Tag - defense

 
 

DEFENSE

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is welcomed by New Zealand leader Christopher Luxon at Government House in Auckland on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 11, 2026
New Zealand and India form ‘strategic partnership’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit comes shortly after China test-fired a ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean on Monday, stirring unease in the region.
Ukrainian uncrewed aerial vehicles hit what the Ukranian military say was a Russian tanker during a strike at a location given as Sea of Azov in this screenshot taken from video released Thursday.
WORLD
Jul 11, 2026
Ukraine creates ‘long-range’ command to step up strikes on Russia
Kyiv’s campaign against Russian energy and logistics has forced Moscow to ban diesel exports and restrict shipping near the Sea of Azov.
Philippine and U.S. military personnel stand beside vehicles and equipment used for the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) anti-ship missile system during joint military exercises in Basco, in the Philippones' Batanes province, on May 2.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 11, 2026
Philippines rejects Chinese academics’ sovereignty claims to Batanes Islands
The islands are located fewer than 200 kilometers from self-ruled Taiwan and have hosted joint Philippine-U.S. military drills as recently as April.
Ukrainian service members walk next to a launcher for a Patriot air defense system, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in an undisclosed location in Ukraine in August 2024.
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Jul 11, 2026
Trump’s promise on Patriots will take time, leaving Ukraine facing tough choices
Experts say the time needed to build an assembly plant and organize contractors means production will not start soon enough to ease ⁠Ukraine’s situation in the near future.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko visit the Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, which was hit during Russian missile and drone strikes in Kyiv on June 15.
JAPAN
Jul 11, 2026
Ukraine eyes Japan’s Mitsubishi for help with Patriot missiles
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Kyiv is interested in working with Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, one of the few companies licensed to manufacture the weapons.
JL-3 intercontinental-range submarine-launched ballistic missiles are displayed during a military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, in Beijing last September.
EDITORIALS
Jul 10, 2026
China’s missile test exposes Beijing’s misdirection
Japan has called out Chinese behavior because it is threatening. That is the simple truth. Do not be distracted.
U.S. President Donald Trump attends a NATO summit in Ankara on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 10, 2026
NATO weathers another Trump storm but braces for more after Ankara summit
The summit ended with relief after months of severe strains triggered by Trump’s efforts to take Greenland from ‌fellow NATO ‌member Denmark and divisions over the Iran war.
Japan, the United States and Australia aim to enhance interoperability through flexibly sharing fuel and equipment.
JAPAN
Jul 10, 2026
Air Self-Defense Force begins logistics cooperation with U.S. and Australia
The three nations aim to improve interoperability by flexibly sharing fuel and equipment under the framework.
U.S. President Donald Trump attends a news conference at the NATO summit in Ankara on Wednesday. The U.S. leader's approach to alliances means American security guarantees can no longer be taken for granted.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 10, 2026
Trump just made Japan’s security dilemma more urgent
Japan should respond to growing uncertainty over U.S. security commitments by taking greater responsibility for protecting its own maritime and strategic interests.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a news conference during a NATO leaders' summit in Ankara on Wednesday.
WORLD / FOCUS
Jul 10, 2026
From threats to praise, Trump keeps allies guessing at NATO summit
NATO leaders, who endured a roller coaster at last year’s summit, have grown accustomed to coaxing out a friendlier U.S. President Donald ⁠Trump, through flattery if need be.
Seiji Maehara, a 12-term lawmaker from the Japan Innovation Party, speaks during an interview with The Japan Times in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 9, 2026
JIP’s submarine proposal tests Japan’s nuclear red lines
Senior party lawmaker Seiji Maehara says Tokyo should acquire at least eight nuclear-powered vessels “as quickly as possible.”
"(Japan) must now start to vigorously promote the domestic production of defense drones," Terra Drone President Toru Tokushige said in a recent interview.
BUSINESS
Jul 9, 2026
Japan’s Terra Drone to mass-produce defense drones domestically
The Tokyo-based company aims to speed up work to establish supply chains that do not rely on imports by promoting the development and production of drone components at home.
Latin American countries often spend roughly 1.2% to 1.3% of GDP on defense, according to a senior U.S. Defense Department official.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 9, 2026
Pentagon urges Latin American countries to raise defense budgets
The U.S. Department of Defense wants increased security spending to fight organized crime.
Turkeish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump during the NATO Summit at Bestepe Presidential Compound in Ankara on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 9, 2026
Trump’s visit a win for Turkey’s Erdogan, NATO tensions aside
The summit was a diplomatic success for Turkey, which wants to boost its stature within the bloc and also overcome longstanding issues with Washington.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and U.S. President Donald Trump meet on the sidelines of the NATO leaders' summit in Ankara on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 8, 2026
Trump turns on Spain and demands Greenland as NATO summit exposes cracks
The U.S. president’s remarks overshadowed a summit that European leaders had hoped would ‌project ‌unity and support for Ukraine
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi (second from right) and Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi (third from right) join other Indo-Pacific Four officials for a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Ankara on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 8, 2026
Japan and NATO share concerns about Chinese military activities
Tokyo has sought to keep NATO interested in the Indo-Pacific region even as the alliance focuses on beating back claims by the U.S. that it has outlived its usefulness.
An American soldier demonstrates how to fly a drone during a training exercise at a U.S. military facility in Hohenfels, Germany, on April 30.
COMMENTARY
Jul 8, 2026
America’s battlefield dominance is under serious threat
The U.S. still possesses the most capable military, but its ability to dominate a battlefield is under threat due to the rapid evolution of warfare.
The Philippines is looking to receive five Abukuma-class vessels from Japan in the next two to three years as part of broader efforts by Tokyo to boost the defense capabilities of like-minded neighbors amid growing Chinese military assertiveness in the region.
JAPAN
Jul 8, 2026
Japan set to deliver five retired MSDF warships to Philippines in ‘two to three years’
Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. says administrative details are being finalized, but it’s “already a done deal.”
Children walk past a display marking the founding anniversary of the Chinese Navy, during a media tour at the navy's Submarine Academy in Qingdao, China, in April 2024.
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Jul 7, 2026
Missile test marks new phase in expansion of China’s nuclear-armed submarine force
Monday’s launch was the first known full-range — or near-full-range — flight test of a Chinese long-range submarine-launched ballistic missile.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announces that Canada picked Germany’s TKMS to build 12 submarines for its navy, at HMC Dockyard in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 7, 2026
Canada’s Carney cites NATO and melting Arctic as Germany wins submarine contract
Prime Minister Mark Carney has pursued closer integration with European defense initiatives as the U.S. under President Donald Trump takes a more skeptical approach toward NATO.

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival