South East Asia

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Friday said he would help Pakistan stay off a terrorism financing blacklist at a meeting of a global finance watchdog, a move he suggested would counter “political pressure” from Islamabad’s critics.

Vice Adm. Rick Williamson, deputy chief of naval operations for fleet readiness and logistics (N4), and Rear Adm. Masatomi Dairiki, director general of the Logistics Department of the Maritime Support Office, Japan Maritime Self Defense Force, signed a revised framework to improve cooperation and interoperability for maritime logistics Feb 5 …

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.