DefenceTalkAfghanistan has fallen to the Taliban, and U.S. troops now in the country are working to secure Hamid Karzai International Airport to enable the safe departure of U.S., allied and Afghan partners from the country. News reports show many Taliban in the streets, some toting American weapons. Other videos show Taliban patrolling the streets in […]

DefenceTalkChina is ready to deepen “friendly and cooperative” relations with Afghanistan, a government spokeswoman said Monday, after the Taliban seized control of the country. Beijing has sought to maintain unofficial ties with the Taliban throughout the US’ withdrawal from Afghanistan, which spurred an advance by the Islamist hardliners across the country that saw them capture […]

DefenceTalkThe withdrawal of Western troops from Afghanistan is the “biggest debacle” that NATO has suffered since its founding, the head of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party said Monday. With the Taliban sweeping to power after NATO troops withdrew, CDU party chief Armin Laschet said: “It is evident that this engagement of the international community was […]

DefenceTalkPhilippine President Rodrigo Duterte has walked back on a decision to end a key military deal with the United States, his defence secretary said Friday during a visit by Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin. Duterte told the United States in February last year he planned to axe the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) after Washington cancelled the […]

DefenceTalkBritain is “closely monitoring” the takeover of UK defence technology firm Ultra Electronics by US-owned Cobham amid security concerns, the government said Tuesday. Ultra last week agreed to a pound2.6-billion ($3.6-billion, 3.0-billion-euro) takeover from Cobham, the former London-listed defence giant now owned by Advent. US private equity group Advent has pledged to protect sensitive government […]

DefenceTalkThe leaders of China and Russia on Monday announced the extension of a 20-year-old friendship treaty, hailing increasingly close ties and the “stabilizing role” of their relationship. The Kremlin published a joint statement from Russia and China to mark two decades since the treaty was signed, as Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping held a televised […]

DefenceTalkBeijing on Tuesday accused NATO of exaggerating the threat from China and “creating confrontation”, after a vow from the Western allies to work together to counter the challenges posed by its policies. NATO leaders said Monday they would join forces against the “systemic challenges” posed by China’s policies, as US President Joe Biden renewed Washington’s […]

DefenceTalkBeijing on Wednesday accused Washington of “paranoid delusion” after the US Senate passed a sweeping industrial policy bill aimed at countering the surging economic threat from China. America’s political parties overcame partisan divisions to support pumping more than $170 billion into research and development, one of the most significant achievements in Congress since Joe Biden’s […]

DefenceTalkThe US Senate passed a sweeping industrial policy bill Tuesday aimed at countering the surging economic threat from rival China, overcoming partisan divisions to support pumping more than $170 billion into research and development. With both American political parties increasingly worried about competition from Asia’s largest power, the measure cleared the chamber on a 68-32 […]

DefenceTalkGrowing political and military cooperation between Russia and China poses “new dangers” for NATO and threatens multilateralism, the head of the military alliance said in an interview published Tuesday. “The rules-based order, the basis of multilateralism, is under threat,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told Italy’s La Repubblica newspaper. “Russia and China have been cooperating […]