Category Archives: US Military

Pentagon accused of blocking effort to hand Russia war crimes evidence to ICC

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Defence department reportedly unwilling to share intelligence over fears precedent could be set against US soldiers

The Pentagon has been accused of blocking the sharing of US intelligence with the international criminal court (ICC) about Russian war crimes in Ukraine.

The Biden White House and state department have been a proponent of cooperation with the Hague-based ICC, as a means of holding Russian forces accountable for widespread war crimes, but the defence department is firmly opposed on the grounds that the precedent could eventually be turned against US soldiers.

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Australia will put nuclear safety ‘above all else’ as it builds submarines, vice admiral says

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In interview with Guardian Australia, Jonathan Mead moves to allay concerns as Aukus partners prepare to announce detailed plans

Australia will put nuclear safety “above all else” as it begins the “generational challenge” of building and operating nuclear-powered submarines under the Aukus pact, the government’s top adviser has said.

Vice Admiral Jonathan Mead has moved to allay concerns – both at home and across the region – about nuclear safety as Australia, the US and the UK prepare to announce their detailed plans within days.

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Daniel Duggan says he faces ‘gross injustice’ if extradited to US in speech from Sydney prison

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The former US marine pilot urges his audience to ‘say no to politically charged extraditions of Australian citizens’

In a speech from prison, the Australian pilot Daniel Duggan has said he faces a “gross injustice” if extradited to the US and, potentially, a “cruelly long sentence”, warning Australia against acquiescing to the demands of powerful countries.

The address, dictated by Duggan from his prison cell to his legal team, and read on his behalf on Saturday night in Sydney, urged his audience to “say no to Australia being a political lackey to any foreign government, as allies can be dangerous too”.

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Biden pledges more Moscow sanctions: ‘Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia’ – as it happened

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Speaking before a crowd of thousands in the gardens of Warsaw’s Royal Castle, Joe Biden hailed the resilience of Ukraine’s people and the benevolence of Poland and other western allies in helping fend off the Russian invasion.

“Autocrats only understand one word: no.” Biden said. “No, you will not take my country. No, you will not take my freedom. No, you will not take my future. I’ll repeat tonight what I said last year at the same place. A dictator bent on rebuilding an empire will never be able to ease the people’s love of liberties. Brutality will never grind down the will of the free. Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia, never.”

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US and Ukraine ‘still having discussions’ amid pressure to supply F-16 jets

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UN ambassador says US must ensure Ukrainians ‘have the training necessary … to use weapons systems we provide’

The US ambassador to the United Nations indicated on Sunday that the White House could reverse its refusal to supply F-16 jets to Ukraine.

“We’re still having discussions on the ground with the Ukrainians,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield told CNN’s State of the Union, adding that Washington was working “very closely and directly” with Kyiv to identify “what their needs are and when they need them”.

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North Korea fires ballistic missile off east coast

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Pyongyang confirms rapid launch drill after warning of strong response to upcoming US-South Korea military exercises

North Korea has fired a ballistic missile toward the sea off its east coast, South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said, after Pyongyang warned of a strong response to upcoming US-South Korea military drills.

Japan’s coastguard also said North Korea fired what could be a ballistic missile on Saturday.

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FBI lab will get to the ‘guts’ of Chinese balloon – White House

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‘Electronics and optics’ among wreckage of suspected surveillance craft shot down off South Carolina after recovery efforts end

The US has finished work to recover sunken remnants of the Chinese balloon shot down off the coast of South Carolina and the debris reinforces that it was for spying, officials have said.

The White House national security spokesman, John Kirby, said the wreckage included “electronics and optics” but declined to say what the US had learned from it so far.

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Biden says latest objects shot down over US not linked to China spy program

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‘Private companies’ conclusion set to fuel criticism that downings were overreaction amid pressure over initial balloon discovery

Joe Biden has broken his silence on unknown aerial objects shot down over North America during the past week, assessing that they were “most likely” operated by private companies or research institutions rather than China.

The US president’s tentative conclusion is likely to fuel criticism that his orders to take down the objects were an overreaction amid political pressure over the discovery of a suspected Chinese spy balloon that transited much of the country.

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Biden says three objects shot down over US ‘most likely’ private, and not more Chinese spy balloons – as it happened

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The special grand jury empaneled in the Georgia’s Fulton county worried that at least one of the 75 witnesses it heard from may have lied under oath, according to portions of their report released today.

They also determined “by a unanimous vote that no widespread fraud took place in the Georgia 2020 presidential election that could result in overturning that election,” the jurors wrote in the report’s introduction, which was released along with its conclusion and a brief chapter outlining the perjury concerns.

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Japan says aerial objects spotted in recent years were likely Chinese spy balloons

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Defence ministry demands China’s government ‘confirm the facts’ after analysis of incidents since 2019 find objects were likely used for surveillance

A new analysis of unidentified aerial objects that flew over Japan’s airspace in recent years “strongly” suggests they were Chinese spy balloons, according to Tokyo’s defence ministry.

“After further analysis of specific balloon-shaped flying objects previously identified in Japanese airspace, including those in November 2019, June 2020 and September 2021, we have concluded that the balloons are strongly presumed to be unmanned reconnaissance balloons flown by China,” the defence ministry said in a statement late on Tuesday.

