Tag: defence
China issues warning to Papua New Guinea over defence deal with Australia
Beijing’s comments come as leading military figures in PNG express concern over a potential defence treaty with Australia China has urged Papua New Guinea not to sign a treaty that could restrict or prevent it from cooperating with another country, days after Australia failed to secure a defence pact with the Pacific nation. In a…
Anthony Albanese fails to seal defence treaty between Australia and PNG
Australian PM will leave Port Moresby without agreement, sparking a setback for strategy to minimise China’s influence among Pacific nations Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Anthony Albanese’s strategy of pushing back against China in the Pacific has been dealt another blow, with a major defence treaty with Papua New…
Latest blow to Labor’s Pacific defence strategy might not be the embarrassment the Coalition claims
Anthony Albanese must now save the defence agreement with Papua New Guinea, a week after a similar plan with Vanuatu was delayed Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast When Anthony Albanese landed in Papua New Guinea for celebrations marking 50 years of independence this week, he was expecting to sign…
Australia-PNG defence treaty: countries to agree to defend each other from military attack as China’s Pacific influence grows
Anthony Albanese and Papua New Guinea’s defence minister downplayed the delay to the Pukpuk defence treaty being formalised Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Australia and Papua New Guinea will agree to defend each other in the event of a military attack, part of a landmark defence agreement due to…
New Zealand to spend $3bn upgrading helicopters and ‘embarrassing’ defence planes
Government says country will buy five Seahawk helicopters and two Airbus A321XLR aircraft New Zealand will spend nearly NZ$3bn ($1.7bn) upgrading its ageing defence fleet, including replacing its “embarrassing” planes that have left multiple prime ministers grounded during international travel, the government has announced. The defence minister, Judith Collins, said NZ$2bn would be spent buying…
Family of Kenyan woman allegedly murdered by UK soldiers criticise defence secretary
Niece of Agnes Wanjiru says she thinks John Healey is ‘taking us for a ride’ The niece of a Kenyan woman who was murdered more than a decade ago, allegedly by British soldiers, has said her family now believe the defence secretary “just made a promise for his political gain” when he met them in…
Ukraine to receive US air defence systems, says Trump
US President Donald Trump has said he will send weapons, including Patriot air defence systems, to Ukraine via Nato. Trump told NBC News that in a new deal, “we’re going to be sending Patriots to Nato, and then Nato will distribute that”, adding that Nato would pay for the weapons. Patriot batteries detect and intercept…
Australia to hold talks aimed at entering defence pact with EU
Anthony Albanese confirms country could sign on to deal as he arrives in Calgary for G7 summit Australia news live: latest politics updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Australia is to hold formal negotiations on joining a new defence agreement with the European Union, with the prime minister preparing…
Canadian PM vows to boost defence spending and reduce dependency on US
Carney says Canada will hit Nato target of 2% of GDP five years ahead of schedule amid ‘dangerous and divided world’ Mark Carney has promised to boost defence spending to its highest level in decades, warning that in a “dangerous and divided world”, Canada must reduce its dependence on the US for defence. Speaking at…
Britain’s defence review has grand ambition. Now it needs the money
The British defence review was asked to make its recommendations within the budgetary constraints of spending 2.5% of GDP on defence. But it is already clear that to meet its goals of transforming Britain’s armed forces, to make them ready for war, there’ll have to be more money. The review welcomes the government’s “ambition” to…
Defence plan will ensure UK is ready for war, minister says
The government will invest billions of pounds to move the UK to “war-fighting readiness” in the face of a new era of threats from nuclear powers like Russia and China, the defence secretary has said. The government has accepted all 62 recommendations set out in a long-awaited Strategic Defence Review (SDR), including building 12 new…
Defence secretary meets family of Kenyan woman allegedly killed by British soldiers
Relatives of Agnes Wanjiru say 13-year fight for justice has taken ‘heavy toll’ after meeting with John Healey The family of a Kenyan woman who was allegedly killed by British soldiers have said their 13-year fight for justice has taken a “heavy toll”, and that they have been offered “too many empty promises” after a…
Starmer cuts aid to fund increase in defence spending
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has set out plans to increase defence spending to 2.5% of national income by 2027, as peace talks to end the war in Ukraine gather pace. The PM said he would cut the UK’s international aid budget to fund the rise in defence spending, which is currently 2.3% of GDP.…