Topic
- Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff gives briefing on US commitments to Ukraine
- The US is wary about putting its troops on the ground in Ukraine and provoking Russia
Latvia-based media group reported that members of a Russian intelligence unit had been placed at scene of reported health incidents involving US staff. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said report was baseless.
US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin, who is fighting prostate cancer, transferred his duties to his deputy hours after he was taken to hospital for ‘an emergent bladder issue’.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin says the diagnosis was a ‘gut punch’, but admits he should have told Biden and senior staff instead of keeping it a secret.
Austin, who returned to work after nearly a month’s absence because of prostate cancer complications, said: ‘The president and I will not tolerate attacks on US forces.’
‘I’m eager to fully recover and return as quickly as possible to the Pentagon,’ Austin said. He had initially concealed his prostate cancer diagnosis from Joe Biden.
US National Security spokesman John Kirby said ‘there is routine regular communication’ between President Joe Biden and the defence secretary and that Austin remains ‘actively involved’ from the hospital.
The White House is mounting a policy review, after the US president and other key officials were not told for days about Pentagon head Lloyd Austin’s condition and hospitalisation.
‘He has been missing for one week, and nobody, including his boss, Crooked Joe Biden, had a clue as to where he was, or might be,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin’s hospitalisation was kept far more secret than previously known, officials disclosed on Sunday.
The Pentagon said Austin was admitted to hospital on January 1 ‘for complications following a recent elective medical procedure’ but did not provide details.
Driving non-combatants into the arms of the enemy will turn a ‘tactical victory’ into ‘strategic defeat’, Pentagon head Lloyd Austin said, drawing on his experience battling Isis.
In a surprise trip to Kyiv, Austin said the US would be sending an additional US$100 million in weapons to Ukraine from US existing stockpiles. To date, Ukraine has received more than US$44 billion from the US.
Beijing has not had a defence minister since Li Shangfu was removed from the post in October for unknown reasons.
US defence secretary could have met top PLA brass – and maybe even President Xi Jinping – while resuming long-stalled senior military dialogues at security conference in Beijing, says Lieutenant General He Lei.
Lieutenant General Jing Jianfeng accuses Austin of distorting the facts about the island’s status.
The United States is stepping up planning and training with partners from the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean, he says.
Defence Secretary Austin said his department takes the matter ‘very seriously’ as Washington sought to reassure allies about its ability to keep secrets safe.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin tells CNN he sees ‘no imminent threat’ of invasion but increased military activity in Taiwan Strait shows Beijing seeks to establish ‘a new normal’.
The Pentagon head, who is vaccinated and received 2 boosters, says he is experiencing mild symptoms and will quarantine at home.
US defence chief also says Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has ‘galvanised’ the world in speech at regional security summit in Singapore.
Foreign ministry says Beijing has always opposed US arms sales to the island after defence chief said United States would make available ‘defence articles and services’ needed to defend against ‘the Chinese threat’.
US Defence Secretary tells Senate Appropriations Committee said he hoped his engagement with China’s defence minister would be the first of many, with both sides keen to keep communication open.
A regional official in eastern Ukraine says at least eight people have been killed by the Russian shelling.
‘Tomorrow people from the US are coming, I will meet the defence minister and the secretary of state, Mr Blinken,’ the Ukrainian president said in a news conference.
Austin, who has mild symptoms, will quarantine at home for the next five days.
Lloyd Austin will visit Georgia, Romania and Ukraine, which sit on the rim of the Black Sea region where Russia has sought to expand its influence.
Beijing has reportedly rejected requests for talks with vice-chairman of Central Military Commission and wants Lloyd Austin to meet defence minister.
Nigeria’s government ordered the aircraft to help it tackle an Islamist insurgency in the northeast of the country.
As the erstwhile enemies seek to deepen bilateral defence ties to tackle issues relating to the South China Sea, they are also expected to cooperate in identifying and recovering the remains of thousands of Vietnamese soldiers.
