DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

The exact number of US troops in the country is not clear but one US official said there are fewer than 100 troops there. But the official said Chad’s threat to terminate the SOFA agreement blindsided US officials. The move comes at a critical time for US interests in Africa, as American officials have warned that Russian influence is expanding across the continent. While in the country, Langley met with Chadian military leaders including Gen. Abakar Abdelkerim Daoud, Chad’s Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, according to an AFRICOM press release at the time. Langley said in the release that AFRICOM “remains dedicated to building enduring partnerships with Chad and other African nations.”

Persons: Chad’s, Michael Langley, ” “, ” Langley, Langley, ”, AFRICOM’s, Michael Woods, Abakar Abdelkerim Daoud Organizations: CNN, Forces Agreement, Operations Task Force, US Special Operations Forces, Marine Corps, US Africa Command, Senate Armed Services Committee, Russian Federation, House Armed, Committee, Central, Chadian, Staff, Armed Forces Locations: Chad, Russia, N’Djamena, Niger, Africa, Russian, Libya, Maghreb, Morocco, ”, China, Chad’s

TOKYO (AP) — U.S. and Japanese divers have discovered wreckage and remains of five crew members from a U.S. Air Force Osprey aircraft that crashed last week off southwestern Japan, the Air Force announced Monday. The Air Force Special Operations Command said two of the five newly located remains have been recovered but their identities have yet to be determined. Political Cartoons View All 1277 ImagesThe U.S. military identified the one confirmed victim as Air Force Staff Sgt. Ospreys have had a number of crashes, including in Japan, where they are used at U.S. and Japanese military bases, and the latest accident rekindled safety concerns. Japanese officials say they have asked the U.S. military to resume Osprey flights only after ensuring their safety.

Persons: Jacob Galliher, Denny Tamaki Organizations: TOKYO, —, U.S . Air Force Osprey, Air Force, Air Force Special, Command, Air Force Staff, Japan's NHK, U.S, The, Ospreys, Pentagon, Forces Agreement, Okinawa Gov Locations: Japan, U.S, Pittsfield , Massachusetts, The U.S, Okinawa

☆ Philippines, France to Level-Up Defence Ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( Dec. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: 1 min

By Mikhail FloresMANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines and France agreed to level-up defence cooperation between the two countries, Philippine defence minister Gilberto Teodoro said on Saturday. Teodoro met his French counterpart Sebastien Lecornu in Manila where he said they are working to get authority from their leaders to begin negotiations for a status of forces agreement. "We intend to take concrete steps to leveling up and making more comprehensive our defense cooperation," Teodoro said in a joint briefingLecornu's Manila visit is the first leg of his trip across the Indo-Pacific which includes stops in Malaysia and the French overseas territory of New Caledonia. France considers itself an Indo-Pacific power, with over 7,000 troops stationed in overseas territories in the Pacific and Indian Ocean. (Reporting by Mikhail Flores; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Edwina Gibbs)

Persons: Mikhail Flores MANILA, Gilberto Teodoro, Teodoro, Sebastien Lecornu, Mikhail Flores, Lincoln, Edwina Gibbs Locations: Philippines, France, Manila, Malaysia, New Caledonia, Pacific, Indian

☆ Philippines, France to level-up defence ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( Mikhail Flores | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MANILA, Dec 2 (Reuters) - The Philippines and France agreed to level-up defence cooperation between the two countries, Philippine defence minister Gilberto Teodoro said on Saturday. Teodoro met his French counterpart Sebastien Lecornu in Manila where he said they are working to get authority from their leaders to begin negotiations for a status of forces agreement. "We intend to take concrete steps to leveling up and making more comprehensive our defense cooperation," Teodoro said in a joint briefingLecornu's Manila visit is the first leg of his trip across the Indo-Pacific which includes stops in Malaysia and the French overseas territory of New Caledonia. France considers itself an Indo-Pacific power, with over 7,000 troops stationed in overseas territories in the Pacific and Indian Ocean. Reporting by Mikhail Flores; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Edwina GibbsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Gilberto Teodoro, Teodoro, Sebastien Lecornu, Mikhail Flores, Lincoln, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Thomson Locations: MANILA, Philippines, France, Manila, Malaysia, New Caledonia, Pacific, Indian

☆ Henry Kissinger, the towering American diplomat, dies at age 100
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Marty Steinberg | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +25 min

President Gerald Ford (left) and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger talk together in the Oval Office, February 19, 1975. In his 2001 book "The Trial of Henry Kissinger," social critic Christopher Hitchens called him a war criminal. North Vietnam's Le Duc Tho (left) and US National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger at the Paris peace talks, January 1973. Chairman Zedong of the People's Republic of China meets U. S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger on Nov. 12, 1973. On a helicopter during the period of shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East, Henry Kissinger talks to his wife, Nancy.

