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The joint exercise is set to begin on Monday and last nine days, a statement by the JCS said. Washington and Seoul decided to hold the drills "after comprehensively taking into consideration the COVID-19 situation, the maintenance of the combat readiness posture, the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the establishment of peace," the statement said according to news agency Yonhap. The computer-simulated exercise will not include outdoor manoeuvres, which have been carried out throughout the year, and troops and equipment involved will be "minimized" due to the pandemic, it added. The exercise is set to focus mainly on ensuring troops' readiness posture. The US has 28,500 soldiers stationed in South Korea to deter North Korea. Pyongyang has previously slammed similar manoeuvres as being part of plans to invade North Korea. Both the US and South Korea deny that is the case. Washington and Seoul have cancelled or scaled back a number of joint military exercises since ... » Learn More about US, South Korea reduce scope of planned military drill amid pandemic

South Korea and the United States will conduct their annual military training this week but the drills will be smaller because of Covid-19, Seoul said Sunday. The nine-day exercise that begins Monday is still likely to infuriate the North, which has long considered them rehearsals for invasion. "The upcoming annual training is a computer-simulated command post exercise that is strictly defensive in nature," the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement, adding they went ahead with plans after considering the pandemic. The drills come in the early months of a new US administration under President Joe Biden, with nuclear talks between Pyongyang and Washington deadlocked. The nuclear-armed North -- which attacked its neigbour in 1950 and triggered the Korean War -- has regularly been angered by military exercises between the US and the South. The allies decided to conduct the combined exercise for "the maintenance of combat readiness posture and to support diplomatic efforts for ... » Learn More about South Korea, US to stage smaller military drills over Covid

WASHINGTON/SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea will increase its contribution to the cost of U.S. forces stationed in the country under an agreement reached with the United States, the State Department said on Sunday, easing an irritant in ties between the two allies. The agreement reflects the Biden administration’s "commitment to reinvigorating and modernizing our democratic alliances around the word to advance our shared security and prosperity," a State Department spokeswoman said. The proposed six-year "Special Measures Agreement" will replace the previous arrangement that expired at the end of 2019. The spokeswoman said the agreement included a "negotiated meaningful increase in host nation support contributions," but gave no further details. There are about 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea as deterrence against North Korea. More than 90% of Seoul's contributions under the previous agreement went directly back into the South Korean economy, the spokeswoman added. ... » Learn More about South Korea to boost funding for U.S. troops under new accord – State Department

AN alleged big-time drug personality who yielded a kilo of shabu worth P6.8-million was arrested on Thursday by a combined team from the military and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Lanao del Sur. Facing drug charges in violation of Republic Act 9165, “the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act,” was Romie Hadji Alawi alias Ali, 48, of Barangay Porog, Pualas town, according to the reports from the Western Mindanao Command (WestMinCom). WestMinCom commander Lt. Gen. Corleto Vinluan Jr. said the troops of the 55th Infantry Battalion (IB) and PDEA based in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao conducted the buy-bust, which resulted in the arrest of the suspect, who was said to be a high-value target in the province. According to Lt. Col. Franco Raphael Alano, 55IB commander, his men and PDEA personnel were able to seize 1 kilogram of shabu with a street value of P6,800,000 from the suspect’s possession. Also recovered were a Toyota Hilux pick-up truck, a ... » Learn More about Military, PDEA nab ‘big-time’ drug suspect

Researchers from the University of Hong Kong have called on the government to do more to preserve World War II relics after finding a cluster of Japanese fortifications neglected and exposed to damage in the New Territories. The trench system with 14 pillboxes is on a 120-metre knoll in Luk Keng. To reach the hilltop site on the fringe of Pat Sin Leng Country Park, hikers need to climb a long set of stairs with scenic views of the Starling Inlet and Shenzhen in the distance. Overgrown vegetation covers the pillboxes, some parts of which have been damaged by passers-by. Professor Lawrence Lai Wai-chung, an expert in urban planning from HKU’s real estate and construction department, said this was the most well-preserved Japanese defensive installation in the city. Although there is a bigger Japanese base on the Sai Kung Peninsula, all the pillboxes there were destroyed. “So this place is very spectacular,” he said. Military pillboxes are concrete shelters for one or more ... » Learn More about Hong Kong military heritage researchers dismayed to find World War II relics in state of neglect

