Latest news with #Defense
The Star
3 hours ago
- Business
- The Star
Asean centrality above all
During the sidelines of the 22nd Shangri-La Dialogue, I met U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to discuss enhancing defense and maritime cooperation. I also thanked the U.S. for participating in the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition 2025 (LIMA'25). Additionally, in a meeting with Boeing Global President Brendan Nelson, we talked about maritime security, asset modernization, and collaboration with local industries. We identified opportunities for training and developing a robust Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) ecosystem. These discussions underscore Malaysia's growing strategic importance in defense. ( courtesy photo from Anwar Face book ) SINGAPORE: Deeply concerned about the potential escalation among South China Sea claimants, Malaysia has called for restraint and dialogue in dealing with disputes over the area, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. The Prime Minister said Malaysia does not want to see tensions spiral into confrontation, least of all in waters so critical to regional security and prosperity. 'That is why we will continue to engage all parties calmly, directly and consistently. 'We will urge restraint, encourage dialogue and work to preserve the stability on which this region depends. 'Above all, we remain steadfast in our principled insistence that all parties uphold the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,' he said at the 22nd Shangri-La Dialogue. The Prime Minister also touched on the importance of maintaining stability in the region, adding that as Asean Chair this year, Malaysia is committed to defending the association's stance on centrality and active non-alignment. Anwar said that Asean, through decades of consensus-building, was built to foster stability in a region where peace is sustained, freedom is protected and neutrality is respected. While welcoming a strong and enduring US presence in the region, the Prime Minister stressed the importance of maintaining firm and vibrant ties with China, as well as strengthening partnerships across Asia, Europe and the Global South. 'We will engage all who are willing; major powers and middle powers alike, not to set one against the other but to maximise our own strategic space. 'What South-East Asia needs is a dynamic equilibrium that enables cooperation without coercion and balance without bloc politics. 'For Malaysia, this is deliberate and strategic posture: to help preserve an open region, to assert our sovereignty and to make our own choices, on our own terms,' he said. He cautioned against a new orthodoxy that not only affects how diplomacy is viewed but also how security will be structured, risking the fragmentation of the regional architecture and undermining South-East Asia's strategic autonomy. 'Preserving our autonomy is not about resisting others. It is about strengthening ourselves. This, in essence, is what Asean centrality is about. 'We do not object to like-minded partners talking among themselves. 'But coalitions that build walls instead of bridges, stoke arms competition or undermine the legitimacy of multilateralism should give us pause. 'A stable region is not one braced for conflict but one grounded in openness, transparency and habit-forming cooperation,' he said. On the issue of Myanmar, the Prime Minister stressed that Asean is not passive in addressing the crisis happening in the member state. He said while the grouping does not aim to dictate the country's political outcome, it remains firm on the expectations outlined in the Five-Point Consensus on Myanmar. 'Myanmar's nationhood must be forged through inclusion, not erasure,' Anwar added. The Prime Minister has also urged the international community to act decisively and consistently in response to the genocide in Gaza. He said the scale of devastation, blatant disregard for humanitarian norms and the failure of global institutions to effectively address the conflict demand more than expressions of sympathy. 'We must not allow selective outrage or strategic fatigue to dull our moral clarity. 'Indeed, the genocide in Gaza is a test of our collective conscience,' Anwar said. On the sidelines of the Dialogue, the Prime Minister received a courtesy call from US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth. In a Facebook post, Anwar said the meeting touched on efforts to enhance bilateral cooperation in the fields of defence and maritime security.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Hegseth Warns of ‘Devastating Consequences' Should China Seek to ‘Conquer' Taiwan
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said China's threat to Taiwan 'could be imminent,' in what was his most assertive statement to date on Taiwan during a security conference in Singapore. SINGAPORE—Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth vowed that there would be 'devastating consequences' should China seek to 'conquer' Taiwan, in a speech that appeared aimed at easing concerns in Asia over the U.S. commitment to its allies in the region.
