Defence Affairs Archives - Page 3 of 159

06 Aug

North Korea fires short-range ballistic missile toward East Sea: South Korea’s military

Seoul, Aug 6 (IANS) North Korea fired at least one short-range ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Thursday, South Korea's military said. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the missile was launched from the eastern coastal Wonsan area in the North at around 5 pm (local time). The number of missiles launched was not immediately known. "While strengthening monitoring and surveillance against potential additional launches, our military is maintaining a full readiness posture and closely sharing relevant information with the United States and Japan," the JCS said, Yonhap News Agency reported. The latest launch comes over a month…

06 Aug

Mortal remains of Nirmal Purja and four other climbers airlifted to Skardu

Islamabad, Aug 6 (IANS) Mortal remains of renowned mountaineer Nirmal Purja and four other climbers have been airlifted to Skardu after they were killed in an avalanche on Broad Peak mountain in Pakistan, local media reported on Thursday. A 10-member international expedition led by 43-year-old Purja on Broad Peak, one of the world’s highest mountains, was cut off from contact when the avalanche struck on July 30, "Following one of the most technically demanding recovery operations on Broad Peak, the Alpine Club of Pakistan confirms that the bodies of Nirmal Purja, Wang Zhong, Nima Sherpa, Gyalu Sherpa, and Killi Pemba…

04 Aug

Three militants killed in Northern Philippines’ clash with government troops

Manila, Aug 4 (IANS) Three alleged members of the rebel New People's Army (NPA) were killed during an encounter with government troops in Abra province in the northern Philippines on Tuesday, according to local media reports. The Philippine authorities said troops encountered about 10 suspected NPA members while conducting pursuit operations in the area. Soldiers later recovered the bodies of the three suspected rebels along with three high-powered firearms, Xinhua News Agency reported. The local government and the Philippine Army have urged local residents to remain vigilant and report suspicious individuals or activities as security operations in the region continue.…

03 Aug

Taiwan reiterates its claim over islands in South China Sea

Taipei, Aug 2 (IANS) The Taiwan government on Sunday reaffirmed its sovereignty claim over islands in the South China Sea after the Philippines shared an official nautical chart of Scarborough Shoal with the United Nations, local media reported. Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said any disputes in the South China Sea should be resolved peacefully as per international law and the law of the sea, and called for Taipei's inclusion in the multilateral dispute settlement mechanisms, Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA) reported. Taiwan's MoFA statement comes after the Philippines shared an official nautical chart of Scarborough Shoal with the…

03 Aug

South Korea, US launch joint underwater survey for Korean War aircraft wreckage

Seoul, Aug 3 (IANS) South Korea and the United States on Monday launched a joint underwater excavation project in waters off the country's eastern coast to find wreckage of US aircraft that went down during the 1950-53 Korean War, Seoul's defence ministry said. The project, which is scheduled to run through August 28, will take place in Gangneung and Yangyang in Gangwon Province, involving the ministry's Agency for KIA Recovery & Identification and the US Defence POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). Some 40 people will be deployed for the project, including personnel from the South Korean Navy's First Fleet and the…

03 Aug

Iran says talks with Oman focused on designating temporary route for safe shipping in Hormuz Strait

Tehran, Aug 3 (IANS) Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Monday that negotiations between Iran and Oman are focused on reaching an agreement on designating a "temporary" route to ensure safe shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. "The negotiations have been focused on the idea that the southern route, which passes through Oman's waters, and the northern route, which passes through Iran's territorial waters, would turn into an intermediate route," Baghaei said at a weekly press conference in Tehran. He said the talks are centred on a round-trip corridor, not two or three separate routes, and the intermediate route…

30 Jul

US military drone flies over inter-Korean border area, prompts civilian evacuation

Seoul, July 30 (IANS) A US military drone flew over an inter-Korean border region during combined drills with South Korea on Thursday, military officials said, prompting residents in the area to evacuate as a precaution. The unmanned flying vehicle was detected south of a general outpost in northern Gyeonggi Province near the border with North Korea and was later identified as a US military drone belonging to its Marine Corps stationed here, according to military officials from both sides. "Upon further verification, the unmanned vehicle was identified as a US military drone participating in a training exercise," an official from…

30 Jul

Poland claims its airspace was violated during Russian missile attack on Ukraine

Warsaw, July 30 (IANS) Poland has said that an unidentified object targeting Ukraine entered Polish airspace and crashed near Lublin overnight into Thursday, triggering an explosion and leaving behind a 10-metre wide crater. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated that the violation of Polish airspace took place during the Russian missile attack on Ukraine. "During the Russian massive missile attack on western Ukraine, a violation of Polish airspace occurred. In connection with this, I have convened a coordination team with the participation of the Minister of Defence and the relevant services, which have been working on-site for many hours and…

28 Jul

More opportunities for women in Coast Guard; policy reforms also to benefit kin of those missing at sea

New Delhi, July 28 (IANS) The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is set to get more gender neutral through the induction of women candidates into both Short Service Appointments (SSA) and Permanent Appointments (PA) at par with their male counterparts. The SSA has also been opened for male candidates. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh unveiled two significant policy reforms for the ICG on Tuesday aimed at promoting gender parity in the induction and service conditions of officers, and streamlining the administrative procedures for granting ex-gratia to the families of personnel reported missing at sea while on duty. Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh,…

26 Jul

Mothers kept waiting; some children only saw their fathers in pictures: Rajnath Singh on Kargil Vijay Diwas

Drass, July 26 (IANS) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh paid tribute on Sunday to the brave soldiers of the 1999 Kargil War, commemorating Kargil Vijay Diwas, reflecting how the enemy underestimated the bravery and determination of the Indian Army. Addressing the gathering at Kargil War Memorial in Drass, Singh said, "The Tricolour that flutters so proudly atop the Kargil War Memorial comes at a tremendous cost to its honour, pride, and glory. Exactly 27 years ago from today, in this very July of 1999, a cowardly and insidious attack was launched on our motherland." "Pakistan, through its infiltrating army intruders, resorted…