Persons: Henry Kissinger, —, Richard Nixon's, Kissinger, Richard Nixon, Richard Corkery, Duc Tho, Gerald Ford, Benjamin E, Ford, Warren Burger, Kissinger's, Paula, Gene, Forte, Seymour M, Hersh bashed Kissinger, Walter Isaacson's, Christopher Hitchens, Greg Grandin, Niall Ferguson, Kant, Clausewitz, Bismarck, Barry Gewen, Gewen, Elizabeth Holmes, Nixon, George Shultz, Holmes, Heinz Alfred Kissinger, Louis, Walter, Hitler, Kissingers, Fritz Kraemer, William Yandell Elliott, Spengler, Toynbee, Metternich, Castlereagh, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Mike Wallace, Wallace, Kennedy, Johnson, Republican Nelson Rockefeller, George Romney, Hubert Humphrey, Democratic Sen, George McGovern, McGovern, Nguyen Van Thieu, Reg Lancaster, Tho, Thieu, Mao, Gen, Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan, Nicolae Ceausescu, Zhou Enlai, Leonid Brezhnev, Andrei Gromyko, Dirck, Sen, Henry Jackson, Charles Vanik, Brezhnev, Spiro Agnew, Archibald Cox, Cox, Robert Bork, White, Alexander Haig, Anwar Sadat, David Hume Kennerly, Marxist Salvador Allende Gossens, Fidel Castro's, Martin Bernetti, Allende, Augusto Pinochet Ugarte, Pinochet, Ann Fleischer, Elizabeth, David, Nancy Maginnes, Rockefeller, Jill St, John, Candice Bergen, Shirley MacLaine, Liv Ullman, Diane Sawyer, , Napoleon, Nancy, David Rubinger, Maginnes, Moshe Dayan, Robert Dallek, Nixon's, Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein, Paula Kissinger, Brooks Kraft Organizations: Gould, Kissinger Associates, National Security, Waldorf, Astoria, Richard Corkery | New York Daily, Forte, Soviets, State, Chief, New York, Theranos Inc, Economic, Nuremberg, George Washington High School, City College of New, Army, 84th Infantry Division, U.S ., Hesse . Harvard, Harvard, Confluence, Foreign, Eisenhower, Republican, Republican National Convention, Rockefeller and Michigan Gov, Democratic, District of Columbia, US National Security, Getty, Paris Peace, North, Nationalist, China, Bettmann, East Pakistan, of, U.S, Soviet Union ., Ballistic, Soviet, Washington, Egyptian Third Army, Department, West, Marxist, Museum, AFP, CIA, Israeli, Southern California Quaker, White, Partners, Power Locations: New York City, U.S, Connecticut, Richard Corkery | New, United States, Vietnam, Saigon, Viet, Soviet Union, Communist China, Israel, Egypt, Syria, Chile, Pakistan, Theranos, Ukraine, Russia, Davos, Switzerland, Fuerth, Germany, Bavarian, American, Nazi Germany, London, New York, City College of New York, Ahlem, Hanover, German, Krefeld, Hesse, Cambodia, Massachusetts, Haiphong, Paris, North, China, Washington, Taiwan, People's Republic of China, Beijing, Moscow, India, East, Bangladesh, Shanghai, USSR, Soviet, Kremlin, Dirck Halstead, Ohio, Saudi, Japan, Sinai, Alexandria, Cairo, Suez, Americas, Santiago, Cuba, Chilean, America, Europe, Virginia, Southern California

☆ How the U.S. courted the Philippines to thwart China
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +14 min

What followed was two trips to the United States in less than a year for Marcos, and visits to the Philippines by high-ranking Biden administration officials. Marcos’ predecessor, the populist firebrand Rodrigo Duterte, was openly hostile to the United States and attempted to bring his country closer to communist China during his six-year term. For the United States, cementing alliances in the Asia-Pacific region is likewise crucial to keeping China in check. China’s Foreign Ministry, in a statement to Reuters, characterized China and the Philippines as “close neighbors across the sea” with a common interest in friendship. At the time, he said the cancellation of his visa was the latest in a list of “gripes and disrespect” by the United States.

