News Report: Mattis Hails ‘Historic’ Opportunity to Expand US-India Ties

William Gallo

NEW DELHI — U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis took steps to reinforce a quickly growing defense partnership with India on Tuesday, declaring the relationship has “never been stronger.”

During meetings with senior Indian officials in New Delhi, Mattis stressed that the United States and India are “natural strategic partners who share common values and interests.”

“This is, again, a historic opportunity for our two democracies, a time of strategic convergence,” Mattis said alongside his Indian counterpart, Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

The U.S. sees India as a counterweight to the rising influence of China, and hopes to persuade New Delhi to become more involved in bringing stability to Afghanistan.

“We applaud India’s invaluable contributions to Afghanistan, and welcome further efforts to promote Afghanistan’s democracy, stability, and security,” Mattis said.

Pakistan, India’s longtime rival, opposes New Delhi’s expanded involvement in Afghanistan, fearing a future war with its strategic rival, (India), on two fronts.

Sitharaman on Tuesday downplayed those concerns, pointing out that most of India’s support for Afghanistan has been non-military.

“We have made it very clear that there shall not be boots from India on the ground,” Sitharaman said.

India has invested billions of dollars in Afghanistan, mostly in sectors such as health, education and infrastructure. India also recently agreed to expand its support for Afghan defense forces, which includes training of Afghan army personnel.

News Report: Mattis Arrives in India to Discuss Troubled Arms Deals, Role in Afghanistan

US Secretary of Defense James Mattis has arrived in New Delhi to discuss arms sales and India’s involvement in Afghanistan in his first visit since Donald Trump became president of the United States.

Mattis arrived in India late Monday to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who assumed office earlier in September.

"India from our perspective is clearly a pillar of regional stability and security: we share a common vision for a peaceful and prosperous future in the Indo-Pacific region," Mattis said in an interview during his flight, according to the Gulf Times.

According to various media reports, there are two major topics on Mattis's agenda: arms sales and Afghanistan.

In general, India is in need of a sizable and diverse fleet of planes, drones and helicopters. The issue is complicated by Modi's "Make in India" policy, under which India seeks to replace off-the-shelf purchases of military tech with the establishment of joint production on Indian soil. Some experts argue New Delhi actually seeks to acquire the technology itself, something the US is reluctant to provide.

News Report: Pakistan, Russia Begin 'Friendship 2017' Joint Anti-terror Drill

Ayaz Gul

ISLAMABAD — Pakistani and Russian military commandos have launched joint counterterrorism drills in the mountains and forests of Russia's North Caucasus republic of Karachaevo-Cherkessia.

The two-week-long exercise dubbed as "Friendship 2017" involves more than 200 mostly special forces from both countries who will conduct joint "hostage rescue" and "cordon-and-search" operations, according to the Pakistani military.

"The joint exercise will enhance and further strengthen military ties between the countries and share Pakistan army's experience in war against terrorism," it added.

Meanwhile, a nearly three-week-long joint air force exercises China is hosting with Pakistan are due to conclude this week. A spokesman for the Chinese air force described them as "routine" exercises.

Pakistan's deepening political, economic and defense ties with traditional ally China and its emerging new alliance with Russia come amid Islamabad's increasingly uneasy and strained relations with the United States.

News Story: Drones, Fighter jets on table as Mattis visits key ally India

By Abhaya SRIVASTAVA

Fighter jets, drone deals and shared concerns over Afghanistan's security look set to dominate the agenda when US Defense Secretary James Mattis visits India this week.

Mattis is scheduled to arrive late Monday and is set to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his new defence minister, in the first visit by a top US official since Donald Trump became president in January.

"The United States views India as a valued and influential partner, with broad mutual interests extending well beyond South Asia," a Pentagon statement said.

Trump and Modi met in June in Washington and the visit by Mattis is a sign "the political leadership in both countries place defence cooperation as a top priority", Mukesh Aghi, president of the US India Strategic Partnership Forum, told AFP.

Delhi and Washington share concerns about Afghanistan, with Trump announcing a new strategy for the war-torn country last month which cleared the way for the deployment of thousands more US troops.

The president has urged India to increase assistance to Afghanistan's economy, and has lambasted Delhi's arch-rival Pakistan for offering safe haven to "agents of chaos".

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

News Report: India, Japan Set to Ink Record $1.3 Billion Amphibious Aircraft Deal

ShinMayWa US-2 Amphibious Aircraft (Image: Wiki Commons)

During Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to India, the countries are expected to finally seal the US-2 amphibious aircraft deal, the negotiations on which had been halted since 2010 because of its “excessive price.”

Abe arrived in Ahmedabad on Wednesday on a two-day visit during which he will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to review progress in the strategic partners' multifaceted cooperation.

