Military Power

Myanmar's military government to let 'loyal' civilians carry guns

Myanmar's military government plans to allow loyal civilians, including government employees and retired military personnel, to carry licensed firearms, but they must comply with orders from local authorities to participate in security and law enforcement actions, the military and media reports said. The announcement fanned fears of even more violence in a country wracked by what some United Nations experts have called a civil war. The military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi two years ago, triggering widespread peaceful protests that turned into armed resistance after security forces used lethal force to suppress all opposition. A 15-page document about the new gun policy attributed to the Ministry of Home Affairs was initially circulated on pro-military Facebook accounts and Telegram channels. It was also published by pro-military and independent news outlets, which stated that it had been issued on Jan. 31 after being approved in December at a Cabinet

Brazilian Authorities investigate who was behind uprising in capital

Brazilian authorities said Monday that they were looking into who may have been behind the shocking uprising that sent protesters storming into the nation's halls of power in a riot that had striking similarities to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. In an unprecedented display for Latin America's largest nation, thousands of supporters of ex-President Jair Bolsonaro swarmed into Congress, the Supreme Court and the presidential palace on Sunday. Many of them said they wanted the Brazilian army to restore the far-right Bolsonaro to power and oust the newly inaugurated leftist president, Luiz Incio Lula da Silva. Also on Monday, police broke down a pro-Bolsonaro encampment outside a military building and detained some 1,200 people there, the justice ministry's press office told The Associated Press. The federal police press office said the force already plans to indict roughly 1,000 people. Lula and the heads of the Supreme Court, Senate and Lower House signed a lette

North Korea's Kim Jong Un lays out key goals to boost military power

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un presented unspecified goals to further bolster his military power next year at a meeting of top political officials, state media reported Wednesday, in an indication he'll continue his provocative run of weapons displays. Kim's statement came as animosities with rival South Korea rose sharply this week as the South accused the North of flying drones across the rivals' border for the first time in five years. This year, North Korea already performed a record number of missile tests in what experts call an attempt to modernize its arsenal and increase its leverage in future dealings with the United States. During the Tuesday session at the ongoing plenary meeting of the ruling Workers' Party, Kim analyzed new security challenges in international politics and on the Korean Peninsula and clarified principles and directions to take in external relations and fights against enemies to protect national interests and sovereignty, according to the official Korea

North Korea threatens to take strong military action against Japan

North Korea threatened Tuesday to take bold and decisive military steps against Japan as it slammed Tokyo's adoption of a national security strategy as an attempt to turn the country into an aggressive military power. The North's statement came four days after Japan announced a security strategy that reflects its determination to possess counterstrike capability and double its military spending to gain a more offensive footing against threats from China and North Korea. The North's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Japan's push to acquire counterstrike capability has nothing to do with self-defense but is a clear attempt to acquire pre-emptive attack capability meant to launch strikes on other countries' territories. Japan's foolish attempt to satiate its black-hearted greed -- the building up of its military invasion capability with the pretext of a legitimate exercise of self-defense rights -- cannot be justified and tolerated, an unidentified ministry spokesperson said in

Nations move towards modernising military due to security reasons: Rajnath

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh while lauding India's growing indigenous defence production capability noted that countries across the world are stepping forward to strengthen, modernise military power

What is a flag meeting?

A recent attempt by Chinese troops to transgress the LOC in Arunachal Pradesh was foiled by Indian soldiers. A flag meeting was called to de-escalate the situation. What is this meeting all about?

Myanmar court sentences NLD's Suu Kyi to 3 years for election fraud

A court in Myanmar on Friday sentenced the country's ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi to three years' imprisonment after finding her guilty of involvement in election fraud. The ruling adds more jail time to the 17 years she is already serving for other offenses. It also imperils the survival of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party following the government's explicit threats to dissolve it before a new election the military has promised will take place in 2023. Suu Kyi's party won the the 2020 general election in a landslide victory. The military seized power from Suu Kyi's elected government on February 1, 2021, saying it acted because of alleged widespread voter fraud. Independent election observers did not find any major irregularities. Two senior members of Suu Kyi's former government were co-defendants in the case and also received three-year prison sentences.

Russia successfully test-fires its latest hypersonic Zircon missile

The launch was the latest in a series of tests of Zircon, which is set to enter service later this year

Election fraud trial of Myanmar's ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi begins

The army seized power and arrested Suu Kyi in February last year, claiming widespread voter fraud in the 2020 general election, an allegation not corroborated by independent election observers

China indulging in 'unrestricted warfare' against India, says report

Two Chinese officers in 1999 put forward different methods to beat the US, these were the methods that could be used by nations that could not compete with the West in terms of military

China might break international law to dominate South China Sea: Analyst

China's designs to dominate the South China Sea might involve breaking international law of the seas in the region

China's foreign minister warns foes not to misjudge China's will

In a sweeping speech that touched on topics from the global pandemic to counterterrorism, North Korea to the Iran nuclear issue and Taiwan, Foreign Minister Wang Yi showcased China's rising confidence

At CCP centenary address, Xi Jinping calls for elevating Chinese military

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday said that China will elevate its armed forces to world-class standards with the aim to equip itself with "greater capacity"

India must aim to be among world's top 3 naval powers in 10-12 yrs: Rajnath

The defence minister said the naval base being developed under "Project Seabird" should be Asia's biggest

Japan urges Europe to solidify military involvement in Indo-Pacific

Japan's defence minister Nobuo Kishi has urged European nations to have a stronger military involvement in the Indo-Pacific to counter China's influence in the region

China adopts new law banning defamation of military personnel

China has passed a new legislation that bans defamation of military personnel, adding an array of legal tools to its 2018 law under which a Chinese popular blogger was punished

Beijing Xiangshan Forum: Restructuring of Asian security order?

The 9th Beijing Xiangshan Forum (BXF) was held jointly by the China Association for Military Science (CAMS) and China Institute for International Strategic Studies (CIISS) last week

Premvir Das: Changing dynamics in the exercise of military power

Military power will begin to encompass a much broader and softer spectrum and focus more on cooperation and assurance than on coercive power