Persons: Ferdinand “ Bongbong ” Marcos Jr, Joe Biden, Marcos, Gregorio Maria Araneta III, “, ” Araneta, Biden, Kamala Harris, Antony Blinken, Defense Lloyd Austin, Julio Amador III, Marcos ’, Rodrigo Duterte, China’s, Xi Jinping, ” Marcos ’, Ferdinand Marcos Sr, ”, Marcos family’s, Washington, Duterte, China “, Becca Wasser, Wasser, Barack Obama, Xi, “ I’ve, ” Duterte, Ronald “ Bato, dela Rosa, Dela Rosa, gripes, Toribio Adaci, hadn’t, Blake Herzinger, Herzinger Organizations: Reuters, U.S, Defense, ., Party, China, U.S . State Department, ” Reuters, Philippine, United, Foreign Ministry, ” ‘, People’s Liberation Army, Center, New, New American Security, CNAS, U.S . Department of Defense, U.S ., Initiative, Philippines National Economic Development Authority, United States, Philippine National Police, Washington, Forces, VFA, Mutual, China’s, U.S . Pacific Fleet, Cooperation Locations: Philippines, Philippine, Manila, United States, U.S, China, America, Asia, Taipei, Taiwan, Beijing, South, East Asia, Pacific, Washington, Hawaii, South China, It’s, American, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New American, Taiwan . U.S, Duterte, China’s, Guangdong

☆ Joe Biden has a decision to make about Julian Assange
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-01 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +26 min

A small group of lawyers and media executives gathered in a well-appointed back room to listen to Gabriel Shipton, Assange's half-brother. In the case of Vault 7, WikiLeaks' source turned out to be a disgruntled former C.I.A employee. AdvertisementAdvertisementIn New York, Gabriel Shipton, Assange's half-brother, declined to rule out the possibility of a plea deal. Every time the Australian government raises this issue, the Chinese government puts out a statement about Julian Assange. Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, right, was part of a delegation of Australian officials in the US to press for the release of Julian Assange.

Persons: Julian Assange, Assange, Gabriel Shipton, Tucker Carlson, Tucker, Shipton, he'd, Anthony Albanese, Joe Biden, Monique Ryan, Albanese, Mike Pompeo, Caroline Kennedy, Der Spiegel, El Pais, David Hicks, Julian, John Shipton, Assange's, John, Gabriel, Brett Assange, Peter Whish, Wilson, We've, Robert Carr, Chelsea Manning's, Obama, We're, Cheng Lei, —, Chelsea Manning, Manning, What's, Julian Assange's, John MacDougall, …, they'd, he's, John Young, Laura Poitras's, Mueller, Robert Mueller's, John Podesta's, Bernie Sanders, John Koeltl, They've, Donald, Trump, we've, James Comey, Hillary Clinton, He's, I'm, Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner, I've, Putin, exfiltrate Assange, Julian wasn't, Dana Rohrabacher, Rohrabacher, Jennifer Robinson, Tracey Nearmy, we'd, Marjorie Taylor, Greene, Antony Blinken, Biden, Mattathias Schwartz Organizations: United Nations General Assembly, WikiLeaks, Washington Post, Washington, DOJ, The Washington, Australia's Labor Party, New, Biden, Senate Intelligence, Justice Department, New York Times, Guardian, Chelsea, Pentagon, Getty, Justice, The State Department, Laura Poitras's WikiLeaks, State Department, DNC, Democratic, Committee, Democratic National Convention, of, Russian Federation, Novaya Gazeta, Trump, CIA, The Justice Locations: New York, London, Assange's, Pacific, Ecuadorian, Washington, Russia, Australia, Shipton, Brig, Chelsea, Iraq, Australian, China, American, Moscow, Getty Shipton, … Shipton, Cryptome, There's, Southern, of New York, Russian, Ukrainian, Ukraine, Panama, schwartz79@protonmail.com

☆ Australia, Philippines upgrade ties to strategic partnership
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Karen Lema | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Philippines last month held military exercises near the South China Sea with Australia, its second-largest partner in defence security. "Australia supports the 2016 South China Sea arbitral award. The Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and Taiwan have claims to certain areas of the South China Sea. Most of Australia's trade also goes through the South China Sea. Albanese confirmed on Thursday he will visit China later this year, the first visit by an Australian leader since 2016.

Persons: Anthony Albanese, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Earvin, " Albanese, Marcos, Albanese, Neil Jerome Morales, Mikhail Flores, Kanupriya Kapoor Organizations: Australia's, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, . Australian, Philippine, Forces, China, China Sea, Thomson Locations: Philippine, Manila, Philippines, Rights MANILA, Australia, South China, South, China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Taiwan

An army official told CNN the private was set to be administratively separated from the US Army. Details about how exactly King ended up on the North Korean side of the border remain unclear. King’s mother, Claudine Gates, told ABC she was “shocked” after being told by the US Army that her son had crossed into North Korea. Travis King, the US soldier who ran across the military demarcation line into North Korea on Tuesday, July 18 Travis King/FacebookThe US has been actively reaching out to North Korea to resolve the situation, but it has not yet heard back, a defense official said Wednesday. South Korean police told CNN that King was transferred to US military police after an investigation into an assault last September.