While the main focus is going to be on the high speed railway groundbreaking ceremony, India and Japan are expected to deepen their cooperation on defense and nuclear technologies.

India is likely to finalize purchases of the US-2 amphibious aircraft ShinMayWa in what may become Japan's largest defence export deal. India plans to buy 12 of these aircraft off-the-shelf for the Navy and another 18 will be jointly manufactured in India under the Prime Minister Modi's "Make in India" programme.

News Story: US Senate panel bucks Trump to back Foreign Military Financing

Sen. Lindsey Graham
(Image: Wiki Commons)

By: Joe Gould

WASHINGTON — A recent U.S. Senate report dismisses the Trump administration’s plans to kill U.S. subsidies for foreign allies to buy American-made weapons and replace the subsidies with a loans program.

The move came in a Senate Appropriations subcommittee report, which accompanied its version of the State Department spending bill. The State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Subcommittee is led by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who is among lawmakers who have said transforming the Foreign Military Financing program would be detrimental to national security and the U.S. defense sector.

“The Committee does not support transitioning FMF assistance from grants to loans, as proposed in the President’s budget request,” the report reads. “The Committee notes that prior to the submission of the [president’s budget] no study was conducted on the impact of the proposal to the U.S. national security interest or the security and stability of allies and partners, including the loss of influence through increased arms sales by [China] and Russia to FMF grant recipients.”

Foreign Military Financing has largely taken the role of a grant given to U.S. allies to allow them to buy defense equipment. With the exception of Israel, all countries that receive FMF have to spend it on goods made in the United States, a boost for the domestic defense industry.

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Story: MD Helicopters Lands $1.4B (Afghan) Order

An earlier batch of MD-530 Helicopters for Afghanistan

by Mark Huber

MD Helicopters (MDHI) has been awarded a five-year, $1.385 billion contract to provide up to 150 MD 530F Cayuse Warrior helicopters to the Afghan Air Force. The foreign military sale was contracted through the U.S. Army Contracting Command in Redstone Arsenal, Alabama.

The contract includes program management, delivery support, pilot training and maintenance. First contract deliveries will include a block of 30 MD 530Fs valued at $176.6 million to be delivered by September 2019.

Read the full story at AINonline

News Story: Trump pledges new weapon sales for Japan, South Korea

By: Aaron Mehta

WASHINGTON — In the wake of North Korea’s sixth nuclear weapons test, U.S. President Donald Trump pledged Tuesday to increase weapon sales to Japan and South Korea.

In a Tuesday morning tweet, Trump said, ”I am allowing Japan & South Korea to buy a substantially increased amount of highly sophisticated military equipment from the United States.”

The tweet followed a Monday call with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, during which Trump “provided his conceptual approval for the purchase of many billions of dollars’ worth of military weapons and equipment from the United States by South Korea,” according to a White House readout. 

That readout also stated that the U.S. would look to remove limits on payloads of weapons sold to South Korea.

Requests for information from the White House and State Department were not immediately returned. Both South Korea and Japan are close military allies with the U.S. and regular customers of defense articles. Among the high-end technology sold from the U.S. to those two nations is the stealthy F-35 joint strike fighter.

While the outreach will likely be welcome in Seoul, don’t expect a massive flow of defense articles to either nation to happen in the coming weeks. 

By its nature, the Foreign Military Sales program means that Trump cannot clear weapon sales and have them immediately flow towards the two Pacific nations. Under the FMS system, foreign countries must first request what they would like to buy. That request is then processed by the State Department, which checks the orders for any legal or regulatory hurdles, and then is passed on to Congress, which must OK the sale.

After that, the country begins working with the Pentagon to negotiate cost, quantity and timing with industry, a process that can drag on for years. And only then will the industrial partner begin production on the equipment. Because of this process, it can often take years between when a country declares its desire to procure American military goods and when it is finally able to use them. 

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Story: Seoul notes possible purchase of U.S. weapons but denies any immediate plan

SEOUL, Sept. 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korea on Tuesday acknowledged the possibility of a need to purchase advanced U.S. weapons systems in the future as part of efforts to enhance its deterrence against North Korean provocations but dismissed any immediate plan to spend "many billions of dollars" as suggested by Washington.

In a short statement released after a telephone conversation between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump late Monday, the White House said the U.S. president has provided "his conceptual approval for the purchase of many billions of dollars' worth of military weapons and equipment" by South Korea.

Park Soo-hyun, spokesman for South Korea's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae, said the U.S. appeared to be referring to the allies' earlier discussions on upgrading South Korea's own defense capabilities.

"In their discussions so far, the two leaders have shared a view that there is a need to upgrade South Korea's defense capabilities, including an early establishment of its three-axis defense system, to counter threats from North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, and agreed to continue their cooperation to that end," the Cheong Wa Dae spokesman said in a statement.