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Three objects shot down after Chinese spy balloon may be benign, White House says

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Flying objects could be commercial- or research-linked, while US military admits first shot at object over Lake Huron missed

Three unidentified objects shot down by US fighter jets since Friday may turn out to be balloons connected to “benign” commercial or research efforts, a White House official said on Tuesday.

The US has not found any evidence to connect the objects to China’s balloon surveillance program nor to any other country’s spy program, national security council spokesperson, John Kirby, told reporters.

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Hunt for mysterious object shot down in remote Yukon faces daunting odds

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The Canadian territory is an aircraft graveyard – now the difficult search is on for a downed unidentified craft in its vast environs

The rugged, “unpeopled” landscape of Canada’s Yukon territory is a graveyard for aircraft, with more than 500 planes crashing in its forests, mountains and lakes over the years.

Now, Canada’s military and police, alongside their US counterparts, are searching the unforgiving landscape in midwinter for a mysterious object recently shot on Saturday by a fighter plane.

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‘Significant’ debris from China spy balloon retrieved, says US military

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Sensors and electronics pulled from waters off South Carolina, says military, after White House says Beijing’s surveillance program dates back years

The US military has recovered “significant debris” from a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon shot down this month, the Pentagon has said, after the White House claimed China had been operating a high-altitude balloon program spying on the US and its allies for many years.

The US Northern Command said in a statement: “Crews have been able to recover significant debris from the site, including all of the priority sensor and electronics pieces identified as well as large sections of the structure.”

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US shoots down ‘octagonal’ flying object near military sites in Michigan

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Military general says he will not rule out any explanation as fourth object is downed over North America this month

The US military has shot down a third flying object over North American airspace in three days, as the air force general overseeing the airspace said he would not rule out any explanation for the objects yet.

The high-altitude unidentified object, described as an “octagonal structure” with strings attached to it, was shot down over Lake Huron in Michigan on Sunday.

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Schumer says Chinese ‘humiliated’ after three flying objects shot down

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‘Chinese were caught lying',’ says Senate majority leader as US and Canadian military scramble to recover pieces

US and Canadian military are continuing to search by sea and land amid hostile weather conditions in a scramble to recover portions of three flying objects shot down over North American airspace in the past week.

The Democratic majority leader of the US Senate, Chuck Schumer, told ABC’s This Week on Sunday that he had been briefed by the White House and that officials were now convinced that all three of the flying objects brought down by air-to-air missiles this week were balloons. He put the finger of blame firmly on China.

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Unidentified object shot down over Alaska by US military, White House says

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Spokesman John Kirby says object, the size of a small car, was ordered by President Biden to be downed

• Chinese ‘spy balloon’ wakes up world to new era of war on edge of space

A US fighter jet has shot down an unidentified high-altitude object over Alaska that was the size of a small car but the nature, purpose or origin of the object remains unclear.

US officials said the targeted aircraft brought down on Friday was considerably smaller than the Chinese balloon downed last Saturday over the Atlantic, and carefully avoided characterising it as a balloon, drone or plane, giving nothing away about the description of the object other than its rough size, its altitude and its direction of travel.

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White House rejects Republican fire over wait to down Chinese spy balloon

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Pete Buttigieg says president ‘considered safety of American people’ but Marco Rubio criticizes eight-day wait

The US transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, rejected Republican criticism of Joe Biden over the eight-day wait to shoot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon which flew over military sites.

“The president gave instructions to have it shot down in a way that was safe,” Buttigieg told CNN’s State of the Union, of the operation off the Carolina coast on Saturday.

Associated Press contributed to this report

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Aukus: Biden urged to fast-track research into submarines using non-weapons grade uranium

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US lawmakers are concerned that if Australia’s new nuclear submarines use enriched fuel it could undermine global non-proliferation system

The Biden administration is being urged to fast-track research into submarines that do not use weapons-grade uranium, as four Democratic politicians warn the Aukus deal with Australia makes the task “even more pressing”.

Australia’s deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, arrived in the United States for crucial talks with the defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, on Friday (US time), amid renewed congressional concerns about aspects of the flagship Aukus project.

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US general’s ‘gut’ feeling of war with China sparks alarm over predictions

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Leaked memo forecasting Taiwan strait conflict in 2025 triggers debate about ‘undisciplined’ comments

A leaked memo from a US four-star general saying his “gut” told him the US would be at war with China in 2025 has prompted warnings about the danger of “undisciplined” predictions of a Taiwan strait conflict.

The memo, by the head of the US Air Mobility Command (AMC), Gen Mike Minihan, was the latest prediction of a Chinese military invasion of Taiwan, which have ranged from 2022 to 2049. It has triggered a debate about US readiness, accusations of warmongering, and concerns about desensitising people to the real risk of invasion.

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US seals crucial military deal with the Philippines close to China ‘flashpoints’

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Deal expands Washington’s access to military bases close to Taiwan and the South China Sea

The Philippines has granted the United States expanded access to its military bases, greatly enhancing Washington’s presence in the region at a time of growing concern about Chinese aggression.

Washington would be given access to four additional military bases in “strategic areas of the country”, without specifying the locations, the Philippines’ Department of National Defence said on Thursday in a statement.

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