Miscellaneous News
- Thread starter bd popeye
- Start date
broadsword
Brigadier
Best LOL of the day
U.S. defense chief raises alarm over China's 'bullying' in Taiwan Strait
Austin holds trilateral meeting in Hawaii with Japan's Hamada and Australia's MarlesHONOLULU, U.S. -- U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday called out China's aggressive behavior in the Indo-Pacific region ahead of talks with counterparts from Japan and Australia.
"We are deeply concerned by China's increasingly aggressive and bullying behavior in the Taiwan Strait and elsewhere in the region," Austin told reporters before his meeting with Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada and Australia's Richard Marles.
Austin said the trio would discuss closer defense cooperation. "Working together strengthens our integrated deterrence and it moves us all toward a safer and more prosperous region."
Saturday's meeting, which Japan's Defense Ministry says was proposed by the American side, comes just three months after defense chiefs from the three countries last met in Singapore in June. The unusually short interval reflects their level of concern over China's growing activity in the Indo-Pacific region.
Military analysts say Japan and Australia, given their relative proximity to China, would play an important role in a U.S. response to a potential Taiwan crisis, both in joint operations and rear guard support.
While Washington's European allies have shown a growing readiness to become involved in the Indo-Pacific, they have few if any major military assets stationed in the region.
Japan and Australia "are our two most like-minded and capable partners in the Indo-Pacific, and we, together, share a profound commitment to upholding the rules-based order in the region, and a free and open Indo-Pacific," a senior U.S. Defense Department official said ahead of Saturday's talks.
At the June meeting, in which Nobuo Kishi participated for Japan, the trio issued a statement calling for more trilateral exercises and cooperation on research and development, among other steps.
Japan and Australia, which are both U.S. allies, regard each other as "quasi-allies." In January, the two countries signed a reciprocal access agreement that paves the way for deploying forces to take part in joint exercises or responses to natural disasters.
"Once that is ratified by the Japanese Diet, I think that will unlock tremendous opportunities for trilateral activities and operations," the senior U.S. defense official said.
The Biden administration sees both Australia and Japan as key partners in its attempt to create a multilateral framework of fellow democracies in the Indo-Pacific region.
Australia is part of AUKUS, a partnership with the U.S. and the U.K. that will supply nuclear-powered submarines and other advanced technology to Canberra. Australia and Japan both belong to the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad, efforts of which extend beyond security to such areas as dealing with pandemics and climate change.
Non-paywall:
supercat
Major
Well, the Australia media implied that there were too many Chinese spectators. Also, the Uyghur player was ignored by the Western media completely.
LMAO
What's the point? Doesn't Iran have a lot of oil?
"Western press freedom"- today's case in point:
It looks like that there will be a double whammy of financial crisis, both in the European banking system and among some Asian countries.
Hope the "trilateral" meeting went well
So it was Putin after all...
Actually as the power disparity continue to shift in India’s favor, Pakistan may need to tone down its hostility towards India. Pakistan can’t afford to compete with India when it can barely grow its own economy. A “peace” deal between india and Pakistan is possible in the future.
Last edited:
If only tweets can win war...
This riot was probably not CIA related.