Australia, US signal support for Quad at their 2+2 talks
Published: Hindustan Times
26 Jul 2018
The US and Australia have “welcomed” the recent meeting of an informal consultative body they formed with India and Japan, called the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue — a move that will be heard and noted in New Delhi as it weighs its options about the grouping. US secretary of state Mike Pompeo and secretary of defence James Mattis hosted their Australian counterparts Julie Bishop and Marise Payne at a two-day ministerial held at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. Their version of the 2+2 annual meeting, called Australia-US Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN), ended on Tuesday.Click here to read...
Ready to launch nuclear strike against China, if Trump orders: US admiral
Published: Deccan Chronicle
27 Jul 2018
The US Pacific Fleet commander said on Thursday he would launch a nuclear strike against China next week if President Donald Trump ordered it, and warned against the military ever shifting its allegiance from its commander-in-chief. Admiral Scott Swift was responding to a hypothetical question at an security conference following a major joint US- Australia military exercise off the Australian coast. The drills were monitored by a Chinese intelligence-gathering ship off northeast Australia.Click here to read...
China quietly resumes its activities in Doklam area: US official
Published: The Economic Times
26 Jul 2018
China has quietly resumed its activities in the Doklam area and neither Bhutan nor India has sought to dissuade it, a top US official has said while comparing Beijing's actions in the Himalayan region with its manovers in the disputed South China Sea.Click here to read...
China to gift frigate to Sri Lankan Navy
Published: Daily Mirror
24 Jul 2018
China will continue to provide various training courses for tri-forces of Sri Lanka and make preparations to hand over a gift frigate to Sri Lanka Navy, a top Chinese military official said on Monday. Addressing a reception held in Colombo on Monday night to commemorate the 91st anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), Senior Colonel Xu Jianwei said Chinese military attaches great importance to improving relations with the Sri Lanka military.Click here to read...
India to help Bangladesh in warship design
Published: The Hindu
26 Jul 2018
Garden Reach Ship Builders (GRSE) of Kolkata, a defence public sector undertaking, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Khulna Shipyard Limited (KSY) of Bangladesh to help the country in design and construction of warships, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. The MoU was signed on May 8 this year.
“KSY, an independent commercial enterprise under the Ministry of Defence, Government of Bangladesh, and operated by the Bangladesh Navy, had earlier expressed keenness to develop its skills and know-how for design and construction of ships at its facility at Khulna and other subsidiary locations...,” Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.Click here to read...
Maldives court approves anonymity and secrecy in Gayoom terror trial
Published: Maldives Indpendent
25 Jul 2018
Anonymous witnesses and secret evidence will be allowed in the terror trial of former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the Criminal Court ruled Tuesday. Prosecutors asked the court during Tuesday’s preliminary hearing to issue a permanent order to protect the identity of state witnesses and for their testimony to also remain anonymous, local media reported.Click here to read...
