AUS: Australia-United States Alliance stronger than ever before

Minister for Defence
Marise Payne

Minister for Defence, Senator the Hon Marise Payne, said the Australia-US Alliance continues to go from strength to strength, following a successful visit to the United States.

Minister Payne travelled to Honolulu and Washington DC from 18-22 September, where she met with senior members of the Trump Administration, including US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis.

At their 20 September meeting in Washington DC, Minister Payne and Secretary Mattis discussed global security threats and challenges, as well as priorities for the Alliance.

“Australia and the US will continue to work together on the security challenges in the Indo-Pacific, including countering the threat posed by Daesh in the Philippines," Minister Payne said.

News Report: Al Qaeda Operative on a Mission to Radicalize Rohingyas Held in New Delhi

According to Delhi police, All Qaeda operative Shumon Haq, a British national of Bangladeshi origin, was on a mission to radicalize Rohingya Muslim immigrants in India to fight in Myanmar.

New Delhi (Sputnik) – Indian security agencies have arrested a British National of Bangladeshi origin having links with terror outfit Al Qaeda.

“He was on a mission to radicalize Muslims of north-eastern states especially Rohingya Muslims to prepare for jihad against the Buddhists in Myanmar. He is British national of Bangladeshi origin. He had also gone to Syria and fought for Al Nusra front. He was arrested in Bangladesh for his terror links and jailed for three years. He fled to India when he was granted bail. His motive was to radicalize Rohingya Muslims. He was in contact with Rohingyas settled in different parts of India,” P S Kushwaha, Deputy Commissioner of Delhi Police told Sputnik.

According to an estimate, almost 40,000 Rohingya Muslims are living in various parts of India.

The Indian government has already made it clear that Rohingyas living illegally in the country are a threat to its security and that they would be deported soon.

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

News Story: Senate Blocks Attempt To Repeal Bill For Afghanistan War

The US Senate on Wednesday turned back an attempt to repeal the current authority for the US military force in the 16-year-old Afghanistan war and the fight in Iraq.

Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul, an anti-war crusader, had offered an amendment to the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to repeal war authority granted in 2001 and 2002, reported CNBC. 

He said the current war authorizations were outdated and that Congress needed to "grab power back" from the executive branch, which he said has been using the war authorizations for "unauthorized, unconstitutional and undeclared war."

Paul had threatened to essentially slow down the legislative process for passing the fiscal 2018 NDAA unless there was a floor debate on the war authorizations. 

The NDAA sets forth the Pentagon's budget and major programs for the next fiscal year, which starts in October.

But by a 61-36 vote, the Senate voted to table the Paul amendment - in effect killing - the attempt to repeal the war authorization, CNBC reported.

Read the full story at TOLOnews

News Story: Gravitation of highly educated Pakistanis to terrorism rings alarm bells

by Jamil Bhatti

ISLAMABAD, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- The recent emergence of a number of highly educated Pakistanis who were involved in extremist and terrorist activities has rung alarm bells in the power corridors of Pakistan.

Last week, law enforcement agencies busted an independent terrorist group Ansar-ul-Sharia Pakistan (the supporters of Islamic law in Pakistan), which comprises 10 to 12 highly educated people in the country's southern port city of Karachi.

According to police, all the members of the group are qualified from well-known universities, including Karachi University and NED University of Engineering and Technology, while the chief of the group namely Abdullah was working as an information technology expert in a university.

Rao Anwar, Senior Superintendent Police, said that all the group members were the students of science subjects and belong to noble and educated families and that the group was involved in the killing of police and security personnel.

The members got training from Afghanistan and were showing their presence in Karachi by terrorist attacks with a final aim to tie with Al-Qaeda, said Anwar, adding "emergence of such a group is a serious concern for the country which is struggling for peace."

Following the development, intelligence agencies have increased surveillance in all major universities of the country, while security audit of some of the educational institutes has already started.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: N. Korea suspected of chemical, missile cooperation with Syria - U.N. panel

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10 (Yonhap) -- North Korea is suspected of working with Syria on its chemical weapons and ballistic missile programs in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, a U.N. panel of experts has said.

The eight-member panel tasked with monitoring sanctions implementation against Pyongyang made the observation in a 111-page report published online on Saturday, two days before the U.S.-proposed date for a new Security Council resolution vote.

The panel said it is investigating "reported prohibited chemical, ballistic missile and conventional arms cooperation" between North Korea and Syria, including activities on Syria's Scud missile programs and maintenance and repair of its surface-to-air missile air defense systems.

