Sydney — Australia and the United Kingdom signed a new defense and security cooperation agreement Thursday that deepens the strategic relationship between the two nations, makes it easier for their defense forces to operate together in each other’s countries, and boosts a fledgling nuclear-powered submarine program with the United States.
Australia has said the new security and defense treaty updates its longstanding relationship with Britain “to meet contemporary challenges.”
Australia Defense Minister Richard Marles said in a statement that as “the world becomes more complex and uncertain, we must modernize our most important relationships.”
The new accord signed Thursday builds on the 2021 AUKUS alliance, which is designed to allow Australia to build a new multibillion-dollar fleet of nuclear-powered submarines with help from the United States and Britain.
Marles later told reporters in Canberra that a far-reaching pact with Britain was fundamental to Australia’s national security.
“It does reflect a relationship that has become much more strategic, a relationship which has a much bigger national security dimension,” he said. “To that end, the U.K. has a much greater presence in the Indo-Pacific than we have seen in a very long time. We also spoke today about AUKUS, which is, perhaps, at the heart of the contemporary strategic relationship between our two countries.”
Britain’s defense minister, Grant Shapps, is in Australia for the annual Australia-U.K. Ministerial (AUKMIN) meetings, which were first held in 2006. Officials said bilateral talks would also include support for Ukraine, peace in the Middle East, gender-based violence in the Pacific, climate change and trade.
The defense treaty signed Thursday includes provisions to make it easier for Australian and British forces to work together in each other’s countries, much like the joint training of Ukrainian troops in Britain. There will also be closer collaboration on undersea warfare, intelligence and military exercises.
Shapps told a news conference in Canberra that the treaty would enhance global efforts to maintain peace.
“We stand shoulder-to-shoulder in all of these many, many different ways, and the thing which has struck me most in my first few hours with you here today is the extent to which distance is absolutely no object to us at all because we stand united in our view of the world and what needs to be done and we are proactive nations that are prepared to stand up and make sure that we do maintain the world order,” he said.
The announcement of the new defense accord between Canberra and London comes a day after Australia hosted a visit by China’s most senior diplomat, the foreign minister Wang Yi.
Analysts have said that China’s increasing assertiveness is a key motivation behind the trilateral AUKUS agreement, but China has accused Australia, Britain and the United States of a “Cold War mentality,” saying the alliance was embarking on a “path of error and danger.”
Thursday, the Canberra government has also announced a new multi-million-dollar deal to send army vehicles to Germany. In one of the biggest defense export deals in Australian history, 100 Boxer armored vehicles will be sent to the German army.
The post Australia Signs Security Accord with Britain first appeared on The News And Times.
Мэр Москвы отметил, что пациенты клиник Москвы ждут талантливых медиков.
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Валерия Чекалина пытается спасти часть нажитого имущества.
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MARATHON, Fla. (NewsNation) — Dozens of American citizens have returned to the United States from Haiti, arriving in Orlando, Florida, on one of the first flights chartered by Gov. Ron DeSantis to help Floridians escape deadly violence.
The U.S. Department of State said 1,600 Americans have contacted the U.S. Embassy for help leaving the Caribbean country. The State Department is chartering helicopters to help people get back to the U.S.
These rescue efforts come as DeSantis cracks down on Haitians trying to enter the U.S. illegally while fleeing violence in their homeland, with many making the journey by sea.
NewsNation’s Brooke Shafer accompanied Florida National Guard soldiers, who patrol waters daily, on a helicopter ride about 10 miles off the coast of Marathon in one of their six helicopters now stationed in the Florida Keys.
Soldiers explained they use systems and cameras to examine routes commonly taken by migrants, zooming in on every boat in the water to monitor any unusual activity.
“We’re looking for what they call chugs and different pieced-together rafts that they typically use to come over. Usually pretty easy to identify,” said Maj. David Dietz.
Now stationed in the Florida Keys, the helicopter is part of the extra resources deployed since last week.
DeSantis activated 250 extra Florida officers and soldiers in anticipation of a potential influx of Haitian migrants. It’s in addition to the extra manpower already stationed there since last January.
NewsNation obtained an exclusive look with U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the abandoned boats along Florida shores. Since then, officials have noted a slowdown in activity, with soldiers attributing much of it to deterrence measures.
The U.S. Coast Guard reported no unusual migrant activity or attempts to enter Florida by boat, despite the escalating violence about 700 miles away in Haiti.
The post Inside Florida National Guard’s search for Haitian migrants at sea first appeared on The News And Times.
Internal Docs Show Entire Intelligence Community Warned To Avoid ‘Problematic Phrases’ On Islamic Terrorism The Daily Wire
The post Internal Docs Show Entire Intelligence Community Warned To Avoid ‘Problematic Phrases’ On Islamic Terrorism – The Daily Wire first appeared on JOSSICA – The Journal of the Open Source Strategic Intelligence and Counterintelligence Analysis.
