Tag - defense

 
 

DEFENSE

A 2015 protest against the construction of military infrastructure in Okinawa Prefecture. Many residents are also worried about the impact of a Taiwan contingency on their islands.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 4, 2024
Okinawa’s peace movement carves its own path
Many Okinawans worry about a Taiwan contingency and are angered by U.S. base relocation: Grievances that have given impetus to the islands' own diplomacy.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak deliver remarks on the AUKUS security partnership after a trilateral meeting, at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego in March last year.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 3, 2024
AUKUS eyes defense tech collaboration with Japan, report says
Japan’s involvement in the partnership would be limited to specific projects and would exclude nuclear-powered submarines.
Remember, Vladimir Putin ridiculed the idea that he would invade Ukraine, right up until he ordered close to 200,000 troops over the border.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 3, 2024
Would Putin stop if he wins in Ukraine? Let’s not find out.
Just because the Russian leader is a serial liar doesn’t prove he is being untruthful now.
Then-U.S. President Donald Trump attends the NATO summit in Watford, England, in December 2019.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 3, 2024
The Trump effect takes Europe
There is a chance that the Trump effect could leave the trans-Atlantic order stronger than it has been for a long time.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during a news conference at the Vatican on Saturday
WORLD / Politics
Mar 3, 2024
Germany caught out by leak of secret Ukraine war talks
The leak was a 38-minute audio recording of German army officers apparently discussing potential Ukrainian strikes on Crimea in a Feb. 19 videoconference.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 2, 2024
U.S. to lift ban on Osprey flights, three months after deadly Japan crash
The U.S. military will next week share its plans with Japan — the sole international partner involved in the Osprey program.
Artillery shells and primers in a self-propelled howitzer operated by Ukraine’s 80th Brigade, near Kreminna, Ukraine, in January 2023.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 2, 2024
Europe battles gunpowder shortage to supply shells for Ukraine
Hard-to-find gunpowder is hindering Europe's scramble to provide hundreds of thousands of shells to Kyiv.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 2, 2024
Japanese fighter jets and U.S. bombers train over Sea of Japan and East China Sea
The joint exercises over the two waterways were seen as a show of deterrence to both Beijing and Pyongyang.
The Cabinet has agreed to new national security legislation on sensitive government- and private-sector information that lawmakers should pass.
EDITORIALS
Mar 1, 2024
Protecting information is the key to national security
In recent years, however, that landscape has shifted and new fields are now considered essential to a country’s security and prosperity.
An MQ-9 Reaper drone stands on the runway at Naval Base Ventura County Sea Range, Point Mugu, near Oxnard, California. The Defense Ministry is considering purchasing the Reaper for intercepting foreign aircraft approaching Japanese airspace.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 1, 2024
New drone tech in spotlight as Japan eyes boosted capabilities
As Tokyo seeks to beef up its unmanned systems, inspiration could come from the latest tech displayed at this year's Singapore Airshow.
Taiwan President-elect Lai Ching-te speaks at a meeting at the presidential palace in Taipei on Feb. 22.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 1, 2024
Taiwan faces steady 'drip' of pressure as China tightens pre-inauguration squeeze
Officials in Taipei fear Beijing could further squeeze the island's room to maneuver without resorting to direct conflict.
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his annual state of the nation address in Moscow on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 1, 2024
NATO risks nuclear war if troops are sent to Ukraine, Putin warns
The Russian leader has reiterated that his country remains committed to the goals of its February 2022 invasion.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 29, 2024
Talks on easing Japan defense export rules pushed back to March
The Liberal Democratic Party and junior coalition partner Komeito failed to reach an agreement on revisions to existing restrictions on Wednesday.
North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un visits the Pyongyang General Control Center of the National Aerospace Technology Administration to inspect operational readiness of reconnaissance satellites and view aerospace photographs, in this picture released by the Korean Central News Agency on Nov. 25, 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 29, 2024
North Korea's first spy satellite is 'alive,' expert says
But the spacecraft's capabilities remain unknown despite its maneuvers suggesting Pyongyang's successful control of it.
There is a global trend toward economic bifurcation with the U.S. and China leading the charge — and multinational solutions are needed to address the new challenges.
COMMENTARY
Feb 28, 2024
The inexorable movement toward a divided global economy
Efforts to protect national economies from threats require multinational solutions. Chains are only as strong as their weakest link.
A plan is being considered to transfer residents and tourists from the Sakishima islands via Kagoshima and Fukuoka airports in the event of a Taiwan contingency.
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2024
Japan mulls Taiwan contingency evacuation routes for remote islands
The envisioned evacuation plans will be drawn up by prefectural governments in fiscal 2024.
French President Emmanuel Macron's comments fitted with his reputation as a diplomatic disruptor who likes to break taboos and challenge conventional thinking.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 28, 2024
Macron's Ukraine troop talk shakes up NATO allies
The French president's idea of possibly sending troops to Ukraine was so ambiguous that he sparked confusion and irritation among some allies.
Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson receives information that Hungary's parliament has voted yes to ratify Sweden's NATO accession, at the government headquarters in Stockholm on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 27, 2024
The NATO welcoming Sweden is larger and more determined
The alliance's expansion was a consequence from the invasion of Ukraine that Russian President Vladimir Putin may not have calculated.
French President Emmanuel Macron  invited his European counterparts to the Elysee palace for a hastily arranged meeting to discuss how to ramp up ammunition supplies to Ukraine.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 27, 2024
France's Macron doesn't rule out Europeans sending troops to Ukraine
The French President also cautioned that there was no consensus at this stage as allies agreed to ramp up efforts to deliver more munitions to Kyiv.
Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson speaks during a news conference in Stockholm on Monday after Hungary's parliament voted yes to ratify Sweden's NATO accession.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 27, 2024
Sweden clears final hurdle to join NATO as Hungary approves accession
Hungary's vote ended months of delays to complete Sweden's security policy shift amid concerns over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past