Page 5 - Military

Will focus on strengthening security, military modernisation: Rajnath Singh

The new Narendra Modi government will focus on further strengthening national security by modernising the armed forces and boosting domestic defence manufacturing, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday after taking charge of the office. Outlining his vision for the next five years, Singh said the government will work assiduously to increase defence exports to Rs 50,000 crore by 2028-29 from the current Rs 21,083 crore. The armed forces are being equipped with state-of-the-art weapons and platforms and they are ready to face every challenge, he told reporters after taking charge as defence minister for the second consecutive term. Singh also commended the military personnel for protecting the unity, integrity and sovereignty of the nation with valour and commitment, in comments that came amid the lingering border row with China in eastern Ladakh. "Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we aim to further strengthen the security apparatus of the country, with

Pressing Russia to release Indians in Russian military: Foreign secy Kwatra

India on Wednesday said it has been pressing Russia to ensure the safety and repatriation of its nationals employed by the Russian Army. The comments by Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra came a day after the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said two more Indians serving with the Russian military were killed in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The killing of two Indians has taken the number of such deaths to four. "Since the first day, we have constantly been discussing this matter with the Russian authorities, the system and the leadership," Kwatra said. "All of our efforts are aimed at keeping the Indians safe," he said at a media briefing while responding to a question on the matter. "We have clearly told the Russian officials that all Indians in the war zone, howsoever they got there is another matter, should be returned (to India)," he said. Confirming the deaths of the two Indians, the MEA on Tuesday said India has strongly taken up the matter with Russia and sought early release

South Korea suspends military deal with North Korea over trash balloons

South Korea on Tuesday took steps to suspend a contentious military agreement with North Korea and resume frontline military activities, as tensions between the rivals are rising over the North's recent launch of trash-carrying balloons. North Korea didn't immediately respond, but South Korea's resumption of firing exercises or propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts will likely prompt North Korea to take similar or stronger steps along the rivals' tense border. In the past week, North Korea has used balloons to drop manure, cigarette butts, scraps of cloth and waste paper on South Korea, prompting Seoul to vow unbearable retaliation. On Sunday, North Korea said it would halt its balloon campaign. On Tuesday, South Korea's Cabinet Council and President Yoon Suk Yeol approved a proposal to suspend the 2018 inter-Korean agreement on lowering frontline military tensions. It will take effect once Seoul formally notifies the North. Cho Chang-rae, South Korea's deputy defense minister for poli

S Korea agrees to suspend military deal with N Korea over trash balloons

South Korea's government has approved the suspension of a contentious military agreement with North Korea, a step that would allow it to take tougher responses to North Korean provocations. The development came as animosities between the rival Koreas rose sharply recently after North Korea launched trash-carrying balloons across the border in reaction to previous South Korean civilian leafletting campaigns. On Tuesday, South Korea's Cabinet Council passed a proposal aimed at suspending the 2018 inter-Korean agreement on lowering down frontline military tensions. The proposal will formally take effect when it's signed by President Yoon Suk Yeol, likely later Tuesday, according to government officials.

China holds most expansive military drills in a year around Taiwan

The drills were intended to serve as a strong punishment for the separatist acts of 'Taiwan independence' forces and a stern warning against the interference and provocation by external forces

Defence ministry notifies Act for uniform tri-service military discipline

The Act will empower commanders-in-chief and officers-in-command of ISOs with disciplinary and administrative powers that will govern the personnel serving in or attached to such organisations

Casualties rise in Myanmar's war as forces tighten noose around military

Six months into an offensive against Myanmar 's military government, opposition forces have made massive gains, but civilian casualties are rising sharply as regime troops increasingly turn toward scorched-earth tactics in the Southeast Asian country's bitter civil war. There is pressure on all fronts from powerful militias drawn from Myanmar's ethnic minority groups and newer resistance forces. Troops are retaliating with air, naval and artillery strikes on hospitals and other facilities where the opposition could be sheltered or aided. When the mass of people rise up against them, I think it terrifies them, said Dave Eubank, a former U.S. Special Forces soldier who founded the Free Burma Rangers, a humanitarian aid organization that has provided assistance to both combatants and civilians in Myanmar since the 1990s. They know that hospitals, churches, schools and monasteries are important places for human care, and gathering, and symbols and they hammer them," said Eubank. "That'

