Tag - defense

 
 

DEFENSE

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu salutes to soldiers as he is driven along Red Square during the Victory Day military parade in central Moscow on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
May 13, 2024
Russia's Shoigu: Political survivor blamed for Ukraine setbacks
He had a decadeslong political career of unmatched longevity in post-Soviet Russia, his presence in the center of Moscow predating that of Putin himself.
Ground Self-Defense Force soldiers participate in a seminar to prevent harassment at the GSDF's Camp Asaka in Tokyo on April 16.
JAPAN / FOCUS
May 13, 2024
Japan's military needs more women. But it's still failing on harassment.
Nine months after the Defense Ministry pledged to take drastic measures, it has no plans to implement a national system for reviewing training standards.
Philippine and U.S. Marines watch as a projectile hits a target at sea during a live-fire exercise against an imaginary "invasion" force as part of the annual joint military drills, on a strip of sand dunes in Laoag on Luzon island's northwest coast, on May 6.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 11, 2024
U.S. builds web of arms, ships and bases in the Pacific to deter China
With missiles, submarines and alliances, the Biden administration has built a presence in the region to rein in Beijing’s expansionist goals.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko in Moscow on April 11.
WORLD
May 11, 2024
Satellite images reveal where Russian nukes could be stored in Belarus
A New York Times analysis shows security upgrades unique to Russian nuclear storage facilities at a Cold War-era munitions depot.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 11, 2024
Israel may have violated international law, U.S. report says
The Biden administration said Israel may have violated international law, but it won’t stop the flow of weapons and bombs to a key ally.
Israeli soldiers walk amid military vehicles near the Israel-Gaza Border, in southern Israel, on Thursday. Washington has long urged the Israeli government not to invade Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip without safeguards for civilians.
WORLD / Politics
May 10, 2024
Israel due to get more U.S. weapons despite Biden pause
A range of military equipment worth billions of dollars, some in the works since December, remain in the pipeline as a result of a slow approval process.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's Izumo helicopter carrier is docked in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, in April.
JAPAN
May 10, 2024
Japan says viral video of MSDF ship likely real, not fabricated
The Defense Ministry said it has determined that the footage was not AI-generated because details matched that of the actual Izumo helicopter carrier.
The Mogami-class frigate, which features stealth capabilities and is operated by Japan's Maritime Self-Defence Force, falls within the very broad guidelines of what is being sought by Canberra.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
May 9, 2024
Will Australia’s next frigates come from Japan?
While the competition is stiff, analysts say Japan's Mogami-class warships — or co-developed Australian variants — stand a fair chance in any bidding war.
In response to the Manila Times report, Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., the chief of staff of the Philippine Armed Forces, said that transcripts could be fabricated and audio recordings could be manufactured using deepfake tools.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 9, 2024
Philippine military chief accuses China of 'malign influence effort'
He said Beijing's claim of a secret deal to de-escalate tensions in the South China Sea is a distraction from its coast guard's aggression in the waterway.
Displaced Palestinians construct makeshift shelters in the rubble of destroyed homes after fleeing from Rafah, in central Khan Younis, Gaza, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 9, 2024
Biden warns he’d hold back more weapons if Israel invades Rafah
U.S. President Biden's warning does not signify a break with Israel, U.S. officials said, but is rather to exert as much pressure as possible.
Palestinians crowd a street as smoke billows after Israeli strikes in Rafah on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 8, 2024
U.S. paused shipment of bombs to Israel, concerned over Rafah invasion
The U.S. has not made a final decision about how to proceed with the shipment, according to the official.
Grant Shapps, U.K. defense secretary, departs following a meeting of cabinet ministers at 10 Downing Street on Nov. 22, 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 8, 2024
China seen hacking systems to build profiles of U.K. defense personnel
The U.K. is accusing China of using hacked data to build up their profiles of British military personnel and those in sensitive roles.
A commercial satellite image taken on April 29 of the Yunsong engine test site at North Korea's Sohae satellite launching station shows burned vegetation and scarring of the ground, suggesting an unannounced engine test had been conducted recently.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 8, 2024
North Korea conducted rocket engine test in April, analysis shows
The analysis suggests that Pyongyang may be gearing up for another spy satellite launch in the near future.
Economic security has evolved to include offensive measures, such as industrial policy. Countries like Japan are increasingly on-shoring strategic industries such as semiconductors, regardless of the cost.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
May 7, 2024
The shift from economic security to geoeconomics
Economic security started out as a defensive concept, but it has now been weaponized to include an offensive element, morphing into a geoeconomic tool.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (right) gives an address to the Leaders’ Plenary during the 2024 ASEAN-Australia Special Summit at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Center in Melbourne, on March 6.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 7, 2024
Australian PM Albanese calls Chinese military air incident 'unacceptable'
A Chinese fighter jet dropped flares above and ahead of an Australian helicopter above the Yellow Sea during an operation to enforce North Korea sanctions.
Beijing is quietly supporting the Kremlin’s war machine. For China, the longer the West stays distracted with the Ukraine war, the better.
COMMENTARY / World
May 7, 2024
The West is hastening its own decline
Unless it changes course, the West is likely to lose its global supremacy, including its hold on the international financial architecture.
Members of the Polish military train with the Patriot air defense system at an airport in Warsaw in February 2023.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 4, 2024
Missile defense successes fuel global urgency to acquire systems
Experts say the practical and political incentives of investing in the systems will be too hard to ignore — and intensify arms races.
A local resident visits the Lychakiv cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine, on Thursday. The U.S. is in talks with close partners to lead a group of allies that would give as much as $50 billion in aid to Ukraine.
WORLD / Politics
May 4, 2024
G7 eyes plan on U.S.-led $50 billion aid package for Ukraine
The plan is being discussed among the Group of Seven nations, with the U.S. pushing to have an agreement when G7 leaders meet in Italy in June.
From left: U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Australian defense chief Richard Marles, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro hold a joint news conference in Honolulu on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 3, 2024
With eye on China, defense chiefs agree to bolster interoperability
Although “China” was not uttered by the officials during their news conference in Hawaii, Beijing’s growing assertiveness was clearly on their minds.
Crew members check an SH-60K helicopter on the deck of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Hyuga-class destroyer JS Ise during a three-day maritime exercise between the United States and Japan in the Philippine Sea on Jan. 31.
JAPAN
May 3, 2024
MSDF chopper crash likely caused by human factors
The accident off the Pacific island of Torishima on the night of April 20 left one crew member dead and seven other still missing.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami