Day: December 10, 2020

(Xinhua)17:26, December 09, 2020

TOKYO, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) — The Japanese governments plan to build two naval vessels equipped with Aegis missile interceptors has met with resistance from opposition parties who believe, along with plans to enhance missile capability, that the plans might be unconstitutional.

At a Liberal Democratic Party meeting on defense and security related matters on Wednesday, Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said Japan is planning to develop standoff missiles that could be launched at targets from outside the range of enemy missiles.

Japans Defense Ministry is looking to secure around 30 billion yen (287.84 million U.S. dollars) for the next fiscal year starting in April, to bring the development to fruition, it has said.

While ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmakers in attendance approved the plans, with the ministry hoping they will be approved by the Cabinet as soon as mid-December, Kishis plans have drawn staunch resistance from opposition parties.

Opposition lawmakers have said that the advancement of such military hardware runs contrary to Japans pacifist Constitution.

Article 9 of Japans war-renouncing Constitution states that Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.

It also states that land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained.

Jun Azumi, Diet affairs chief of the major opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, said the ministrys plans could run counter to the countrys postwar defense policy.

It could deviate from the countrys postwar defense policy, Azumi was quoted as telling reporters.

In papers distributed to the lawmakers during the meeting, the ministry said that it is considering installing interceptor missiles that are capable of countering a number of aerial threats.

These include from cruise missiles and fighters. The main purpose however is to counter ballistic missiles, the paper said.

The ministry said it will take five years to develop the standoff missiles that will be able to be launched from both land and from ships and vessels.

After the high-profile scrapping of the U.S.-developed Aegis Ashore ballistic missile defense systems in northeastern and western Japan in June, following a litany of gaffes and bungles, the Defense Ministry had initially devised three replacement offshore plans, sources with knowledge of the matter said.

(Xinhua)09:29, December 10, 2020

DAMASCUS, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) — The Turkish forces on Wednesday started withdrawing from three military bases in the countryside of Idlib and Aleppo provinces in northern Syria, a war monitor reported.

The Turkish forces started pulling out from the Surman base in the eastern countryside of Idlib as well as the bases of Khan Tuman and Rashideen in the countryside of Aleppo, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The withdrawing forces will reposition in rebel-held areas in the Zawiya Mountain region in the southern countryside of Idlib, said the UK-based watchdog group.

The dismantling of Turkish military bases is part of a Turkish-Russian agreement reached recently, which includes the withdrawal of Turkish forces and the dismantling of Turkish bases in areas in Hama and Aleppo as well as the central province of Hama that have been under the Syrian government control.

Since October, several Turkish bases have been dismantled in government-controlled areas in northern Syria but relocated in areas controlled by the Turkey-backed rebels.

(Xinhua)09:53, December 10, 2020

MOSCOW, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) — An exercise of Russias strategic nuclear forces was held Wednesday under the leadership of the supreme commander-in-chief of the Russian Armed Forces, Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

The exercise included the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile as well as strategic bombers that fired missiles at test targets, the ministrys Zvezda broadcasting service said.

The drill involved the Yars intercontinental ballistic missile that was launched from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in Russias northern Arkhangelsk region and a ballistic missile that was launched from a nuclear submarine in the Barents Sea, it added.

The Tu-160 and Tu-95MS strategic bombers fired high-precision long-range cruise missiles, the Zvezda said.

Land-based, sea-based and air-based components of Russias strategic nuclear forces were involved in the exercise, it added.

(Xinhua)10:58, December 10, 2020

WASHINGTON, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) — An F-16 fighter jet based in the U.S. state of Wisconsin crashed in a national forest on Tuesday and the search for the pilot is still on, according to local authorities.

The F-16 Fighting Falcon was assigned to the 115th Fighter Wing of the Wisconsin Air National Guard at Truax Field Air National Guard Base in Madison, the Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs said in a statement.

The crash occurred at around 8 p.m. local time (1300GMT) in Hiawatha National Forest located in Michigans Upper Peninsula. The cause of the accident remains unknown.

Rescuers have been searching for the pilot, the only person on board, amid a joint action conducted by local emergency responders, the U.S. Coast Guard, the 115th Fighter Wing and other government agencies, the department said Wednesday.