An investigation is also ongoing to determine whether blacklisted North Korean entities or individuals continue to operate in the Middle Eastern country, it said.

"Two (U.N.) Member States interdicted shipments destined for the Syrian Arab Republic," the report said. "Another Member State informed the Panel that it had reasons to believe that the goods were part of a KOMID contract with the Syrian Arab Republic."

KOMID, or the North's Korea Mining Development Trading Corp., is the regime's primary arms dealer and main exporter of goods and equipment related to ballistic missiles and conventional weapons.

"The consignees were Syrian entities designated by the European Union and the United States as front companies for the Syrian Arab Republic Scientific Studies and Research Center," the report said, noting the center has been identified by the panel as cooperating with KOMID in previous prohibited item transfers.

"The Center was reported by Member States as the entity responsible for the Syrian Arab Republic chemical weapons program," it added.

Read the full story at YonhapNews

News Story: Two Singaporeans arrested for terrorism-related activities

Hanoi (VNA) – Singaporean police have arrested one man and a woman for for terrorism-related activities, according to the Government of Singapore on September 7.

The man arrested was identified as Imran Kassim, 34. The country’s Ministry of Home Affairs said he had tried to make his way to Syria to join Islamic State fighters at least twice, and had prepared to attack members of the Singaporean armed forces.

More recently, he had intended to join militants who seized control of Marawi city in southern Philippines this year. Imran’s arrest came after police received information from “people close to him”.

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

News Report: Mattis Signs Orders for More US Troops in Afghanistan

U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis

Carla Babb

PENTAGON — U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis says he has signed orders to deploy additional American troops to Afghanistan beyond the 11,000 currently serving in the war-torn country.

Speaking to reporters Thursday at the Pentagon, Mattis said the additional troops would mostly advise and "enable the Afghan forces to fight more effectively" against the Taliban and more than a dozen terror groups in Afghanistan.

The secretary said he would provide the public with more information once he had completed the orders and notified Congress next week of the military's next steps.

"I've signed orders, but it's not complete. In other words, I've signed some of the troops that will go and we're identifying the specific ones," Mattis said.

News Story: Indonesia to question 18 citizens escaping from IS in Syria

JAKARTA, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian counter-terrorism agency BNPT and police will interrogate 18 citizens who escaped from the Islamic State (IS) in Syria, a national police spokesman said here Monday.

The 18 people, including teenagers, women and infants, arrived in Jakarta over the weekend and they were handed over to the agency and the anti-terror squad of the national police, spokesman Brigadier General Rikwanto said.

"The people were brought directly to Sentul of Bogor town, they were handed to the BNPT," Rikwanto said in a statement.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Malaysian police nab 290 foreigners in latest counter-terror operation

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Malaysian police rounded up some 290 foreigners in its latest anti-terror raids ahead of the Southeast Asian Games, but none of them has terrorism links, local media reported Thursday.

The foreigners, mainly from Yemen, Pakistan, Syria, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Palestine and Sudan including students, were detained in the country's digital hub of Cyberjaya during the operations on Wednesday night and early Thursday, state news agency Bernama reported.

Police's counter-terrorism head Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said those arrested undergone screening process at Sepang police headquarters, but none of them were found to have links to terrorist activities.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: US Accuses Iran of Destabilizing Afghanistan

By Samim Faramarz

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has accused Iran of attempting to destabilizing neighboring Afghanistan.

He also said that the US was working with its allies in the region to curb what he described as Iran’s expansionist efforts to destabilize areas such as Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.

"We come on to the scene and say you know, that agreement does not speak to a lot of the problems we have with Iran. So, I don't want people to think that's what defines either the relationship or policy with Iran is the JCPOA (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action), Iran continues these efforts, is persistent in these efforts to exert their influence across the Middle East, and it is our intent working with our allies in the region to push back on Iran's expansionist efforts to destabilize areas, particularly Yemen, Iraq, Syria -- but we also see them in the areas of Afghanistan," he said.

He said that Iran’s expansionist intention was aimed to increase its influence in the Middle East and other parts of the world.

Read the full story at TOLOnews

Think Tank: Mindanao - a new hub for Islamic State?

Peter Chalk

In May 2017, a band of militants connected to the Maute group (MG) attacked and laid siege to the city of Marawi in the southern Philippines after security forces attempted to arrest Isnilon Hapilon, the leader of one of two factions of the Abu Sayyaf group (ASG). The assault and subsequent occupation, which took several weeks to end, has once again raised national, regional and international concern that Mindanao and its surrounding islands are rapidly emerging as a beachhead of religious violence.