The three-axis defense system refers to South Korea's own kill chain, missile defense system and massive retaliation capabilities.

Read the full story at YonhapNews

News Story: US prepares Filipino troops against chemical attack

By Roel Pareño

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — The US military is helping Filipino soldiers prepare for possible chemical attack of the Islamic State-inspired Maute group as fighting continues in several parts of Mindanao. 

According to the US Embassy in Manila, officials from the Joint United State Military Assistance Group has delivered 1,000 M40 field protective masks and C2 filter canisters to the Philippine Navy.

The turnover of the military protective masks were conducted in two batches; one delivery made on Wednesday and the other on Thursday.

The support came following the request of the Philippine Navy to help sailors and marines prepare for possible chemical attack of terrorists.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Report: Has India Secretly Supplied Vietnam with 6,000-pound Supersonic Missiles?

Vietnamese state media claim Hanoi and New Delhi not only agreed on a deal to send BrahMos supersonic projectiles to Hanoi, but also say the weapons have been delivered. India’s Ministry of External Relations, though, denies such a deal exists.

When asked specifically about the acquisition of the BrahMos, Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Thi Thu Hang said on August 18 “the procurement of defense equipment by Vietnam is consistent with the policy of peace and self-defense and is the normal practice in self-defense.”

India’s External Relations Ministry said reports of BrahMos cruise missiles reaching Hanoi were “incorrect” August 22. 

Whether the deal has been completed could have major strategic implications. First, the short-range ramjet supersonic cruise missile has a 600-kilometer range that puts some Chinese-owned features in the South China Sea in range. The level of tension between Hanoi and Beijing peaked recently when the People’s Liberation Army threatened to attack Vietnamese posts in the South China Sea if a joint venture between Hanoi and Madrid to explore oil fields there wasn’t called off.

News Report: Trump OKs Billions of Dollars in New Arms to S. Korea in Talk With Moon

President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in agreed in a phone call to expand their defense cooperation including the purchase of billions of dollars of extra US weapons, according to the White House readout.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in agreed in a phone call to expand their defense cooperation including the purchase of billions of dollars of extra US weapons, the White House said in a readout.

"President Trump provided his conceptual approval of planned purchases by South Korea of billions of dollars in American military equipment," the readout said on Friday. "The two leaders agreed to strengthen our alliance through defense cooperation and to strengthen South Korea’s defense capabilities."

Trump and Moon also discussed their coordinated response to North Korea’s behavior, which the White House described as "escalatory and threatening."

The two leaders agreed and pledged to continue to apply strong diplomatic and economic pressure on North Korea, the readout added.

This story first appeared on Sputnik & is reposted here with permission.

News Report: India Yet to Decide on Buying French Jets, Signing FGFA Deal With Russia

Russian PAK FA, design base for India's FGFA

Indian authorities currently considering the purchase of French Dassault Rafale fighter jets and the development of the joint Russia-India fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) project have not yet decided on going ahead with either of the options, a source in the Indian Ministry of Defense told the Times of India newspaper Saturday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Media reported on Thursday that the Indian Air Force was planning a new purchase of 36 French Rafale fighters on top of last year's deal on an identical number of aircraft.

"No final decision as yet has been taken on either the 36 more Rafales or the FGFA project," the source said.

The Indian Defense Ministry reportedly maintains that the purchase of French aircraft would be cheaper than the development of the FGFA project with Russia. The possible new purchase of Rafale jets is estimated by Indian specialists at around 60% of the first purchase amounting to $9.39 billion.

News Story: Philippines, Russia enhance defence cooperation

Hanoi (VNA) – Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu is expected to visit the Philippines to sign a cooperation deal in bilateral defence industry, said Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin on August 22.

Speaking with reporters, Fomin affirmed that the deal has been discussed. The two countries currently have no cooperation agreement on the defence industry. Meanwhile, the Philippines is struggling to buy new weapons from the US.

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

News Report: Indonesia Hopes to Sign Su-35 Purchase Deal By End of 2017 - Ambassador

Indonesia hopes to sign a contract on the purchase of Russia's Su-35 fighter jets by the end of 2017, Indonesian Ambassador to Russia Mohamad Wahid Supriyadi told Sputnik on Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Indonesian Ambassador to Russia Mohamad Wahid Supriyadi said Jakarta expects to receive 11 aircraft as part of the countertrade program memorandum of cooperation, which the envoy said is the final stage before the contract is signed.

Russia's Rostec state corporation signed the memorandum with the Indonesian Trading Company earlier in August.

