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Ships from the Indian navy, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) and the U.S. Navy sail in formation in the Bay of Bengal during exercise Malabar 2017. US Navy photo.
The U.S. Navy is hosting naval forces from India and Japan in Guam for the annual Malabar Exercise, set to start Thursday in the Philippine Sea. Read More
Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning underway. PLAN Photo
Through its navy, coast guard, a loose collection of armed fishing vessels, and a network of military bases built on artificial islands, Beijing has gained de facto control of the South China Sea, a panel of Indo-Pacific security experts said Friday. Read More
USS Dewey (DDG-105) transits the South China Sea on May 6, 2017. US Navy Photo
THE PENTAGON — The war of words over last weekend’s U.S. Navy freedom of navigation operation in the South China Sea continued on Thursday at press conferences in Beijing and Washington.
Undated Photo of Taiwanese troops using U.S. equipment.
Taiwan, faced with a more aggressive China, is talking a good game of ramping up the island’s security with its own submarines, buying sophisticated fighter aircraft and exploring asymmetric defenses, but President Tsai Ing-wen’s administration has not made the hard choices to raise a defense budget that already is being consumed by higher personnel costs, an expert panel agreed on Wednesday. Read More
Adm. Phil Davidson, commander of U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM), is piped aboard during the USPACOM change of command ceremony. During the Ceremony on May 30, 2018. US Navy Photo
While in Hawaii celebrating a change of U.S. military leadership in the Pacific, top Pentagon officials stood in the spotlight told other regional powers that U.S. focus on this part of the world hasn’t wavered but sharpened.
Head of Mission of People’s Republic of China to the European Union Hailong Wu, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarifat, an unidentified Russian official, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry pose for a photo following negotiations between the P5+1 member nations and Iranian officials about the future of their country’s nuclear program at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland on April 2, 2015. US State Department Photo
The Trump administration’s decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal leaves the European Union with the difficult choice of continuing to trade with Iran to keep up its end of the accord but also faces the loss of doing business in the United States, the EU ambassador to Washington said Wednesday. Read More
Guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG-76), guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam (CG-54). US Navy Photos
Over the weekend, a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam (CG-54) and Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, USS Higgins (DDG-76) sailed in a two-ship freedom of navigation operation past islands claimed by China, according to media reports first reported by Reuters.
USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) departs Yokosuka, Japan
The Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group left its homeport of Yokosuka, Japan on Tuesday for a scheduled spring and summer patrol, just as tensions in the region are heightening.
An MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to the Black Knights of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 4 operates near the Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) and the People’s Republic of China medical ship Peace Ark (T-AH 866) during a close formation of 42 ships and submarines from 15 international partner nations during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2014. Twenty-two nations, 49 ships, six submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC exercise from June 26 to Aug. 1, US Navy photo.
When the U.S. military first invited China to participate in the biennial Rim of the Pacific naval exercise, it hoped China might stop its militarization of the South China Sea and realize that engaging in great power competition was futile. Read More
The People’s Republic of China Chinese Navy multi-role frigate Hengshui (572) and the guided-missile destroyer USS Stockdale (DDG 106) transit in formation during Rim of the Pacific 2016 on July 28, 2016. US Navy photo.
The U.S. military has disinvited China from participating in the upcoming Rim of the Pacific exercise in Hawaii, a Defense Department spokesman announced. Read More