A particular fear is that the so-called Islamic State (IS) will seek to ‘hijack’ this wider region in order to establish a new province or wilayah from which to launch attacks across the country and throughout Southeast Asia. However, it’s too early to conclude that the southern Philippines is devolving into a centre for transnational jihadist fanaticism or, indeed, that IS is even looking to operate from that part of the country.

Islamist extremism in the southern Philippines revolves around three principal clusters. The first is the ASG, which is primarily based in Basilan and Sulu and which for the past few years has been actively trying to find a new religious identity to define its struggle in Mindanao. In 2014, a dozen ASG cadres uploaded a video on YouTube in which they read out an Arabic statement that pledged ‘loyalty and obedience’ to IS—a bayat that Hapilon reiterated in 2016.

Think Tank: The Pacific - Russia’s newest playground. Don’t be surprised, Australia!

Jacqueline Westermann

At the 2017 Munich Security Conference, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov announced the end of the post–Cold War world and Russia’s aim to build a ‘post-West’ world order. That caused a huge outcry, mostly among Western governments. The fact that Russia had indirectly mentioned the idea before went almost unnoticed.

In his speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue on 5 June 2016, Anatoly Antonov, former Russian deputy minister of defence and most likely the next ambassador to the US, highlighted Russia’s interest in the Asia–Pacific. He said Russia was looking for partners in the region to create ‘an equal and indivisible security environment’ serving everyone, and that it wanted to ‘enhanc[e] [its] military ties with the Asia–Pacific countries in order to strengthen peace and stability’.

The link? Simple: following the cooling of Russia’s relations with the US and Europe, and the fading of mutual expectations of prosperous cooperation after the end of the Cold War, Russia has to look—and is looking—for alternatives. That became evident in 2015 when the presidents of China and India, not European or American leaders, sat next to President Vladimir Putin during the victory parade in Moscow commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. Western leaders had boycotted the event because of the annexation of Crimea and Russia’s involvement in the conflict in Eastern Ukraine. Meanwhile, Putin’s choice of guests presented a hint at Russia’s future priorities.

News Report: Faction Leader Claims 30,000 Afghans Fighting in Iraq, Syria

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar

Ayaz Gul

ISLAMABAD — A prominent former Afghan insurgent leader Tuesday said 30,000 of his countrymen are fighting in Syria and Iraq.

"Afghans are being trained to fight at home and abroad,” said Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, while addressing tribal elders in Kabul.

The controversial warlord’s Hizb-e-Islami faction recently concluded a peace deal with the Afghan government to end insurgent activities and pave the way for Hekmatyar to come out of years of hiding.

Hekmatyar would not discuss the source of his information on the number of Afghans fighting abroad, but suggested they are doing so only to feed their poverty-stricken families.

“Today, you have 30,000 Afghans fighting in Iraq and Syria. God knows better how many of them have been killed,” Hekmatyar said.

Decades of conflict and poverty have forced Afghans to abandon their country and travel across the globe in search of livelihood.

Millions of Afghans continue to live in neighboring Pakistan and Iran while conflict continues to uproot thousands in Afghanistan.

Lately, some displaced families have found the battlefields in Syria and Iraq as a source of income because of Iran.

News Story: Number of terrorist attacks dropped worldwide in 2016 - U.S. State Department

WASHINGTON, July 19 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. State Department said on Wednesday that terrorist attacks and fatalities from terrorism dropped globally in 2016 for the second straight year.

According to a State Department report on global terrorism, the total number of terrorist attacks worldwide in 2016 was 11,072, and 25,621 deaths were caused as a result, decreasing by nine percent and 13 percent respectively compared to 2015.

"This was largely due to fewer attacks and deaths from terrorist attacks in Afghanistan, Syrian, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Yemen," said Acting Coordinator for Counterterrorism Justin Siberell at a briefing with reporters.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Indonesia rejects return of citizens joining IS in Syria

JAKARTA, July 17 (Xinhua) -- The Indonesian government has rejected the return or repatriation of the country's nationals nabbed in Syria who were involved in activities of the IS terrorist group.

Indonesian Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu made the statement on Monday following the arrests of Indonesian citizens in Syria for their participation in the IS group.

