The defense chiefs of the United States and Japan reaffirmed their commitment to expand military presence in a chain of strategic Western Pacific Ocean islands located near China. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin held his first telephone talks with Gen Nakatani, the newly appointed defense minister of Japan, on Tuesday. They reiterated the commitment to…
By Kanishka Singh and Jasper Ward WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke to his Israeli counterpart late on Tuesday, hours after Iran’s missile attack on Israel following Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon, and said Washington was “well-postured” to defend its interests in the Middle East. WHY IT’S IMPORTANT Earlier in the…
China called on Israel to take immediate actions to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East and issued a security alert asking its citizens to avoid travel to Lebanon as the killing of Hezbollah’s leader has driven the two sides closer to a full-scale war. The warnings come after Hassan Nasrallah, the long-time leader of Iran-backed…
US President Joe Biden on Saturday called Israel’s killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah “a measure of justice” for his many victims and said the United States fully supported Israel’s right to defend itself against Iran-supported groups. Biden said he had directed Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to enhance further the defense posture of US…