People’s Liberation Army Navy Band in 2006. US Navy Photo
China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy is embarking on a regional charm offensive this autumn by sending a pair of ships on friendly visits – including a rare port call in Japan – as part of an ongoing effort using the military to further diplomatic missions.
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Rear Adm. Masafumi Nishiwaki, Commander, Escort Flotilla Four gives introductory remarks at the Malabar 2019 opening ceremony aboard the Japanese helicopter destroyer JS Kaga (DDH-184) on Sept. 26, 2019. US Navy Photo
Washington and New Delhi, “need to press the refresh button” in building a relationship for the future based on new global realities, India’s minister of external affairs said Wednesday. Read More
Members of a Chinese military honor guard march during a welcome ceremony. DoD photo
A new Chinese defense ministry policy paper counters the Pentagon’s National Defense Strategy by casting the U.S. as an aggressive and destabilizing force in Asia. Read More
Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning underway. PLAN Photo
While Washington defends its Navy’s transits through disputed waters in the South China Sea as upholding international freedom of navigation, Beijing blasts these operations as provocative and clear violations of its domestic law, a leading Chinese naval expert said last week; and both positions could harden.
An unarmed Trident II D5 missile launches from the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS Nebraska (SSBN-739) off the coast of California. US Navy Photo
WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Armed Services Committee members on both sides of the aisle have different defense spending priorities but there’s not much daylight between Republicans and Democrats on the final topline spending number. Read More
Operations Specialist 3rd Class Ashley Decko stands watch in the bridge of the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1), operating in the Indo-Pacific region. Navy photo
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A group of sailors have entered a new enlisted education program that could reshape Navy training, Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Bill Moran said Tuesday.
Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Decatur, left, and Chinese warship PRC 170, right, during what the US Navy called an unsafe and unprofessional incident in the South China Sea on Sept. 30, 2018. US Navy photo, obtained by gCaptain.
The question following the recent close encounters between guided-missile destroyer USS Decatur (DDG-73), the U.K. Royal Navy’s amphibious ship HMS Albion and Chinese naval ships in the South China Sea is if Beijing is changing their posture toward foreign navies in the region,a Pacific maritime expert said Monday. Read More
A Danish soldier (left) coaches a U.S. Army Soldier with the 82nd Brigade Engineer Battalion, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, as he uses a Danish M60 Machine Gun during a multinational weapons training session in Tapa, Estonia on March 10, 2018. US Army Photo
The admission of the Baltic nations of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia to NATO was the “fattest of red line” warnings to Russia to stay clear of the western European military, a transatlantic expert on foreign policy and security on Wednesday. But that move has not tempered tensions on the continent as both NATO and Moscow have stepped up military operations. Read More
Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Decatur, left, and Chinese warship PRC 170, right, during what the US Navy called an unsafe and unprofessional incident in the South China Sea on Sept. 30, 2018. US Navy photo, obtained by gCaptain.
China ratcheted up its response to U.S. Navy freedom of navigation operation over the weekend, sending a Luyang-class destroyer on a near-collision-course with USS Decatur (DDG-73), but the reasoning behind the move is likely more nuanced than defending territory.
Admiral Philip Davidson, Commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (Indo-PACOM), and General Carlito Galvez, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines signed agreements on security cooperation activities for 2019 at this year’s Mutual Defense Board and Security Engagement Board. U.S. embassy photo.
U.S. and Philippine military leaders pledged increased cooperation and collaboration in 2019 despite past anti-American rhetoric from the Pacific nation’s president and his stated desire to foster closer ties with China.