The Hill
10 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Hegseth stampedes through the Pentagon
On April 29, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that he was canceling Defense Department participation in actions generated by the Women, Peace and Security Act of 2017. Hegseth posted on social media that it was 'yet another woke divisive/social justice/Biden initiative that overburdens our commanders and troops — distracting from our core task: WAR-FIGHTING. WPS is a UNITED NATIONS program pushed by feminists and left-wing activists. Politicians fawn over it; troops HATE it.' Journalist Walter Pincus, who spent 40 years at the Washington Post covering topics ranging from nuclear weapons to politics, wrote in a recent column that Trump and Hegseth's defense strategy is riddled with irrelevant political considerations resulting in a series of strange moves that must surely weaken national security. In fact, as Pincus points out, what Congress had in mind in the Women, Peace and Security Act was to increase women's participation in preventing and resolving conflict, countering violent extremism and building post-conflict stability around the globe. It is hard to believe that the program was 'pushed by feminists and left-wing activists' when Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem co-sponsored the bill when she was in Congress, and President Trump signed the measure in 2017. Perhaps reminded of this doctrinal dilemma, Hegseth pivoted in a later tweet, arguing that 'the woke & weak Biden Administration distorted & weaponized the straight-forward & security-focused WPS initiative launched in 2017.' Hegseth said he will try to end WPS programs at the Pentagon in the next budget. Asked whether he believed Women, Peace and Security to be a diversity, equity and inclusion program, new Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, at his confirmation hearing last month, replied, 'I do not,' adding, 'WPS helped us understand the full challenges that face us.' Hegseth unveiled another terrifying plan on May 5, when he announced 'General/Flag Officer Reductions' in a memo to senior Pentagon leadership to 'drive innovation and operational excellence unencumbered by unnecessary bureaucratic layers.' While the military may be top-heavy, it goes without saying that military firings should be based on merit, not political considerations or race-based policies. Hegseth's purge appears to be totally political. 'That's a recipe not just for a politicized military, but an authoritarian military,' Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), a Marine officer in Iraq and a member of the House Armed Services Committee, told Politico. 'That's the way militaries work in Russia and China and North Korea. And by the way, it's a big part of why those militaries are not as strong and capable as our own.' Trump's military purge began in February, when the president fired Chairman of the Joint Chiefs CQ Brown — an African American, whom Moulton describes as 'one of the most talented general officers of his generation' — for no articulated reason. In April, Trump fired the redoubtable Gen. Timothy Haugh, commander of the U.S. Cyber Command. Laura Loomer, a conspiracy theorist who for unclear reasons consistently has the president's ear, urged Trump to fire certain officials due to their perceived lack of personal loyalty. She posted a message on social media saying Haugh had been fired for being 'disloyal' to Trump. So far, the administration has fired five four-stars, including three women: the first female chief of naval operations, the commandant of the Coast Guard, and Navy three-star Vice Admiral Shoshana Chatfield, former president of the Naval War College, who was the U.S. deputy military representative to NATO's military committee in Brussels. Yet women make up less than 10 percent of general and flag officers. It is baffling what Hegseth intended to accomplish with the purge. We do know that he has accomplished a decided weakening of national security. The measures were apparently meant to root out diversity, equity and inclusion from the military. Instead, the administration is paring much of the core of our officer cadre, throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Along with the May 5 memorandum, Hegseth released a two-minute video announcing what he ungrammatically called the 'Less Generals More GIs Policy.' He defensively explained that 'this has not been a slash and burn exercise — nothing could be further from the truth … It's going be done carefully. But it's going to be done expeditiously.' Hegseth said he sought to remove 'redundant force structure, to optimize and streamline leadership by reducing excess general and flag officer positions.' He proposed a minimum 20 percent reduction of four-star positions across the active military and of general officers in the National Guard, plus an additional minimum 10 percent reduction in general and flag officers under the new unified command plan. So, who will mind the store? And who will call the shots in a national emergency? The nation's top generals seem unsure about the implications of Hegseth's moves to reduce the general staff. At a hearing before the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness, Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James J. Mingus testified about the flag office, saying, 'We began a general reduction inside the Army several months ago, before this was ever announced … I think it's probably a little too early to tell in terms of what the overall impacts are going to be.' Air Force Lt. Gen. Adrian L. Spain said, 'It's too soon to say what the exact impact to the Air Force specifically will be with the reductions, but we look forward to seeing the exact language following the announcement.' Hegseth has proved himself to be a bull in a china shop. It is worrisome, now that he has sent troops to the Southern border, that the military could be used in politically partisan ways. In Trump's first term, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper refused an order to have soldiers shoot Black Lives Matter protesters. Hegseth would be unlikely show as much backbone. A nervous nation — seeing Hegseth's obsessive loyalty to Trump and all the weaponizing, the political sturm und drang, the cuts and the dismissals — has to be on edge about how all this will end. James D. Zirin, author and legal analyst, is a former federal prosecutor in New York's Southern District. He is also the host of the public television talk show and podcast Conversations with Jim Zirin.