SEOUL: The South Korean and US militaries are scaling back their annual exercises this month due to the Covid-19 pandemic and to support diplomacy on North Korea’s nuclear program, officials said Sunday. Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the allies decided to start the nine-day drills on Monday after reviewing factors like the status of the pandemic and diplomatic efforts to achieve denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula. It said the drills are defensive in nature and are mostly tabletop exercises and simulations that won’t involve field training. Last year, the allies canceled their springtime drills after some of their troops were infected with the coronavirus. In recent years, the countries have also suspended or downsized many of their regular training to create more space for the now-stalled US-led diplomatic drive to convince North Korea to denuclearize in return for economic and political incentives. US-South Korea drills have been a ... » Learn More about SKorea, US scale back drills over virus, NKorea diplomacy

SINGAPORE - The Singapore Armed Forces is trialling less invasive methods of collecting samples for Covid-19 testing and tests with rapid results as more training resumes. Self-administered saliva collection and nasal swabs that are less uncomfortable as they reach only partially up the nose are among the methods being trialled in active SAF units, along with antigen rapid tests (ARTs). ARTs are also being trialled at other mass events where participants must register a negative result before being admitted. Such tests are suited for large-scale events, where faster turnaround is critical, including at basic military training graduation parades, which are currently held without invited guests. From this month, all operationally-ready national servicemen (NSmen) from the army, as well as their regular trainers, have to undergo weekly polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests through the usual nasal swabs when they are called for in-camp training. Senior Minister of State for ... » Learn More about SAF trials saliva collection for Covid-19 and antigen rapid tests as more training resumes

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is likely to visit India next week, an Indian government source told Reuters on Sunday, as the two allies seek to deepen military ties to counter the growing power of China in the Asia-Pacific region. The first person visit by a top official of the new U.S. President Joe Biden's administration will focus on enhancing cooperation, said the source, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter. Austin plans to meet Defence Minister Rajnath Singh during his visit some time in the week of March 15, the official added. The first Black U.S. defence chief will join Secretary of State Antony Blinken on a visit to Japan and South Korea, sources told Reuters on Thursday. It was not immediately clear if Blinken will also visit India. The U.S. Embassy in New Delhi referred a request for comment to the Defense Department, which could not be reached outside regular business hours. For India, closer bilateral ... » Learn More about U.S. defence chief Austin likely to visit India soon-India government source

HOW will Australia take a Filipino beating? Toward the end of last year, some controversy was spawned by a Chinese cartoonist exposing through his art alleged atrocities committed by Australian troops against Afghan civilians at the height of the US-led anti-Taliban campaign in Afghanistan. The cartoon caught international attention and prompted Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison to angrily demand a Chinese apology. He considered it a great affront to the Aussie nation for its soldiers to be depicted as trigger-happy minions, getting a thrill from slaughtering defenseless civilians. One account cited those killings by young Australian troops as an exercise at giving them their taste of the “first kill.” The Chinese foreign ministry, through its spokesmen, refused the demand, and to justify the negation, the ministry quoted accounts showing those atrocities as revelations resulting from investigations by Australian military authorities themselves. The more the Morrison apology ... » Learn More about A Filipino stands up to Australia

ISLAMABAD: After 20 years of military engagement and billions of dollars spent, NATO and the United States still grapple with the same, seemingly intractable conundrum — how to withdraw troops from Afghanistan without abandoning the country to even more mayhem. An accelerated US drawdown over the past few months, led by the previous US administration, has signaled what may be in store for long-suffering Afghans. Violence is spiking and the culprits are, well, everyone: the Taliban, the Islamic State group, warlords, criminal gangs and corrupt government officials. According to NATO’s website, there are about 9,600 troops currently in Afghanistan, including 2,500 US troops. NATO defense ministers will meet on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss the way forward. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden is reviewing his predecessor’s 2020 deal with the Taliban, which includes a May 1 deadline for a final US troop withdrawal from the war-ravaged country. In Washington, calls are mounting for ... » Learn More about NATO faces conundrum as it mulls Afghan pullout