Senior Australian and U.S. officials pledged to enhance force deployments, defense industrial base cooperation and regional security...
https://news.usni.org/2024/08/07/australia-and-u-s-bolster-defense-cooperation-basing-arrangements
U.S.
U.S., Canada and Finland in new polar icebreaker ICE Pact
In a joint statement released today, the leaders of the United States, Canada, and Finland announced their intent to create the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort, or ICE, Pact, which is a trilateral arrangement to collaborate on the production of polar icebreakers and other capabilities. This collaboration is intended to strengthen the shipbuilding industry and industrial capacity of each nation – and build closer security and economic ties among our countries through information exchange and...
https://www.marinelog.com/news/u-s-canada-and-finland-in-new-polar-icebreaker-ice-pact/
Report to Congress on U.S., South Korea Relations
The following is the June 25, 2024, Congressional Research Service In Focus report, South Korea: Background and U.S. Relations.
From the report
Overview
South Korea (officially the Republic of Korea, or ROK) is one of the United States’ most important strategic and economic partners in Asia. The U.S.-ROK Mutual Defense Treaty, signed in 1953 at the end of the Korean War, commits the United States to help South Korea defend itself, particularly from North Korea (officially the Democratic People’s...
https://news.usni.org/2024/06/28/report-to-congress-on-u-s-south-korea-relations
Report to Congress on AUKUS Pillar 2
The following is the May 21, 2024, Congressional Research Service report, AUKUS Pillar 2 (Advanced Capabilities): Background and Issues for Congress.
From the report
AUKUS Pillar 2 refers to a suite of cooperative activities conducted by the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia to develop and field “advanced capabilities” under the AUKUS security partnership. To date, Pillar 2 activities have been coordinated among the three governments by a number of means, including topic-specific...
https://news.usni.org/2024/05/22/report-to-congress-on-aukus-pillar-2
Report to Congress on Arms Control Agreements
The following is the July 11, 2023, Congressional Research Service report, Arms Control and Nonproliferation: A Catalog of Treaties and Agreements.
From the report
Arms control and nonproliferation efforts are two of the tools that the United States has occasionally used to implement its national security strategy. Although some believe these tools do little to restrain the behavior of U.S. adversaries, while doing too much to restrain U.S. military forces and operations, many others see them as...
https://news.usni.org/2023/07/14/report-to-congress-on-arms-control-agreements
US Military Bolsters Defensive Posture After Iran Seizes Tankers
The U.S. military is working with allies to send more ships and aircraft to the Middle East as Iran escalates its seizures of merchant tankers, reports Politico quoting the National Security Council.
“Today, the Department of Defense will be making a series of moves to bolster our defensive posture in the Arabian Gulf,” NSC spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.
U.S. boosts military presence in the Middle EastThe announcement comes after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary...
https://mfame.guru/us-military-bolsters-defensive-posture-after-iran-seizes-tankers/
Exploiting China’s Maritime Vulnerability
China’s antiaccess/area-denial (A2/AD) strategy is designed to give it the space it needs to operate unmolested in its near abroad. Its arsenal of missiles threatens any ship that enters its weapons engagement zone. As a counter, the Marine Corps has developed the concept of stand-in forces—strategically placed, light, highly mobile units that can “persist independently for days if needed and can reposition with organic mobility assets to avoid being targeted”, reports...
https://mfame.guru/exploiting-chinas-maritime-vulnerability/
Jeff Bezos: Enormous Yachts Aren’t Only For Russian Oligarchs
Jeff Bezos Shows That Mega Yachts Aren’t Just for Russian Oligarchs, reveals a Barrons news article.
U.S. seized the pricey floating palaces of Russian oligarchsSuper yachts were all the buzz when the U.S. seized the pricey floating palaces of Russian oligarchs. Now, the attention is on an estimated $500 million vessel owned by one of America’s elite, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, according to reports.
The Bezos yacht was spotted sailing the North Sea a few weeks...
https://mfame.guru/jeff-bezos-enormous-yachts-arent-only-for-russian-oligarchs/
FBI, MI5 Issue Joint Chinese Espionage Warning
The director of the FBI and head of the United Kingdom’s domestic intelligence arm warned China’s continued “planned professional activity” of worldwide espionage poses an increasing danger to their countries’ national security, technological developments in aerospace and communications and long-term economic well-being.
“We consistently see that it’s the Chinese government that poses the biggest long-term threat to our economic and national security,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray at a...
https://news.usni.org/2022/07/06/fbi-mi5-issue-joint-chinese-espionage-warning
Tanker Owner Owes $44.6 Million Over 2017 Fatal Collision With US Guided Missile Destroyer
On Wednesday, a US judge said the owner of an oil tanker has to pay the US $44.6 million due to its role in a collision that took between the 39,000 metric ton tanker and a US Navy destroyer in 2017 in Southeast Asia. The accident had taken the lives of 10 sailors and reportedly injured dozens more.
Paul Crotty, the US District Judge, found Energetic Tank Inc responsible for 20% and the US responsible for almost 80% in the 2017 collision between the Alnic tanker and U.S.S. John S. McCain.
The...