Latest news with #Defense Ministry
Japan Times
19 hours ago
- Business
- Japan Times
‘Killer satellites' beware: Japan unveils first space defense guidelines
Japan has unveiled its first guidelines aimed at bolstering its defenses in outer space, a move that comes as China and Russia have been developing 'killer satellites' intended to destroy or damage rivals' space assets. The new space domain defense guidelines unveiled by the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Monday outline plans to protect Japanese satellites, while promoting cooperation between the public and private sectors on cutting-edge tech. The new guidelines are intended to clarify the Defense Ministry's views on which high-tech areas are most in need of investment from the private sector. 'The key is how to incorporate rapidly advancing private-sector technology. The Defense Ministry will continue to promote efforts in this area," Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said after a visit to the Air Self-Defense Force's Space Situation Awareness radar in Sanyo-Onoda, Yamaguchi Prefecture, on Monday. Accompanying the guidelines, the ministry also released its next-generation information and communications strategy, which focuses on the construction of high-tech networks capable of real-time, large-capacity communications and advanced data processing and analysis. The goal is to have this infrastructure in place by fiscal 2029. The Defense Ministry says the need for real-time detection and tracking of enemy ship and troop movements from space is 'essential' for the Self-Defense Forces to quickly assess combat situations. While space has long been viewed as a part of the global commons, there are no legal prohibitions to deploying conventional weapons or testing anti-satellite weapons — something that the U.S., China, Russia and India have all done in recent years. Without naming countries, Nakatani said that a number of nations 'are actively incorporating' new technologies, prompting the emergence of 'new ways of warfare' that could put Japan on a backfoot in outer space. In order to better combat what the ministry says are the 'threats and risks' associated with the 'advancing militarization of space,' it also aims to introduce what have been termed as 'bodyguard satellites' to protect Japanese assets. Development and demonstration tests are scheduled to be conducted by fiscal 2029, according to the guidelines. The ministry is also aiming to build capabilities that can disrupt enemies' command-and-control and communications functions, though it did not disclose specifics.
Arab News
a day ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Spain to airdrop 12 tonnes of food into Gaza Strip
MADRID: Spain said on Monday it would airdrop 12 tonnes of food into Gaza this week as the threat of famine stalks the Palestinian territory after 21 months of war. The operation is a rare example of a European nation joining Middle Eastern countries in sending aid by air. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, one of the most virulent critics of Israel's military offensive in Gaza, told a news conference the delivery would take place from Jordan on Friday using Spanish air force planes. 'The famine in Gaza is a shame for all of humanity and stopping it, therefore, is a moral imperative,' he said. The Defense Ministry said the 12 tonnes would be delivered in an operation similar to another carried out in March 2024, when Spain delivered 26 tonnes of food. The World Health Organization has warned malnutrition in the occupied territory has reached 'alarming levels' since Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza.
The Independent
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Thailand and Cambodia trade accusations as deadly border clashes enter third day
Thailand and Cambodia traded accusations Saturday of fresh attacks as deadly border clashes entered a third day, leaving at least 33 people dead and more than 168,000 displaced, as international pressure mounted on both sides to reach a ceasefire. Artillery fire and gunshots were reported near several border villages, expanding the area of the fighting that flared again Thursday after a land mine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers. Cambodian and Thai officials claimed to have acted in retaliation. Both countries recalled their ambassadors and Thailand closed its northeastern border crossings with Cambodia. Cambodian authorities reported on Saturday 12 new deaths, bringing its toll to 13, while Thai officials said a soldier was killed, raising the deaths to 20, mostly civilians. The regional bloc, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, is under growing pressure to defuse the situation between its two members. During an emergency meeting on Friday, members of the U.N. Security Council called for de-escalation and urged ASEAN to mediate a peaceful solution. The 800-kilometer (500-mile) frontier between Thailand and Cambodia has been disputed for decades, but past confrontations have been limited and brief. The current tensions broke out in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a confrontation that created a diplomatic rift and roiled Thailand's domestic politics. Fresh attacks and rising tension Cambodia's Defense Ministry condemned what it said was an expanded Thai offensive early Saturday after five heavy artillery shells were fired into multiple locations in the province of Pursat, calling the attack an "unprovoked and premeditated act of aggression.' Ministry spokesperson, Lt. Gen. Maly Socheata, said tensions flared in the province of Koh Kong, where four Thai naval vessels were reportedly stationed offshore and four others en route. She said the naval deployment was an 'act of aggression' that risked further escalation. Maly Socheata said seven civilians and five soldiers were killed in two days of fighting. Earlier, one man was reported dead after a pagoda he was hiding under was hit by Thai rockets. The Thai army had denied targeting Cambodian civilian sites and accused Phnom Penh of using 'human shields' by positioning their weapons near residential areas. Meanwhile, Thailand's navy, in a statement Saturday, accused Cambodian forces of initiating a new attack in the province of Trat, saying Thai forces responded swiftly and 'successfully pushed back the Cambodian incursion at three key points', warning that 'aggression will not be tolerated.' Thai authorities also alleged several Cambodian artillery shells had landed across the border in Laos, damaging homes and property. Lao officials have not publicly responded to the claim. The conflict has so far left thousands displaced. Cambodia's Information Minister Neth Pheaktra said Saturday the clashes had forced 10,865 Cambodian families, or 37,635 people, in three border provinces to evacuate to safe locations, while Thai officials said more than 131,000 people had fled their border villages. Call to protect civilians amid claim of cluster bomb use Human Rights Watch urged the U.N. Security Council and concerned governments to press the Thai and Cambodian governments to abide by international humanitarian law and take all steps to protect civilians. Children have been harmed and Thai authorities have closed at least 852 schools and seven hospitals for safety reasons, the rights group said in a statement Saturday. Both sides have employed rocket and artillery attacks, and after initially denying Cambodian claims that internationally prohibited cluster munitions were being used, a Thai military spokesperson in a statement Friday said that such weapons could be utilized 'when necessary' to target military objectives. HRW condemned the use of cluster munitions in populated areas. Neither Thailand nor Cambodia is party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which bans the use of the weapon and Thai authorities had previously used them during a border dispute with Cambodia in February 2011 that left 20 people dead. 