Time of India
11 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
No more ‘What did you do' emails: Pentagon ditches Elon Musk mandate, encourages staff innovation instead
Live Events FAQs (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel The Pentagon has stopped Elon Musk 's rule that made federal workers send a list of five things they achieved every week. This rule came from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Musk, and was very controversial, according to The Daily Beast were told to 'be creative' now and suggest ideas to improve the Defense Department instead. Jules Hurst, acting Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, thanked employees for sending weekly updates so far. Hurst asked everyone to share one last idea, something small or big, that could help cut down waste or make things work better, as per rule started in March, just after Musk demanded in February that workers explain their weekly work. About 2.3 million government employees got emails titled 'What did you do last week?' from the Office of Personnel Management, as per wrote on X that 'not replying will count as quitting.' At first, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told everyone to ignore it. But later, he asked them to send five bullets of their weekly achievements. Hegseth even warned that 'non-compliance may lead to further review.'Congressman Joe Courtney, a top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said it was long overdue to get rid of the policy. Courtney said the emails were insulting to hardworking Defense civilians, many of whom were ex-military and deeply care about their job. The department gave staff a deadline, Wednesday noon, to submit their waste-cutting ideas, but didn't say what ideas came in, as mentioned in The Daily Beast happened while Elon Musk was getting ready to leave his job as the head of DOGE. Musk posted that his time as a special government employee was ending, and thanked Donald Trump for letting him try to cut government waste. Musk had given at least $250 million to help fund Trump's 2024 Musk said he was frustrated with politics and claimed he had 'done enough' to help Republicans. He also said he was disappointed that the 'big, beautiful bill' Trump backed didn't show enough DOGE savings. Musk still believes that DOGE will grow stronger and become a way of life in government, as stated in The Daily Beast spokesperson Sean Parnell said the emails have officially stopped. He said the system helped supervisors understand staff work, encouraged accountability, and found ways to improve the department. Parnell also said the Pentagon still wants to make real changes that support its mission, as per many people found them confusing and unhelpful, and the rule got a lot of stands for Department of Government Efficiency, a short-lived group led by Elon Musk to reduce waste.
Economic Times
11 hours ago
- Business
- Economic Times
No more ‘What did you do' emails: Pentagon ditches Elon Musk mandate, encourages staff innovation instead
Live Events FAQs (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel The Pentagon has stopped Elon Musk 's rule that made federal workers send a list of five things they achieved every week. This rule came from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Musk, and was very controversial, according to The Daily Beast were told to 'be creative' now and suggest ideas to improve the Defense Department instead. Jules Hurst, acting Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, thanked employees for sending weekly updates so far. Hurst asked everyone to share one last idea, something small or big, that could help cut down waste or make things work better, as per rule started in March, just after Musk demanded in February that workers explain their weekly work. About 2.3 million government employees got emails titled 'What did you do last week?' from the Office of Personnel Management, as per wrote on X that 'not replying will count as quitting.' At first, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told everyone to ignore it. But later, he asked them to send five bullets of their weekly achievements. Hegseth even warned that 'non-compliance may lead to further review.'Congressman Joe Courtney, a top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said it was long overdue to get rid of the policy. Courtney said the emails were insulting to hardworking Defense civilians, many of whom were ex-military and deeply care about their job. The department gave staff a deadline, Wednesday noon, to submit their waste-cutting ideas, but didn't say what ideas came in, as mentioned in The Daily Beast happened while Elon Musk was getting ready to leave his job as the head of DOGE. Musk posted that his time as a special government employee was ending, and thanked Donald Trump for letting him try to cut government waste. Musk had given at least $250 million to help fund Trump's 2024 Musk said he was frustrated with politics and claimed he had 'done enough' to help Republicans. He also said he was disappointed that the 'big, beautiful bill' Trump backed didn't show enough DOGE savings. Musk still believes that DOGE will grow stronger and become a way of life in government, as stated in The Daily Beast spokesperson Sean Parnell said the emails have officially stopped. He said the system helped supervisors understand staff work, encouraged accountability, and found ways to improve the department. Parnell also said the Pentagon still wants to make real changes that support its mission, as per many people found them confusing and unhelpful, and the rule got a lot of stands for Department of Government Efficiency, a short-lived group led by Elon Musk to reduce waste.
