Latest Military and defense News

US and Philippines condemn the Chinese coast guard's water cannon blasts on fisheries vessels

Dec. 09, 2023 20:16 PM EST

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines and its treaty ally, the United States, separately condemned a high-seas assault Saturday by the Chinese coast guard together with suspected militia ships that repeatedly blasted water cannons to block three Philippine fisheries vessels from a disputed...

Israel presses on with its Gaza offensive after US veto derails Security Council efforts to halt war

Dec. 09, 2023 19:54 PM EST

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel's military pushed ahead with its punishing air and ground offensive in Gaza on Saturday, bolstered by a U.S. veto derailing U.N. Security Council efforts to end the war and word that an emergency sale of $106 million worth of tank ammunition had been...

US, South Korea and Japan urge a stronger international push to curb North Korea's nuclear program

Dec. 09, 2023 03:27 AM EST

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The national security advisers of the United States, South Korea and Japan on Saturday called for a stronger international push to suppress North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons and missiles, its cybertheft activities and alleged arms transfers to Russia. ...

A rocket attack targets the US Embassy in Baghdad, causing minor damage but no casualties

Dec. 08, 2023 16:38 PM EST

BAGHDAD (AP) — A rocket attack on the sprawling U.S. Embassy in Baghdad caused minor damage but no casualties on Friday morning, U.S. and Iraqi officials said. The attack was the first on the embassy located in the heavily fortified Green Zone of Iraq's capital to be confirmed...

Bulgarian parliament again approves additional military aid to Ukraine

Dec. 08, 2023 15:41 PM EST

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgaria’s parliament on Friday approved the provision of additional military aid to Ukraine in its war with Russia. A majority of 147 lawmakers in the 240-seat chamber voted in favor of supplying Ukraine with portable anti-aircraft missile systems and...

Taiwan says it spotted a Chinese surveillance balloon as the island's election nears

Dec. 08, 2023 07:53 AM EST

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan’s Defense Ministry says it spotted a Chinese surveillance balloon in the Taiwan Strait along with a large-scale movement of military aircraft and ships. The ministry said the balloon passed southwest of the northern port city of Keelung on Thursday...

Myanmar's army is facing battlefield challenges and grants amnesty to troops jailed for being AWOL

Dec. 08, 2023 00:39 AM EST

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s military government has been freeing soldiers and police who had been jailed for desertion and absence without leave, seeking to get them to return to active duty, a police officer and an army officer said Thursday. The releases follow an an amnesty plan...

Who are the Houthis and why hasn’t the US retaliated for their attacks on ships in the Middle East?

Dec. 07, 2023 14:33 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — When Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen launched missiles and hit three commercial ships in the southern Red Sea last weekend, it triggered an immediate question: Will the U.S. military strike back? The Houthis have sharply escalated their attacks against ships...

Fighting between Israel and Hamas rages in Gaza's second-largest city, blocking aid from population

Dec. 07, 2023 07:01 AM EST

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli troops battled Hamas militants Wednesday in the center of the Gaza Strip's second-largest city, the military said. The ground offensive has sent tens of thousands of Palestinians fleeing to the territory's southernmost edge and prevented aid groups from delivering...

Chinese navy ships are first to dock at new pier at Cambodian naval base linked to Beijing

Dec. 07, 2023 05:02 AM EST

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Chinese naval vessels have become the first ships to dock at a new pier at a Cambodian naval base that the United States and some international security analysts say is destined to serve as a strategic outpost for Beijing’s navy. The docking of the two...