Tag - defense

 
 

DEFENSE

Google's vow to not use AI for weapons or surveillance have been removed from its guidelines.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 5, 2025
Google pledge against using AI for weapons vanishes
The revised principles were posted just weeks after Google chief executive Sundar Pichai attended the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Norwegian soldiers and U.S. Marines work together during a military exercise in Finnmark, Norway, on March 10, 2024.
WORLD
Feb 3, 2025
NATO scrambles for drones that can survive the Arctic
Governments in the world's far north are seeking to overcome the challenge of flying drones in cold, icy weather as the region comes into the geopolitical spotlight.
A map of the South China Sea is shown during a Philippine Coast Guard mission to the Second Thomas Shoal, claimed by both the Philippines and China. Each country has its own name for this area, signaling the use of toponyms to stake territorial rights.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 3, 2025
What’s in a name? In the South China Sea, a whole lot.
In the South China Sea, disputed territories have been given different names by the states vying for them. Will Trump's moves thousands of miles away validate this approach?
Olaf Scholz beside a Lockheed Martin F-35 jet.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 1, 2025
Germany rethinks separation of civilian and military research
The debate centers on civil clauses — widely used policies at major research institutions that restrict collaboration with the defense industry.
Tupolev Tu-95MS strategic bombers perform a flypast during the victory day parade in Moscow in June 2020.
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2025
Japan scrambles jets as Russian bombers fly over high seas
Russia reportedly announced that its long-range strategic bombers flew over international waters in the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk.
A concept model of the Global Combat Air Program's fighter jet is displayed at the DSEI Japan defense show at Makuhari Messe in the city of Chiba in March 2023.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jan 31, 2025
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss bringing Saudi Arabia into jet project
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said Italy is in favor of Saudi Arabia joining the joint development of a new sixth-generation fighter jet.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani speaks to reporters at the parliamentary building on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 31, 2025
Top U.S. and Japan defense officials agree to beef up military ties
The newly appointed U.S. Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, confirmed that the U.S.-Japan defense treaty covers the uninhabited Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin during a joint news conference in Helsinki on July 16, 2018
WORLD / Politics
Jan 30, 2025
Analysts are skeptical about U.S. and Russia's nuclear talks
Moscow, in particular, seems to have no interest in reducing its arsenal of nuclear warheads as its invasion of Ukraine enters its fourth year next month.
A U.S. Marine provides water to Afghan families during the evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul in August 2021.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 30, 2025
Abandoning Afghans who worked with us troops is shameful
The urgency is driven by a simple fact: The Afghans who helped us, along with their family members, are considered traitors by the ruling Taliban.
China-backed hackers are increasingly targeting critical U.S. infrastructure, including energy grids, telecom networks and government agencies.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 30, 2025
Trump’s bigger China cyber threat isn’t TikTok
China-backed hackers are infiltrating U.S. critical infrastructure, telecom networks and government systems, exposing vulnerabilities that demand stronger cybersecurity measures.
With China's growing military threat against Taiwan, experts argue that real deterrence — such as increased training ties with Japan, the U.S. and other nations — may be necessary to prevent an invasion and protect regional stability.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 29, 2025
How to secure Taiwan as drumbeats of a looming invasion grow louder
It is high time to get creative for real deterrence to protect the democratic island.
With Donald Trump's second term as U.S. president, Japan faces a new era in its relationship with the United States, requiring a shift from values-based diplomacy to a transactional approach.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 28, 2025
New era for U.S.-Japan depends on adapting to Trump’s America
The next four years will be more consequential and transactional for leaders in Tokyo as the Trump administration puts America first.
Hanna Shelest outside her apartment building in Odesa, Ukraine, on Jan. 20
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 27, 2025
I spent Trump’s inauguration in Ukraine. This is what I saw.
In nearly three years since Russia’s invasion, Odesa has moved from shock and fear to denial and, finally, adaptation.
Turkish warships sail during a naval parade in Istanbul in 2023.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 27, 2025
Turkey bets on naval clout for edge in high-seas power play
The introduction of new naval vessels is part of a mission to diversify a booming domestic defense industry.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance (left) swears in Pete Hegseth (center) as U.S. secretary of defense during a ceremony in Washington on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 26, 2025
New U.S. defense chief pledges to work with allies in message to Pentagon
Pete Hegseth appeared to try and dispel concerns in allied capitals that the U.S. could again see a more transactional approach to foreign policy under President Donald Trump.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observes a test of what state-run media said was a strategic cruise missile at an undisclosed location in this image released Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 26, 2025
North Korea tests 'strategic' cruise missiles as it lashes out at U.S. and South Korea
The test of the weapons, believed to be nuclear-capable, were the first since U.S. President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration.
Taeko Oshioka, a member of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo) looks for visitors to sign a petition to call on the Japanese government to sign and ratify the Treaty of the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, in front of the preserved Atomic Bomb Dome in the city of Hiroshima last October.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 26, 2025
Japan rules out participating in nuke ban treaty meeting as observer
Instead, the country is considering sending lawmakers from the ruling bloc to the meeting, officials have said.
Pete Hegseth, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for defense secretary, testifies during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill on Jan. 14 Washington. U.S. Vice President JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote to confirm Hegseth, a former Fox News personality, as U.S. defense chief late Friday — despite allegations of alcohol abuse, sexual misconduct and other concerns about his qualifications to lead the Pentagon.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 25, 2025
Pete Hegseth confirmed in knife-edge vote to be new U.S. defense chief
In a mostly party-line result that saw no Democrats vote for Hegseth, three Republicans — including former GOP leader Mitch McConnell — also voted no.
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the State Department in Washington on Tuesday
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 24, 2025
Japan's foreign minister vows to take ties with U.S. to new heights
The minister said he will work to take the two countries' cooperation to new heights by building a strong relationship of trust with the Trump administration.
Supporters of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol protest in Seoul on Tuesday. The previous leaders of the U.S. and Japan, along with Yoon, focused on strengthening alliances and regional stability through cooperation whereas newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump’s approach to foreign policy may prioritize transactional relationships.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 24, 2025
Japan and South Korea were stable U.S. allies. Not anymore.
Political paralysis in the U.S., Japan and South Korea has left a leadership vacuum in the Indo-Pacific.

Longform

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