Su-35 is a multi-purpose super-maneuverable fighter of the 4++ generation, equipped with thrust-vectoring engines, ensuring the aircraft’s superiority over other jets of the same type. The jet’s maximum speed amounts to 1,550 miles per hour with a flying range reaching 2,100 miles.

This story first appeared on Sputnik & is reposted here with permission.

News Story: Indonesia to buy Russian SU-35 fighter jets

Hanoi (VNA) – Indonesia will buy 11 Sukhoi fighter jets from Russia worth 1.14 billion USD in exchange for cash and commodities, Indonesian officials have said.

Details of the type and volume of commodities were “still being negotiated”, Indonesian Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita said in a joint statement with Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu on August 21.

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

News Report: Turning Away From US, Philippines Plans to Buy Russian Weapons This Year

The Philippines intends to buy small arms from Russia before the end of the year and plans to discuss the details in Moscow, Defense Undersecretary Raymundo DV Elefante told Sputnik on Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The news comes amid a political rift between the Philippines and the US, its traditional supplier of weapons.

"In Moscow we will discuss in detail what [small arms] we will be buying by the end of the this year. We already have budget intended for that," Elefante said on the sidelines of the Army-2017 expo.

The official added that the representatives of the Southeast Asian nation would hold a number of meetings with the Russian officials on the issue.

News Story: China showcases weapon systems to possible foreign buyers

by Richard Tomkins

China this week presented its newest land-based weapons systems available for export to foreign military officers and procurement officials.

China Daily reports that the presentation held by the state-owned China North Industries Group Corp, or Norinco, was made at a firing range on Wednesday in Inner Mongolia.

About 230 officers from more than 50 countries -- mostly military attaches in Beijing -- attended the show, which included live-fire demonstrations by battle tanks and anti-tank missile firings.

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

News Story: Chinese investments may lead to greater military purchases

Security analyst says it is no different to western countries selling arms but suggests parliamentary oversight be made compulsory for huge military purchases.

Robin Augustin

PETALING JAYA: Putrajaya may be more inclined to purchase arms from China given its “over reliance” on Chinese money for multi-billion ringgit mega-projects.

A retired brigadier-general said this in the wake of reports that China was seeking to supply weapons and other military equipment to Malaysia.

Speaking to FMT, Mohd Arshad Raji said the reports should come as no surprise.

“Given the increasingly warm ties and influx of Chinese money in the country, it would be natural for the government to buy more arms and military equipment from Beijing,” Arshad said.

Chinese investments in mega-infrastructure and property development projects, such as the RM55 billion East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) and the RM43 billion Melaka Gateway among others, have raised questions about Malaysia’s security and neutrality in a region which is being closely watched by the world’s superpowers.

Arshad said traditionally, Malaysia bought weapons and military equipment from western countries, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, and he believed that a shift towards buying arms from China could affect Malaysia’s bilateral trade with the US and UK.

“But my biggest concern is that a pivot towards China in terms of defence could affect our neutrality and military ties with our traditional western allies.

“China is adopting an aggressive and dominant stance, particularly in the South China Sea, where it is increasing its military presence.”

Arshad also voiced concern that a greater dependence on Chinese arms and military equipment could open the doors for China to spread its military doctrine in Malaysia.

“Malaysia, being a Commonwealth country, has been more inclined towards a western military doctrine.

“In essence, a military doctrine acts as a guide to help us standardise our operations. It represents our central beliefs and principles on how war should be waged.”

Arshad said he wasn’t sure China’s military doctrine was suited for Malaysia.

Read the full story at Free Malaysia Today

News Story: Malaysia fits China’s bill to become emerging arms supplier

Military researcher Collin Koh says Beijing seeks to peddle military wares by couching it as promoting defence and security ties with Malaysia.

PETALING JAYA: A Singapore-based military researcher says China’s reported attempt to supply weapons and other military equipment to Malaysia is part of the superpower’s move to become a strong global arms provider, especially among countries that are buying from western nations.

Collin Koh, a research fellow with the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, was quoted by the South China Morning Post (SCMP) today as saying that there were reasons to surmise some kind of discussions on military purchases had taken place between China and Malaysia.

“If China wants to showcase itself as an emerging, credible global arms supplier, it’ll need to start sealing successful arms deals especially with countries that have been buying Western.

“Malaysia fits the bill,” he was quoted as saying.

“Naturally, therefore, Beijing will seek to peddle a wider array of arms to Malaysia, couching it within a broader ambit of promoting defence and security ties with the country,” Koh added.

Reports emerged earlier this month that Malaysia was considering China’s proposal to set up a regional counter-intelligence centre in Johor equipped with radar surveillance and a missile system.

An aide to Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein reportedly responded by saying that the ministry was unaware of any such offers made by China to Malaysia

Read the full story at Free Malaysia Today