He stressed that the captured citizens had to keep staying in Syria.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: US analysts - Time not on AFP’s side in Marawi

By Jose Katigbak

WASHINGTON – The longer militants linked to the Islamic State (IS) prevent Philippine security forces from liberating besieged Marawi City in Mindanao, the better their chances of attracting more foreign and local fighters and financial support, an expert on terrorism has told US legislators.

Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Transnational Threats Project director Thomas Sanderson said that as the Abu Sayyaf group and the Maute coalition hold on in Marawi, the IS could come to see this as a primary, extra-regional destination as its fortunes tumble in the Middle East and North Africa.

Sanderson told a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing on Wednesday that the battle for Marawi, now in its eighth week, has become the focal point of IS activity in Southeast Asia.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: Indonesia intensifies watch on nationals returning from Syria

by Abu Hanifah

JAKARTA, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia has launched a more intensive coordinated watch on nationals returning from Syria by forcing them into a month-long de-radicalization program, following several Islamic State (IS)-related attacks that occurred in the country.

Close monitoring measures would also be applied against them by assuring domiciles, aimed at easing the efforts to tracking down suspects involving in possible attacks.

"Soon after they arrived here, we will identify them first and bring them to the de-radicalization program center. They will undergo the program here in one month before returning to families across the country," Head of Indonesian government anti-terror desk Suhardi Alius said.

The verification process is necessary to identify nationals who were combatants in IS-related conflicts.

A number of Indonesian nationals have travelled to Syria and joined IS in the past several years.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Indonesia police discover IS propaganda leaflets targeting children

Hanoi (VNA) - Indonesian police have found hundreds of books containing Islamic State (IS) propaganda targeting children at the home of a suspect arrested in connection with the stabbing death of an officer, a police spokeswoman said on June 26.

The books aimed at children found at the home of the arrested man were written in Indonesian and included pictures and messages supportive of dying in jihad, or holy war, said police spokeswoman Rina Sari Ginting.

A day earlier, a police officer was stabbed to death at a police station in Medan, the capital of North Sumatra province. Another suspected militant was shot and killed by police during the attack.

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

Think Tank: Sea, air, land and space updates (27-Jun-2017)

An unpainted Chinese Y-8Q/GX-6 ASW Aircraft during testing

Zoe Glasson, Sophie Qin, Madeleine Nyst and Patrick Kennedy

Sea State

Just in time for President Modi’s visit to Washington, the Trump administration has agreed to sell 22 Guardian drones to India, in a deal that’s been described as a ‘game changer’ for US–India relations. The drones would be a ‘force multiplier’ for the Indian Navy, improving its maritime surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities. Though yet to be approved in India, New Delhi reportedly sees the deal as ‘a key test of defence ties’. Defense News speculates that the sale of the unarmed Guardians could be a precursor to the purchase of armed drones—something India has sought previously but which is currently prohibited by US export laws. Finalising the deal is likely to require a fine balance between Trump’s “America First” platform and Modi’s “Make in India” policy.

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) successfully test-fired its Long-Range Artillery system (LORA) on 20 June. LORA’s strength is its portability: it launches from a container that can be trucked onto the deck of a cargo ship. According to The Drive, LORA’s relative low-cost and plug-and-play nature means that a range of auxiliary ships ‘could suddenly become impromptu combatants’. IAI says ‘several deals’ for LORA are underway, but it remains to be seen who’s in the market for the platform.

And for the final Sea State reads this week, here are two great pieces: one about how noisy herrings are creating (submarine) confusion; and another about marauding orcas fleecing fisherman.

News Report: Officer Arrested in Singapore for Plans to Join Free Syrian Army

An auxiliary police officer has been arrested in Singapore over his intention to fly to Syria and join the fight on behalf of Free Syrian Army.

A police officer for hire who planned to join war in Syria has been detained in Singapore, according to a statement from the city-state's Ministry of Home Affairs.

According to the statement, Muhammad Khairul bin Mohamed, 24, an employee of a private security corporation, was radicalized back in 2012, and since then has become sympathetic to various Muslim terrorist groups. In 2015 he joined AETOS, a private security corporation that provides, among other things, officers-for-hire for Singapore's police force.

Khairul "developed the view that the conflict in Syria was a sectarian struggle between Sunni Islam and Shia Islam, and being a Sunni Muslim, he wanted to fight against the Shi'ites in Syria by joining the Free Syrian Army," the ministry said.

He first contacted a foreign militant via Facebook in 2014. He used this contact to find out ways to get to Syria.