean Canada must bolster military, candidates say
The four candidates sparred over how fast Canada can realistically roll out the billions of dollars needed to reach the NATO threshold of 2% GDP.
A Chinese H-6 bomber flies between Okinawa’s main island and Miyako Island in October 2013. Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe warned that Japan must strengthen its defenses in case of a Taiwan contingency.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 26, 2025
As Ukraine endgame intensifies, don’t forget Taiwan
The scale of China’s air and naval exercises around Taiwan has grown from fewer than a dozen planes and ships a few years ago to over 250 in the December exercise alone.
French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. President Donald Trump meet at the White House on Monday. The French leader has been forced to appease Trump knowing Europe is unprepared to defend itself without U.S. support.
COMMENTARY
Feb 26, 2025
America is turning its alliances into a protection racket
Trump has no compunction in using his leverage as a global security provider for extortion of allies.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a statement on defense spending on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 26, 2025
Trump’s threats push U.K.'s Starmer into a more global, military agenda
U.S. President Donald Trump's apparent refusal for the U.S. to be the final guarantor of security in Europe has prompted the prime minister to act.
The Togolese-registered ship Hongtai in Penghu, Taiwan. Taiwan detained a Chinese-crewed cargo ship after a subsea telecoms cable was severed off the island, the coast guard said.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 25, 2025
Taiwan detains Chinese-crewed ship after subsea cable cut
It is the latest in a series of Taiwanese undersea cable breakages, with previous incidents blamed on natural causes or Chinese ships.
Amid rising global defense spending, U.S. President Donald Trump's push for 5% of GDP on military budgets poses a challenge for American allies, including Japan, which is already struggling to meet its 2% target.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 25, 2025
U.S. defense spending demands could transform global security
The level of spending the U.S. is demanding could spark an arms race as adversaries try to match NATO and America's Asian allies.
U.S. President Donald Trump's approach to ending Russia’s war in Ukraine appears to prioritize re-establishing U.S.-Russia relations over securing a fair settlement for Ukraine.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 25, 2025
Ukraine is just a pawn in a Russian reset
Donald Trump's approach makes U.S. actions more logical, but no less shameful.
Sailors on board the Royal Australian Navy ship HMAS Arunta observe the People's Liberation Army Navy Fuchi-class replenishment vessel and Weishanhu Jiangkai-class frigate Hengyang in the Tasman Sea. Australia's foreign minister voiced concern on Friday over live-fire drills conducted by three Chinese warships sailing off the country's east coast.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 25, 2025
Chinese navy drill in Tasman Sea forced 49 flights to change paths
Authorities had been alerted to the rare live-fire exercise in international waters by an airline pilot, the head of Australia's air traffic control agency says.
The logo of Rheinmetall is displayed at the Eurosatory international defense and security trade fair in Villepinte, near Paris, in June 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 25, 2025
Rheinmetall to convert German factories to make defense equipment
The move by Europe's top ammunition maker to repurpose two automotive plants highlights the impact of an expected surge in spending in the region.
Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro assists Defense Minister Gen Nakatani as he signs a guest book prior to their bilateral meeting at a hotel in Manila on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 24, 2025
Japan and Philippines to establish high-level defense gear framework
The two sides also agreed to establish a “strategic dialogue” between the Self-Defense Forces and the Philippine Armed Forces to deepen operational collaboration.
Terumi Tanaka, co-chair of the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize-winning Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, urged the country to take the lead in preventing nuclear weapons from being used for a third time.
JAPAN
Feb 24, 2025
Hidankyo leader regrets Japan's dodging of upcoming nuclear ban meet
The meeting of signatories to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is set to be held in New York in March.
As more countries gain global influence, disagreements over the future world order are making cooperation harder, especially between democracies and autocracies.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 23, 2025
The age of multipolarization
The shift to a multipolar world has been accompanied by deepening polarization within and between countries.
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles listens during an AUKUS meeting in London on Sept. 26, 2024.
WORLD
Feb 23, 2025
New Zealand says China navy held another live-fire drill in international waters
Similar drills a day earlier had forced airlines in the area to divert some flights.
A makeshift memorial for Ukrainian soldiers who died fighting invading Russian forces and the Monument to Independence in Kyiv on Feb. 14
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 23, 2025
Ukraine can survive with the ‘least worst’ peace deal
Clearly the main issue and unfortunately it looks like Trump’s idea of ending the war fast means doing very little for the people who were actually invaded.
U.S. Marines during training in Okinawa last month.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 22, 2025
U.S. Marines start to leave Japan, decades behind schedule
The U.S. base on Okinawa has relocated 105 Marines. But an agreement to move 9,000 in total is colliding with the perceived threat from a rising China.
Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky speaks during an interview at the Ukrainian Embassy in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 21, 2025
As Ukraine rift emerges, Kyiv's envoy says Japan must take on bigger global role
The remarks by Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky came amid what appears to be a dramatic reversal in years of U.S. support for Ukraine since Russia's invasion.
Polish military vehicles are transported during NATO exercises in Klusy, Poland, in November 2022.
WORLD
Feb 20, 2025
On NATO's eastern flank, U.S. policy shift stokes security fears
Some in Poland fear that Russian President Vladimir Putin will feel emboldened to invade more countries.
Nihon Hidankyo co-chair Toshiyuki Mimaki (left) meets Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito (right) in Kitahiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture, in December.
JAPAN
Feb 19, 2025
Japan not to attend meeting on nuclear ban treaty for third time
The decision may draw criticism from many members of the public and Komeito, with both calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons.

Longform

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