'Neither Thailand nor Cambodia appears to be paying attention to international humanitarian law at great expense to civilians,' John Sifton, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. 'Diplomatic efforts underway need to prioritize protecting civilians and civilian infrastructure.' Thai officials also acknowledged the use of F-16 jets and drones to launch airstrikes. UN urges ASEAN bloc to mediate The U.N. Security Council didn't issue a resolution on the crisis during its Friday emergency session, but Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa said Saturday all 15 member countries called on both sides to exercise restraint, halt attacks, and resolve the dispute peacefully. They also supported ASEAN's role in mediating between its two member states, he said. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, whose country is the current ASEAN chair, had earlier said Thailand and Cambodia were open in principle to his ceasefire proposal. Malaysian media said Anwar has tasked the country's foreign minister to mediate peace talks to halt the fighting. Maris said Saturday his country agreed in principle to the proposal, but insisted that Cambodia must first show sincerity and cease hostilities, adding that Thailand would continue to engage constructively with Malaysia. 'Thailand reaffirms its commitment to resolving the conflict peacefully and in accordance with international law,' he said, urging Cambodia to 'return to the negotiating table with sincerity and in good faith.' ___ Associated Press writers Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul and Grant Peck in Bangkok, and Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur contributed to this report. Sopheng Cheang reported from Oddar Meanchey, Cambodia.
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former PM Ehud Olmert calls Katz's humanitarian city plan a 'concentration camp'
Katz recently said that the Defense Ministry would build a new 'humanitarian city' in the Rafah area for at least 600,000 Palestinians. Former prime minister Ehud Olmert called Defense Minister Israel Katz's "humanitarian city" plan in Gaza a "concentration camp" in an interview with the Guardian on Sunday. "It is a concentration camp. I am sorry," he said. Katz recently said that the Defense Ministry would build a new humanitarian city in the Rafah area for at least 600,000 Palestinians. Anyone who entered would have limitations on their ability to go in and out of the area and would only be allowed to enter after being carefully checked for possessing weapons. Olmert said that Israel was already committing war crimes in Gaza and the West Bank, telling the Guardian that constructing the humanitarian city would "mark an escalation." "If they [Palestinians] will be deported into the new 'humanitarian city,' then you can say that this is part of an ethnic cleansing. It hasn't yet happened," the former prime minister said. Olmert told the Guardian that he did not consider Israel's current campaign in Gaza as ethnic cleansing, because evacuating civilians to protect them from fighting was legal under international law, and Palestinians returned to areas where operations concluded. He called government claims that the humanitarian city aimed to protect Palestinian civilians "were not credible." Additionally, Olmert also called the killing of two Palestinian men, including an American citizen, by Israeli settlers "war crimes." "Unforgivable. Unacceptable. There are continuous operations organized, orchestrated in the most brutal, criminal manner by a large group." Olmert described cabinet ministers who support the further expansion of settlements in Gaza and the West Bank as "the enemies from within." The former prime minister said that he supported the initial campaign against Hamas after the October 7 massacre, but criticized the government for abandoning negotiations for a ceasefire "publicly and in a brutal manner."
Russia Today
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Ukraine to receive German-funded long-range weapons this month
Ukraine will receive its first batch of long-range missiles financed by Germany by the end of July, a top German general has said, acknowledging that Kiev's battlefield situation is deteriorating. In an interview with ZDF, Major General Christian Freuding, who oversees the coordination of Berlin's military support for Kiev, said Germany is 'ready to make these weapons systems available.' Ukraine will receive the weapons 'by the end of this month,' Freuding stated, adding that they will arrive 'in high three-digit numbers.' He did not specify which missiles will be delivered or what their range is. 'We need weapons systems that can reach deep into Russian territory and attack depots, command facilities, airfields, and aircraft,' Freuding said. He went on to say the deliveries stem from a contract between Ukraine's Defense Ministry and its domestic weapons industry, backed by German funding secured in late May. Freuding stressed that Germany is not providing Kiev with long-range Taurus missiles with a range of 500km. Despite Ukraine's pleas, Berlin has been reluctant to approve deliveries, arguing that doing so could escalate the hostilities and draw Germany into the conflict. He acknowledged that Ukraine is facing mounting battlefield challenges, noting that Russia is making 'small but steady' gains, forcing Ukrainian units to retreat to deeper defensive lines. In the air, the situation has 'worsened in recent weeks,' he said, citing a single night when Kiev came under an attack involving more than 700 drones and dozens of missiles. The Russian Defense Ministry has said it only attacks military-related facilities and never targets civilians. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed support in late May for developing Ukraine's own long-range weapons. He said that while Kiev will receive German financial backing to procure these systems, it will not face restrictions on how it uses them. Russia has warned against Western military aid to Ukraine, saying it will only prolong the conflict without changing the outcome. Responding to Merz's announcement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Germany of 'competing with France in primacy for stoking the war,' warning that these moves hinder peace efforts. He added that supplying Taurus missiles to Ukraine would bring an 'inevitable escalation.'
