South East Asia

The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to India of an Integrated Air Defense Weapon System (IADWS) for an estimated cost of $1.867 billion. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on February 7, 2020.

Russia says it has started the production of a batch of S-400 missile defense systems for India under a deal the two countries reached two years ago, despite threats of sanctions made by the United States against New Delhi over the purchase of the advanced Russian systems.

In a new report, the Pentagon said it would be slashing the number of UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters it planned to supply to the Afghan Air Force (AAF) by nearly two-thirds. Instead, it plans to supply CH-47 Chinook heavy-lifting choppers in a bid to replace the AAF’s Russian-made helicopters.

Berlin’s Federal Ministry of Defense has opted to purchase three Bombardier Global 6000 jets and abandon its plan to buy four US-made MQ-4C Triton aerial surveillance drones.

Chinese President Xi Jingping vowed the country will conquer the fight against a “devil” coronavirus outbreak that has killed 132 people and sickened thousands in China and around the globe.

Escalating U.S.-Iran tensions mean Afghanistan, which shares a border with Iran, could be the next proxy battleground between Washington and Tehran, a clash that threatens to undermine the Trump administration’s pursuit of a peace deal with the Taliban and eventual drawdown of American troops.

China reportedly launched an additional Type 055 destroyer and a Type 052D destroyer right before the year draws to an end, a move Chinese experts called on Sunday an astounding achievement in shipbuilding, as they expect the ships to enter military service in two years.

The most striking similarity is that both are being investigated for actions that their legislatures have not explicitly made criminal.

The statement comes days after Indian Navy chief Admiral Karambir Singh highlighted the requirement of three aircraft carriers for the Navy to overcome critical capability voids during a naval commanders’ conference in New Delhi.

U.S. lawmakers and experts have renewed calls for sanctions against China over rights abuses in its Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), in a swift response to the leak of hundreds of pages of documents detailing a crackdown on ethnic Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities ordered by President Xi Jinping.