China’s Type-001A Carrier following its launching ceremony on April 26, 2017. Ministry of National Defense Photo
While China’s known military spending has remained consistent as a percentage of its gross domestic product for decades, but this provides only a rough measure of what Beijing has actually committed to a broad range of obscured or classified expenditures, two experts on defense spending said Tuesday. Read More
Ships from the Royal Australian Navy, Indian Navy, Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, and the United States Navy participate in Malabar 2020 on Nov. 17, 2020. US Navy Photo
Transforming a loose network of U.S. allies in the Pacific into something more than an informal security relationship between four Indo-Pacific democracies is a goal for the Biden administration, its new national security advisor said Friday. Read More
Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson. US Navy Photo
White House physician Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson withdrew from consideration to be the head of the Department of Veterans Affairs, according to a Thursday morning statement. Read More
Rear Adm. Ronny L. Jackson. US Navy Photo
President Trump has nominated an active duty Navy admiral and the current White House physician Rear Adm. Ronny L. Jackson to be the next Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the president announced in a Tweet on Wednesday. Read More
Indian Minister of Defense Manohar Parrikar (left) and Secretary of Defense Ash Carter (center) observe flight operations on USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69). US Navy Photo
The evolving relationship between the United States and India in terms of trade and security presents “a tremendous opportunity to the next administration,” the National Security Council’s senior official for South Asia said Wednesday. Read More
The following is a July 10, 2016 all-hands call President Barack Obama held at Naval Station Rota, Spain. Read More
U.S. President Barack Obama participates in the welcome ceremony with their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan and Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the Imperial Palace during his state visit to Japan in 2014. U.S. State Department Photo
Those in Europe and Asia generally have a largely positive view of the United States as the Obama administration winds down, but they hold an overwhelmingly negative view of Donald Trump, the most recent Pew Research Center poll found. Read More
Taiwan-watchers waited for long four years for new arms sales, but their patience was not met with large reward when the news about imminent arms sale to Taiwan emerged at the end of November. Read More
Guard at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. Photo via Wikipedia
The following post has been updated to include a statement from Sen. John McCain and links to the individual Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announcements.
The State Department will present Congress a comparatively modest $1.83 billion arms foreign military sales deal to Taiwan today – the first arms package for the island nation in four years, USNI News has learned. Read More
Undated Photo of Taiwanese troops using U.S. equipment.
The lack of a pending arms package sale to Taiwan has raised concerns with two U.S. senators on America’s commitment to Taiwanese security, according to a Nov. 19 letter to the White House. Read More