Persons: hasn’t, Travis King, King, Claudine Gates, ”, Travis, ” Gates, he’d, John Aquilino, Aquilino, King “, we’ve, ” Aquilino, CNN King, Jeon Heon Organizations: Seoul CNN, CNN, US Army, ABC, Pacific Command, Aspen Security, Joint Security, North, Defense Department, Korean, Reuters, King . Locations: Seoul, North Korea, Fort Bliss, South Korea, Mapo, Korea

“I’m not doing that good,” Lt. Ridge Alkonis wrote in a letter dated April 30, which was shared with CNN. “The walls and bars seem to be making my cell even smaller as of late.”“I feel closer to an animal than a human being now,” Ridge Alkonis wrote. “That was the most dejected I’ve ever heard him,” his wife, Brittany Alkonis, told CNN on Thursday. As such, despite her hope for positive movement coming out the G7 trip to Hirsoshima, Brittany Alkonis said she does not have high expectations of a resolution. But based on Japan’s response, it doesn’t seem that they do think it’s a big deal,” Brittany Alkonis said.

☆ Philippines' Marcos open to a troop pact with Japan
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Marcos, however, also told reporters he would exercise care in pursuing a potential pact with Tokyo "because we do not want to appear provocative." The VFA provides rules for the rotation of thousands of U.S. troops in and out of the Philippines for exercises. I don't see why we should not adopt it (VFA)," Marcos told reporters before returning home on Sunday, according to an official transcript. The Philippines has a VFA with the United States, while Tokyo has VFAs with Australia and Britain, and also hosts the biggest concentration of U.S. forces abroad. Kishida said the Philippines and Japan had agreed to try and establish a framework that would "strengthen and smooth the process of holding joint exercises".

☆ Philippines urges China to halt any "provocative act" after laser aimed at vessel
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Karen Lema | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Aguilar also quoted the Philippine defence chief as saying the action of the Chinese coast guard was "offensive" and unsafe." Images supplied by the PCG showed a green light emanating from a Chinese vessel with bow number 5205. China has said it was ready to manage maritime issues "cordially" with the Philippines during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's visit to Beijing in January. In February last year, Australia accused Beijing of an 'act of intimidation' after a Chinese navy vessel directed a laser at an Australian military surveillance aircraft. The VFA provides rules for the rotation of thousands of U.S. troops in and out of the Philippines for exercises.

☆ Japan, Philippines pledge closer security ties amid China tensions
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Sakura Murakami | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/6] Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (3-L) and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (2-R) talk at prime minister?s official residence in Tokyo, Japan, 09 February 2023. KIMIMASA MAYAMA/Pool via REUTERSTOKYO, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Japan said it was looking to strengthen joint military exercises with the Philippines as the two U.S. allies on Thursday pledged to forge closer security ties at a time of heightened tensions with China. Japan held joint military exercises with the United States and the Philippines as recently as October. The disaster relief deal with Tokyo is seen as a possible precursor to establishing a visiting forces agreement that would allow Japanese forces to deploy to the Philippines more easily. A Japanese military presence in the Philippines could help Manila counter Chinese influence in the South China Sea, much of which Beijing claims, including the territory that Manila considers its own.

"As the United States deepens its relationship with the Philippines, it's important for regional security that Japan join in," a Japanese defence ministry source with knowledge of internal discussions on national security told Reuters. At a press briefing last week, Neil Imperial, the Philippines Assistant Secretary for Asian and Pacific Affairs, said Marcos wanted to "facilitate closer defence, security, political, economic and people-to-people ties" while in Japan. That sentiment is shared in Tokyo, which has been deepening security ties with nations that view China with concern. Those deals provide a framework for how Marcos and Kishida could also forge deeper military ties to counter their common adversary, say experts. "The Philippines is a critical security partner for Japan," said Narushige Michishita, a professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) in Tokyo.

☆ Australia, Fiji militaries to work alongside each other
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Australia and Fiji have signed an agreement to allow the operation of each nation's militaries in the other country, with ministers describing it as a significant step for security cooperation. South Pacific defence ministers met in Tonga earlier this week, with Australia seeking a closer military relationship with the three island nations that have defence forces - Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Tonga - to counter China's security push in the region. Marles said the Status of Forces agreement signed with Fiji on Thursday, giving a legal framework for the presence of one country's forces in another, was rare for Australia and would allow a closer working relationship between the defence forces. Fiji's defence minister Inia Seruiratu said the defence forces trained and deployed together across the region, and the agreement brought "a new height of security cooperation". Australia is also negotiating a defence treaty with Papua New Guinea.

Search resuls for: "Forces Agreement"

15 mentions found