DefenceTalkTaiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou said Friday the island will continue to acquire arms from the United States, dismissing reports that the US and China could discuss ending such sales. Ma spoke after local and Chinese media Thursday quoted a Chinese defence official who said Washington had reacted positively when China’s defence minister Chang Wanquan proposed […]https://www.defencetalk.com/taiwan-to-continue-buying-arms-from-us-48859/

DefenceTalkCBS News has learned that the Pentagon is making the initial preparations for a cruise missile attack on Syrian government forces. We say “initial preparations” because such an attack won’t happen until the president gives the green light. And it was clear during an interview on CNN Friday that he is not there yet. “If […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-preps-for-possible-cruise-missile-attack-on-syria-48849/

DefenceTalkDefense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Chinese Minister of National Defense Gen. Chang Wanquan today announced that their countries will take a series of steps to improve military-to-military relations. Speaking to reporters at a Pentagon news conference, both leaders said that close U.S.-China relations will provide stability and security for the Asia-Pacific region and the world. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/hagel-chang-seek-to-bolster-military-to-military-relations-48808/

DefenceTalkExperts from the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs gathered Aug. 14 at the Military Health System Research Symposium to discuss the future of research on mental health and traumatic brain injury. Discussions turned toward the National Research Action Plan, or NRAP, which is the result of an executive order signed a […]https://www.defencetalk.com/dod-partners-to-combat-brain-injury-48799/

DefenceTalkSituated in sight of unstable north Africa and on the shipping route to the Middle East, Gibraltar has military and intelligence facilities that still make it a strategic asset for Britain, analysts say. Spain ceded Gibraltar to Britain in perpetuity in 1713 following a military struggle but has since the 1960s fought to have the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/gibraltar-still-strategic-asset-for-britain-analysts-48790/

DefenceTalkThe Pentagon will host China’s Defense Minister General Chang Wanquan for talks Monday at a time of “positive momentum” in military relations between the two countries, a US official said. Chang was due to start his visit Friday in Hawaii where he was scheduled to meet the head of US Pacific Command, before heading to […]https://www.defencetalk.com/chinas-defense-minister-at-pentagon-for-talks-monday-48788/

DefenceTalkThere are still some ways in which newspapers capture the moment better than blogs or social media. One such way is their ability to display the full extent of global chaos, a topic so diverse and variegated that it is tough to capture on an Internet page or blog posting. So if you want to […]https://www.defencetalk.com/as-global-unrest-spreads-us-slashes-military-readiness-48772/

DefenceTalkNorth and South Korea will hold a seventh round of talks Wednesday on reopening their joint industrial park in Kaesong, with a lot more than the future of the complex riding on the outcome. With South Korea kicking off a military exercise with the United States next week, the result of the negotiations could determine […]https://www.defencetalk.com/military-drill-looms-large-over-inter-korea-talks-48739/

DefenceTalkTurkey plans to pull out troops from the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon UNIFIL, Turkish and UN sources said Saturday, while denying that the decision was linked to the kidnapping of two pilots. “An approximately 250-person engineering construction force will not be actively involved in UNIFIL in the coming period,” a Turkish diplomatic source told […]https://www.defencetalk.com/turkey-to-withdraw-troops-from-un-peacekeeping-force-in-lebanon-48714/

DefenceTalkThe US Army could be reduced by a further 15 percent, with cuts to the numbers of full-time active soldiers as well as reserves, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Wednesday. He said a review found that priority missions could be handled with between 420,000 and 450,000 active troops — compared to the 490,000 currently envisaged […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-could-reduce-army-by-further-15-percent-hagel-48651/