New Philippine defense chief says militant threat more pressing than South China Sea
Crushing Islamist militants in the Philippines will take precedence over territorial disputes in the South China Sea, the incoming defense minister said on Wednesday, and spending on military hardware would reflect that.
Syria rebels battle IS at Iraqi border, aim to cut 'caliphate' in two
Syrian rebels advanced into an Islamic State-held town at the border with Iraq on Wednesday, a rebel commander told Reuters, in a new U.S.-backed offensive aimed at cutting the jihadists' self-declared caliphate in two.
Russia says U.S. warship in near-miss with Russian vessel in Mediterranean
Russia's Defence Ministry said on Tuesday a U.S. destroyer had approached dangerously close to a Russian warship in the Mediterranean Sea on June 17, and protested at what it said was a flagrant U.S. violation of rules to avoid collisions at sea.
Brexit casts doubt over new EU and NATO defense strategy
Britain's departure from the European Union risks undermining Europe's new defense strategy, days before NATO and EU governments sign a landmark pact to confront a range of threats from Russia to the Mediterranean, officials say.
Russia seen putting new nuclear-capable missiles along NATO border by 2019
Russia is likely to deploy advanced nuclear-capable missiles in its European exclave of Kaliningrad by 2019, casting the move as a reply to a U.S.-backed missile shield, and may one day put them in Crimea too, sources close to its military predict.
Putin says Russia must strengthen as 'aggressive' NATO approaches
Russia must boost its combat readiness in response to NATO's "aggressive actions" near Russia's borders, President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.
OSCE urges Ukraine and separatists to investigate ceasefire violations
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, monitoring a fragile ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, has called on Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists to do more to investigate violations of the agreement.
NATO's Stoltenberg: EU sanctions on Russia should remain
The European Union should keep in place the sanctions imposed on Russia over the Ukraine crisis, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told Reuters on Monday, a day after the German foreign minister said they should gradually be phased out.
|
