DefenceTalkJapanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Wednesday he will attend this month’s NATO summit in Madrid, becoming the country’s first leader to join a top meeting of the transatlantic alliance. The June 28-30 gathering is seen as a crunch moment for the 30 North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies, four months into Russia’s war in Ukraine. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/japan-to-attend-nato-summit-for-first-time-78967/

DefenceTalkTurkey said on Wednesday that it was waiting for a “written response” from Sweden and Finland to Ankara’s objections to their NATO bids. “We have transmitted our questions in writing to these two countries,” Turkey Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters. “Now we’re waiting for their written responses,” he said. The two Nordic countries reversed […]https://www.defencetalk.com/turkey-written-response-finland-sweden-over-nato-78964/

DefenceTalkNine Central and Eastern European countries on Friday asked NATO to strengthen its eastern flank following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The meeting of the leaders of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia was held in the Romanian capital Bucharest less than three weeks ahead of a NATO summit meeting […]https://www.defencetalk.com/nine-european-countries-urge-nato-to-beef-up-eastern-flank-78949/

DefenceTalkTurkey’s blockage of Sweden’s and Finland’s NATO membership bids may not be resolved in time for the alliance’s summit later this month, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Sunday. He said NATO was “working hard” to resolve “legitimate” issues raised by Turkey. Stoltenberg had previously insisted that the two nations would be welcomed “with open arms,” […]https://www.defencetalk.com/stalled-finnish-swedish-nato-bids-may-drag-on-nato-chief-78961/

DefenceTalkThe US and Chinese defence ministers will hold their first face-to-face talks in Singapore Friday, Chinese state media said, as the superpowers lock horns over security disputes ranging from Taiwan to contested waters. The relationship between the two countries has deteriorated due to myriad issues in recent years. As well as Taiwan and the South […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-us-defence-ministers-to-hold-talks-in-singapore-78945/

DefenceTalkTaiwan on Thursday welcomed US approval of a $120 million sale of naval equipment that the two allies said would bolster the island’s “combat readiness” and ability to work with American forces. Self-ruled, democratic Taiwan lives under constant threat of invasion by authoritarian China, which views the island as part of its territory to be […]https://www.defencetalk.com/taiwan-welcomes-fourth-us-arms-sale-under-biden-78927/

DefenceTalkRussia’s war in Ukraine is upending the global arms industry. As the U.S. and its allies pour significant sums of money into arming Ukraine and Russia bleeds tanks and personnel, countries across the world are rethinking defense budgets, materiel needs and military relationships. Countries that historically have had low levels of defense spending such as […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-and-china-set-to-be-winners-from-russias-stumbles-as-arms-industry-get-shake-up-78918/

DefenceTalkNorth Korea on Thursday skipped the diplomatic niceties for a combative tone when it took the helm of the Conference on Disarmament. “My country is still at war with the United States,” declared Pyongyang’s ambassador Han Tae-Song. Around 50 countries voiced their outrage that unpredictable nuclear-armed North Korea is being tasked with chairing the world’s […]https://www.defencetalk.com/protests-as-north-korea-takes-helm-of-world-disarmament-body-78879/

DefenceTalkAn overwhelming majority of Danes, almost 67 percent, voted Wednesday in favour of joining the EU’s common defense policy 30 years after opting out, results showed with 100 percent of ballots counted. The vote comes on the heels of neighboring Finland and Sweden’s historic applications for NATO membership, as the war in Ukraine forces countries […]https://www.defencetalk.com/danes-say-yes-to-joining-eu-common-defense-policy-78873/

DefenceTalkTraditionally eurosceptic Denmark began voting Wednesday in a referendum on whether to overturn its opt-out on the EU’s common defence policy after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The vote comes on the heels of neighboring Finland’s and Sweden’s historic applications for NATO membership, as the Ukraine war forces countries in Europe to rethink their security policies. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/danes-begin-voting-on-joining-eus-common-defence-policy-78860/