U.S. warship drill meant to defy China’s claim over artificial island: officials

U.S. warship drill meant to defy China’s claim over artificial island: officials

A U.S. warship carried out a “maneuvering drill” when it sailed within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea, to show Beijing it was not entitled to a territorial sea around it, U.S. officials said on Thursday. The operation near Mischief Reef on Thursday, Pacific time, […]

U.N. Security Council weighs new sanctions on North Korea

U.N. Security Council weighs new sanctions on North Korea

The United Nations Security Council edged closer to imposing new sanctions on North Korea with an emergency strategy session Tuesday and a unanimous condemnation of Pyongyang’s latest missile test. The council, including North Korea’s ally and protector China, met hours after warning Pyongyang that sanctions are a possibility. A statement issued Monday said the body […]

U.S. Generals testify before House Armed Services Committee on space defense

U.S. Generals testify before House Armed Services Committee on space defense

Air Force Gen. John Raymond, commander of Air Force Space Command, and Air Force Lt. Gen. David Buck, commander of the Joint Functional Component-Space for the U.S. Strategic Command, appeared before the House Armed Services Committee earlier this week to testify on the state of national security as it pertains to America’s orbital and space-based […]

Tillerson says US pressure on North Korea in ‘early stages’

Tillerson says US pressure on North Korea in ‘early stages’

WASHINGTON (AFP) –  US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned Sunday that the United States was still in the “early stages” of applying pressure on Pyongyang, after yet another North Korean missile test in defiance of international sanctions. The test of what the US military described as a medium-range missile fired from Pukchang, North Korea was […]

North Korea tests another missile; Seoul says dashes hopes for peace

North Korea tests another missile; Seoul says dashes hopes for peace

North Korea fired a ballistic missile into waters off its east coast on Sunday, its second missile test in a week, which South Korea said dashed the hopes of the South’s new liberal government for peace between the neighbors. A South Korean military official said the missile appeared to be an upgraded, extended-range version of […]

Killing C.I.A. informants, China crippled U.S. spying operations

Killing C.I.A. informants, China crippled U.S. spying operations

WASHINGTON — The Chinese government systematically dismantled C.I.A. spying operations in the country starting in 2010, killing or imprisoning more than a dozen sources over two years and crippling intelligence gathering there for years afterward. Current and former American officials described the intelligence breach as one of the worst in decades. It set off a […]

USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group joins the USS Carl Vinson in the Pacific

USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group joins the USS Carl Vinson in the Pacific

The USS Ronald Reagan, one of the United States’ 10 nuclear powered Nimitz Class aircraft carriers, successfully completed sea trials last week after a long in-port maintenance period, and departed its home port in Yokosuka naval base in Japan to resume scheduled operations in the Asia-Pacific Region on Tuesday. The carrier was originally scheduled to return […]

Chinese jets intercept U.S. radiation-sniffing plane, U.S. says

Chinese jets intercept U.S. radiation-sniffing plane, U.S. says

Two Chinese SU-30 aircraft carried out what the U.S. military described on Thursday as an “unprofessional” intercept of a U.S. aircraft designed to detect radiation while it was flying in international airspace over the East China Sea. “The issue is being addressed with China through appropriate diplomatic and military channels,” said Air Force spokeswoman Lieutenant […]

U.S. Pacific commander visits Japanese East China Sea listening post

U.S. Pacific commander visits Japanese East China Sea listening post

The head of the U.S. Pacific Command made his first visit on Wednesday to a Japanese radar station on the edge of the disputed East China Sea that Japan opened last year to the anger of its regional rival China. Admiral Harry Harris visited the Yonaguni Coast Observation Unit on the southernmost of the Ryukyu […]