The status of the pilot is still unknown, Captain Leslie Westmont of the department told local media on Wednesday.

Delta County Sheriff Ed Oswald said the crash site is in the countys northeastern corner in a rural area within the national forest and is a very remote area with no cellphone service.

(Xinhua)15:05, December 07, 2020

CANBERRA, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) — Australian Governor-General David Hurley has told new members of the defense force that it is their duty to rebuild public trust following the Afghan war crimes inquiry.

Hurley, who served as Chief of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) between 2011 and 2014 and as governor-general since 2019, told graduates of the ADF Academy on Sunday evening that they will need to reassure and reaffirm the relationship with the Australian public.

Hurleys speech came following the findings of Supreme Court Justice Paul Breretons war crimes inquiry, which uncovered credible evidence that Australian soldiers committed 39 murders in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016.

(The ADF has) an enormous task of protecting our country while reassuring and reaffirming its relationship with the Australian people following the findings of the Brereton inquiry, he said.

Bringing the Australian people along with the ADF will be an enormous part of your work in the future.

Breretons four-year inquiry, the findings from which were released in November, recommended criminal proceedings against 19 soldiers for the alleged killings, but veterans have expressed frustration that no action has been taken against senior officers.

Hurley told graduate officers on Sunday that they were extremely well equipped to make an important contribution to your country, but as military leaders, they also needed to ensure they listened to their troops.

Leadership is not easy, I think youve learnt that by now, youll have to make decisions that have consequences for people and often make those decisions under pressure, he said.

(Xinhua)09:32, December 08, 2020

MOSCOW, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) — A Russian Su-30 fighter jet of the Southern Military District was scrambled Monday to intercept U.S. and French aircraft over the Black Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

Russian airspace control systems detected air targets approaching the Russian border over the neutral waters of the Black Sea, the ministrys Zvezda broadcasting service said.

The crew of the Russian Su-30 fighter identified them as a U.S. Air Force RC-135 strategic reconnaissance plane, a U.S. Air Force KC-135 refueling plane, and a French Air Force C-160G reconnaissance plane, it added.

After the planes flew away from the Russian state border, the Russian jet safely returned to its airfield, it said.

The Russian aircraft proceeded in strict compliance with international airspace rules, it added.

(Xinhua)09:37, December 08, 2020

PARIS, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) — President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that France will not condition its defense cooperation with Egypt on human rights because he did not want to weaken Cairos ability to fight against terrorism.

I think it is more effective to have a policy of dialogue than a policy of boycott, which would reduce the effectiveness of one of our partners in the fight against terrorism and for regional stability, Macron said at a joint press conference with visiting Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi.

Macron also thanked Egypt for supporting France, claiming that France has just been the victim of a campaign of hate and boycott driven by ignorance and extremism.

The Libyan crisis was among the main subjects of the two presidents meeting. We have both pursued the objective of promoting a lasting political solution in Libya for several years, said Macron.

We are seeing developments that are going in the right direction … but it is threatened by regional powers who have decided to make Libya the theater of their influence rather than the place of stability for the Libyan people. Macron welcomed the fundamental role Egypt plays in solving the Libyan crisis.

The Egyptian president arrived in France on Sunday for a three-day state visit.

Egypt has concluded several arms deals with France since 2015, including the purchase of two French-made Mistral-class helicopter carriers and two dozen Rafale advanced fighter jets, the France 24 news channel reported.

(Xinhua)10:30, December 08, 2020

NICOSIA, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) — An aeronautical exercise involving forces from Cyprus, Greece, France and Italy took place in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Cypriot Defense Ministry said on Monday.

The ministry said in a press release that the exercise, codenamed PASSEX, was conducted on Sunday, but it did not specify its exact location.

The exercise, which was coordinated by the National Guard General Staff, took place in the framework of a quadripartite initiative and constitutes one more step in enhancing interoperability between cooperating states, said the press release.

The four states have committed to supporting freedom of navigation in international waters and to oversee any deviation from the respect of international maritime law, it said.

It added that French frigate FS Aconit and its panther helicopter, the Italian aircraft carrier ITS Garibaldi, the Greek frigate Hydra and Cypriot offshore patrol vessel Ioannides and an AW-139 helicopter took part in the exercise.