SINGAPORE — After meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for the first time, China’s new defense minister paused in an outdoor hallway to wipe the fog off his glasses. Standing near the press, Adm. Dong Jun smiled. And to a member of the American delegation, he described the best place in China, in his opinion, to go see pandas. It was diplomacy in action. Two days later, Dong had a different tone. He gave a stern, at times strident, speech on the last day of the Shangri-La Dialogue, a defense summit in Singapore that draws officials from across the region. Dong warned that those who ..read more

Singapore — Saturday evening, a crowd gathered near the doors of the Shangri-La hotel. They were waiting for a speaker, the last one to be announced at the defense conference held there each year, and one not even from the region. Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy entered to this welcome of cameras and cell phones, wearing his usual T-shirt and fatigue-style pants. The next day, he gave the summit’s final address, casting Ukraine as a global country and Russia’s full-scale invasion as a war of global concern. “We found ourselves in a war that affects everyone,” he said. Zelenskyy’s surpr ..read more

SINGAPORE — U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin gave a legacy speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s premier security conference, defending the administration’s approach to the region in a world consumed by war in Europe and the Middle East. His message was twofold. First, the Pentagon under his tenure labeled China its pace setter and the U.S. has indeed kept pace. Austin has visited the Indo-Pacific 10 times as secretary and treated the region as a team sport. In the last three years, the U.S. has expanded its number of security partners, deepened existing agreements and encouraged the ..read more

The U.S. Army awarded the manufacturer of Abrams tanks a contract this month to begin the preliminary design of its new tank variant expected to be lighter and feature high-tech capabilities so it’s more survivable in battle, the service’s head of combat vehicle modernization told Defense News. The contract allows the Army to work closely with General Dynamics Land Systems on shaping requirements for the new M1E3 Abrams tank. The hope, according to Brig. Gen. Geoffrey Norman, is to be able to bring the new variant into the force at a similar timeline to the M30 Mechanized Infantry Combat Vehic ..read more

The Space Force offered a glimpse this week of its vision for the future of narrowband satellite communications, a plan that could include a large number of spacecraft in multiple orbits with advanced capabilities. Today’s narrowband communication satellites, part of the Mobile User Objective System constellation, provide cellular voice and data capabilities to military forces around the world. Their location in the narrowband frequency range makes them less susceptible to bad weather or tricky terrain and allows for more secure communications. In a May 29 notice, the Space Force said it wants ..read more

COLOGNE, Germany — The European Union is considering setting up its own air defense shield after bloc leaders threw their support behind a Greek-Polish initiative to that effect this week. The two countries’ prime minsters, Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Donald Tusk, respectively, pitched the idea to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a letter earlier this month. After von der Leyen, who is eyeing a second term following elections in early June, swiftly endorsed the idea, the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, also signaled support. “I welcome that member states say that to defend o ..read more

PARIS — France has banned Israeli firms from participating in Eurosatory, Europe’s largest defense show, a little over two weeks before the event kicks off in Paris, with the government citing Israel’s military actions in Gaza. “At the request of the French authorities, Israeli companies will not be present at Eurosatory,” the French Armed Forces Ministry said in an emailed statement on Friday. “Conditions are no longer suited to welcome Israeli companies to the French show, in a context where the President is calling for Israeli operations in Rafah to stop.” French President Emmanuel Macron t ..read more

As the U.S. faces China’s unprecedented military buildup, conflicts involving our partners in two theaters, and resurgent terror threats, it is clear that the world today is more dangerous than most Americans have experienced in their lifetimes. Yet, as the U.S. Department of Defense pursues modernization programs to retain our competitive edge, we cannot afford to forget about vulnerabilities to the systems that the American people use every day. The cyber domain could make the difference between victory and defeat. As the top Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee an ..read more

MILAN — Sweden plans to acquire anti-aircraft guns for its fast-assault boats to counter drones and helicopters, as officials have warned that the Baltic Sea could become a flashpoint with Russia. The Swedish Ministry of Defense’s equipment branch, dubbed FMV, has launched a call to purchase eight anti-aircraft guns under a contract valued at over $176 million. The weapons will be placed on the Swedish-made Combat Boat 90, a high-speed and sharp-turning assault craft for the country’s amphibious units, according to recently published tender documents. They are slated to operate “in all naval g ..read more

SINGAPORE — While addressing the Shangri-La Dialogue defense summit in Southeast Asia, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. set near black-and-white criteria on what would count as an act of war by China. The comment came in reference to Second Thomas Shoal, a reef in the South China Sea where the Philippines have an outpost. Despite a 2016 UN ruling to the contrary, Beijing claims ownership over the territory and has harassed Filipino vessels resupplying the base each month. That harassment has included the firing of water cannons and ramming of a Filipino vessel. But were that aggressio ..read more