All posts tagged "Defence"

Following former US president Donald Trump's victory in the first Republican primary, German politicians have called on the government to prepare for the possibility of another Trump term in office. "The German government can no longer ignore domestic political developments in the United States. The US is too important a partner for that," Jürgen Hardt, a senior lawmaker from the conservative CDU/CSU opposition bloc, told dpa on Tuesday. Although many Iowa Republicans did not vote for Trump, Hardt said it is nonetheless "high time to prepare for a president Trump." Trump's bellicose rhetoric d......

Washington (AFP) - In the middle of the Pacific ocean, an abandoned US airfield once key to dropping the nuclear bomb on Japan -- and nearly lost to history amid encroaching forest -- is being revived. But as the Americans hack away at the jungle overgrowth at Tinian island airfield and other old, World War II-era bases across the region, it won't be with Japan on their mind. Rather, it's Beijing's growing influence in the Pacific that is spurring the recovery of a slew of abandoned runways on the 40 square-mile (100 square-kilometer) speck of land that makes up Tinian, part of the US territor......

Brisbane (Australia) (AFP) - Washington will seek to bolster its shrinking weapons stockpiles by helping Australia develop a missile manufacturing and exporting industry, top officials said Saturday after high-level talks between the two countries.  Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles announced the project after meetings in Brisbane with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin.   "We hope to see manufacturing of missiles commenced in Australia in two years' time," Marles told reporters, hailing the initiative as a boost to his country's defence and industria......

Danang (Vietnam) (AFP) - A US aircraft carrier arrived in the central Vietnamese city of Danang on Sunday, AFP journalists saw, weeks after Hanoi protested against Chinese vessels sailing in its waters. The USS Ronald Reagan's port call in Danang comes as the US and Vietnam celebrate the 10th anniversary of their "comprehensive partnership", with the two countries sharing increasingly close trade links, as well as concerns over China's growing strength in the region. A Chinese survey vessel, multiple coast guard ships and fishing boats operated for several weeks in Vietnam's exclusive economic......

Singapore (AFP) - China's defence minister warned Sunday against establishing NATO-like military alliances in the Asia-Pacific, saying they would plunge the region into a "whirlpool" of conflict. Li Shangfu's comments came a day after US and Chinese military vessels sailed close to each other in the flashpoint Taiwan Strait, an incident that provoked anger from both sides. "Attempts to push for NATO-like (alliances) in the Asia-Pacific is a way of kidnapping regional countries and exaggerating conflicts and confrontations," Li told a security conference in Singapore also attended by US Defense......

Beijing (AFP) - China's live-fire drills around Taiwan –- which saw vessels encircle the democratically ruled island –- have offered an unprecedented insight into how Beijing may conduct a military campaign against its neighbour. Beijing has also imposed economic sanctions and increased efforts to isolate Taiwan on the international stage, in a move that experts say will permanently alter the status quo on the Taiwan Strait. AFP looks at what we learned from China's largest-ever military exercise around Taiwan, which was conducted in retaliation to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the ......