Russia strikes energy facilities in air attack on Ukraine, say officials

Power generation and transmission facilities in the Poltava, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Vinnytsia regions were targeted

China will never treat India as equal partner: USISPF President Aghi

China will never treat India as an equal partner and by amassing troops on the border, Beijing is forcing New Delhi to spend more money on defence than capital investment, Mukesh Aghi, the head of a top US-based India-centric business and strategic group has said. The militaries of India and China have been locked in a standoff since May 2020 and a full resolution of the border row has not yet been achieved though the two sides have had several rounds of talks at the diplomatic and military levels. What we are witnessing today is for the first time in a human race, a democratic nation of 1.4 billion people has shown exponential growth in the economic arena," Aghi, the president of the US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF), said. Growing at seven-eight per cent, India's economy is now touching USD 4 trillion. "It is still very small when you compare it to the global GDP, which is around USD 105 trillion. We are still around 3 to 3.5 per cent of the global GDP, he told ..

New orders point to further gains for Hindustan Aeronautics stock

HAL is the primary supplier of India's military aircraft, helicopters, engines, avionics and accessories and the main provider of maintenance for defence aerospace

Mali's junta bans media from reporting political activities in country

In a deepening crackdown, Mali's ruling junta on Thursday banned the media from reporting on activities of political parties and associations, a day after suspending all political activities in the country until further notice. The order, issued by Mali's high authority for communication, was distributed on social media. The notice said it applied to all forms of the media, including television, radio, online and print newspapers. Mali has experienced two coups since 2020, leading a wave of political instability that has swept across West and Central Africa in recent years. Along with its political troubles, the country is also in the grip of a worsening insurgency by militants linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. The scope of the ban or how it would be applied in practice was not immediately clear. It was also not known if journalists would still be allowed to report on issues such as the economy, which are closely tied to politics and who would monitor their work. Th

Indian Army plans aggressor red team, test-bed units in modernisation drive

A number of foreign militaries employ the opposing force concept, which calls for specialised military units that act as the enemy force in training exercises and war games

Myanmar's worst violence since military takeover intensifying crisis: UN

Myanmar's escalating conflict and worst violence since the military takeover in 2021 are having a devastating impact on human rights, fundamental freedoms and basic needs of millions of people as well as alarming spillover effects in the region, UN officials have said. Assistant Secretary-General for political affairs Khaled Khiari told the UN Security Council on Thursday that the civilian toll keeps rising amid reports of indiscriminate bombing by Myanmar's armed forces and artillery shelling by various parties. The nationwide armed conflict in Myanmar began after the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021 and suppressed widespread nonviolent protests that sought a return to democratic rule. Thousands of young people fled to jungles and mountains in remote border areas as a result of the military's suppression and made common cause with ethnic guerrilla forces battle-hardened by decades of combat with the army in pursuit of autonomy. Despite its .

Arunachal Pradesh 'inherent part of China's territory': Chinese military

The Chinese military has reiterated its claim over Arunachal Pradesh, calling the area an inherent part of China's territory", days after India rejected Beijing's objection to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the state. The Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang said that the southern part of Xizang (the Chinese name for Tibet) is an inherent part of China's territory, and Beijing "never acknowledges and firmly opposes" the so-called Arunachal Pradesh illegally established by India, official media here reported. Zhang made the remarks in response to India's enhancement of its military readiness through the Sela Tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh, according to a report posted on the Chinese Defence Ministry's website on Friday. China, which claims Arunachal Pradesh as South Tibet, routinely objects to Indian leaders' visits to the state to highlight its claims. Beijing has also named the area as Zangnan. India has repeatedly rejected China's territorial cla

Denmark to expand conscription, draft women into military in rare move

The goal of the updated strategy, according to Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, is to boost the proportion of young people enlisting in the military

