TAIPEI: The Philippine president’s proposed cancellation of a 32-year-old military pact with the United States gives regional power China chances to strengthen its influence in Asia as U.S. military units would visit less often. Chinese naval ships, military aircraft and coast guard-escorted fishing vessels would find it easier to move around the disputed South China […]

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday traded barbs with European leaders over diminishing Western influence, rejecting as “grossly over-exaggerated” their claims that Washington had retreated from the global stage. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Pompeo sought to assuage European anxiety over the transatlantic bond under an unpredictable President Donald Trump, saying: “The […]

Global spending on defence rose by four percent in 2019, the largest growth in 10 years, led by big increases from the US and China, a study said Friday. Beijing’s military modernization program — which includes developing new hard-to-detect hypersonic missiles — is alarming Washington and helping drive US defence spending, the International Institute for […]

U.S. senators are concerned Russia and China may outpace Washington in developing hypersonic weapons. In a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Thursday with top defense officials, lawmakers expressed concern about the weapons that fly at five times the speed of sound, or Mach 5. Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut called the hypersonic weapons “a […]

A keel laying ceremony was held Feb. 12 for the future USNS Cherokee Nation (T-ATS 7), the second ship of the Navy’s Navajo class of Towing, Salvage, and Rescue vessels. The ceremony was held near Gulf Island Shipyard at the Houma Terrebonne Civic Center. The keel laying ceremony formally marks the start of a ship’s […]

The United States is starting to change its force posture in Africa, announcing it is bringing home part of an infantry brigade and replacing them with specialized military trainers. Pentagon officials described the move as “the first of many” that will impact the way the U.S. military operates on the continent, as it shifts its […]

Washington: US President Donald Trump dismissed concerns Wednesday about the Philippines canceling a major military accord, saying the decision would save Americans money. The 1998 Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) created a legal framework for the presence of US troops in the Philippines and for organizing joint military exercises. Manila announced its decision Tuesday — a […]

GENEVA: Outraged commentators warned Wednesday that revelations the CIA and Germany’s intelligence service had for decades used a Swiss encryption company for spying had seriously damaged Switzerland’s cherished reputation for neutrality. Critics voiced particular concern that Bern may have been at least tacitly complicit in the secret operation. Switzerland, which takes pride in its neutral […]

Scientists from around the world are reviewing how the novel coronavirus is transmitted and possible vaccines at a World Health Organization conference that kicked off on Tuesday. “What matters most is stopping the outbreak and saving lives. With your support, that’s what we can do together,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at the two-day […]

WASHINGTON: The United States has indicted four Chinese military officers for hacking the credit reporting agency Equifax’s computer system and stealing the personal information of most or all Americans, US Attorney General William Barr told reporters on Monday. “I am here to announce the indictment of Chinese military hackers, specifically four members of Chinese People […]