US Congress passes $700 bn defence bill; seeks to advance ties with India

The United States Congress today passed a nearly $700 billion American defence budget for 2018, which, among other things, seeks advancement in defence cooperation with India.

The 2018 National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) sailed through both the chambers of the Congress House of Representatives and the Senate by a voice vote.

It now heads to the White House for President Donald Trump to sign it into law, which he is expected to do before the Thanksgiving holidays.

The budget also imposes tougher conditions on Pakistan for military and security assistance and accommodates last minute additional White House's financial request implementing its new South Asia strategy.

The NDAA-2018 asks the Secretary of State and the Defence Secretary to come out with a common definition that recognises India's status as a "Major Defence Partner".

Welcoming the move, top Republican Senator Ted Cruz said few partnerships in the 21st century carried more strategic significance than the US-India partnership.

During the legislative process, Cruz secured an amendment that calls on the Department of Defence to reassess its approach to partnering with India and to appoint an individual to oversee this process.
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Pentagon claims death of IS leader Abu Sayed in Afghanistan raid

The US forces have killed Abu Sayed, the leader of ISIS-Khorasan, the terror group's Afghanistan affiliate, said a CNN report.

Quoting Chief Pentagon spokesperson Dana White, the CNN report said, "The 'Emir' of ISIS-K was killed in a strike on the group's headquarters in Kunar Province on July 11."

US Navy Captain Bill Salvin, spokesman for US Forces Afghanistan, said Sayed was killed in an airstrike by a US drone. The initial Pentagon statement described Sayed being killed in a "raid".

The CNN reported Secretary of Defence James Mattis as saying that "the death of a leader like Sayed is obviously a victory on our side in terms of setting them back, it's the right direction".

Gen. John Nicholson, Commander, US Forces Afghanistan said in a statement, "This operation is another success in our campaign to defeat ISIS-K in Afghanistan in 2017. Abu Sayed is the third ISIS-K emir we have killed in the last year and we will continue until they are annihilated. There is no safe haven for ISIS-K in Afghanistan."

Hafiz Sayed Khan was killed in July 2016 and another emir Abdul Hasib was killed during a joint US-Afghan commando raid in April.
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Donald Trump pledges commitment to NATO's mutual defence pact

US President Donald Trump publicly endorsed NATO's one-for-all-and-all-for-one mutual defence pact during a keynote speech in Warsaw today, seeking to ease allies' concerns that the US safety net had frayed.

"The United States has demonstrated not merely with words, but with it actions, that we stand firmly behind Article Five," Trump said, referring to the mutual defence commitment.

But he said that more defence spending was needed on the eastern side of the Atlantic, "for its own protection, and you know this. Everybody knows this. Everybody has to know this. Europe must do more.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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'Foolish daydream': North Korea's jibe at Japan's bid to grab Tok Islets

North Korea on Thursday slammed Japan for trying to lay claim to the Tok Islets by presenting them as Japanese territory in teaching materials for schools.

According to Xinhua news agency, the official daily Rodong Sinmun said in a commentary that such acts are being committed by "Japanese reactionaries with robber-like intention".

"The Japanese reactionaries persistently assert that the Tok Islets are inviolable parts of their territory and imbue rising generations with ambition for the Tok Islets. Their purpose is to use their youngsters as a shock brigade for grabbing the Tok Islets and re-invading Korea in the future," said the newspaper of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea.

It also accused Japan of frequently staging combat drills for capturing the islets by mobilising the Self-Defence Forces and preparing the country for a state of war.

"No matter how desperately Japan may assert the Tok Islets belong to its territory, it can convince no one. Japan's bid to grab the Tok Islets is a foolish daydream," it said.

The Japanese government decided to write into official school textbooks that the Tok Islets are part of Japan, a claim denounced by both Pyongyang and Seoul.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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L&T, Reliance, M&M bet on higher defence budget

Latest News - Plans of companies like Larsen & Toubro, Mahindra & Mahindra and Reliance Infrastructure are riding on the government's budgetary allocation for defence. These players expect orders for the manufacture of single-and double-engine fighter jets, naval helicopters and submarines, and export of defence systems to pick up in the next financial year.

Excluding pensions, Rs 2,58,589 crore was allocated for defence in 2016-17, up from Rs 2,46,727 crore in 2015-16 and Rs 2,22,370 crore in 2014-15. India’s defence budget is 1.71% of its gross domestic product (GDP) and a parliamentary standing committee has recommended raising this to 3% of GDP.

Mahindra group president and chief executive officer, aerospace and defence, S P Shukla said he (Read More)