First batch of Indian military personnel manning helicopter leaves Maldives

The first batch of Indian military personnel stationed in the Maldives manning a helicopter gifted by India have departed from the island nation after handing over the operations of the chopper to an Indian civilian crew, the Maldivian media reported on Monday. A media official for the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) told the media here that approximately 25 Indian soldiers who were stationed in Addu city are now back in India after handing over the operations of a helicopter to an Indian civil crew. There was no immediate confirmation from India's defence ministry on the withdrawal of the first batch of Indian military personnel from the Maldives as reported by the media here. The MNDF official confirmed that, as agreed, the Indian military troops left the country ahead of March 10. The helicopters will, from now on, be operated by civilian experts from India who have been transferred to the Maldives for the purpose, the Editon.mv news portal reported. The official further

Maldives military to have control of helicopter crew from India: MNDF

The Maldivian defence force on Thursday said it will have operational authority over the helicopter given by India to the island nation and the civilian crew that will pilot it. Addressing a press conference, the Principal Director of Plans, Policy, and Resources Management for the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), Colonel Ahmed Mujuthaba Mohamed said that discussions are underway for withdrawing Indian troops from the Maldives. He emphasised that the government of President Mohamed Muizzu has decided not to permit any foreign troops to remain stationed in the Maldives beyond May 10, PSM News, the state broadcaster reported. Last week, India said its first civilian team of technical experts has reached the Maldives to replace the military personnel operating an advanced light helicopter in the island nation. "The first team of technical personnel to operate the advanced light helicopter has reached the Maldives. It will replace the existing personnel who were operating this .

Sweden officially joins Nato after completing its accession process

Sweden on Thursday formally joined NATO as the 32nd member of the transatlantic military alliance, ending decades of post-World War II neutrality as concerns about Russian aggression in Europe have spiked following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Secretary of State Antony Blinken presided at a ceremony in which Sweden's instrument of accession to the alliance was officially deposited at the State Department. Later Thursday. Kristersson will visit the White House and then be a guest of honor at President Joe Biden's State of the Union address to Congress. The White House said that having Sweden as a NATO ally will make the United States and our allies even safer. "NATO is the most powerful defensive alliance in the history of the world, and it is as critical today to ensuring the security of our citizens as it was 75 years ago when our alliance was founded out of the wreckage of World War II, it said in a statement. Sweden, along with .

Hyderabad man, duped into working as 'helper' for Russian army, dies

A man from Hyderabad, who was among the Indians "duped" by agents on the promise of jobs and taken to Russia and forced to work as a "helper" for the Russian Army, has died. The Indian Embassy in Moscow on Wednesday confirmed the death of the man, identified as Mohammed Afsan, adding that they are in touch with the family here. "We have learnt about the tragic death of an Indian national Shri Mohammed Asfan. We are in touch with the family and Russian authorities. Mission will make efforts to send his mortal remains to India," Indian embassy in Moscow said in a post on 'X'. When contacted, Afsan's brother Imran said the Indian embassy in Moscow informed the family about the 30-year-old's death. He requested the Central government to help them get back his brother's mortal remains. AIMIM sources said the party's chief Asaduddin Owaisi had contacted the Indian embassy in Moscow after Afsan's family approached him in this regard recently. An official from the Indian embassy in Mosco

China to provide military assistance to Maldives, inks pact to bolster ties

China on Monday signed a defence cooperation agreement with the Maldives to provide free military assistance to foster "stronger" bilateral ties with Male, weeks after President Mohamed Muizzu set a deadline for the withdrawal of the first group of Indian military personnel from his island nation. The Defence Minister of the Maldives Mohamed Ghassan Maumoon met with Major General Zhang Baoqun, Deputy Director of the Office for International Military Cooperation of China, to discuss enhancing defence cooperation between the two countries. Maumoon and Major General Baoqun "signed an agreement on China's provision of military assistance gratis to the Republic of Maldives, fostering stronger bilateral ties," the Maldivian defence ministry posted on its X handle. The details of the defence cooperation agreement were not provided. The visit of the Chinese military delegation took place days after Male allowed Xiang Yang Hong 03, a hi-tech Chinese research ship to make a port call for the