First shipboard USO center in 7th Fleet opens ahead of carrier’s expected departure

Sailors aboard the USS Ronald Reagan gathered deep inside the aircraft carrier on Wednesday to celebrate the opening of the U.S. 7th Fleet’s first shipboard USO center.

Unexploded shell from WWII found at tourist destination on Okinawa

Japanese authorities on Thursday night planned to remove an unexploded, 110-pound shell recently discovered at a construction site in Onna Village.

Demand supports creation, expansion of food pantries on Marine bases in Japan

Marine bases in Japan recently opened one new food pantry and expanded another to ease persistent food insecurity that affects one-fourth of all U.S. military members.

European air forces to train across Indo-Pacific this summer

Pacific Skies, a series of exercises between mid-June and mid-August, will involve 1,800 airmen and aircraft from Germany, France, Spain and the United Kingdom, Germany’s air force said in a news release Tuesday.

US envoy to the UN vows support for families of Japanese who were abducted and taken to North Korea

America stands with Japan until all the Japanese abducted by North Korea decades ago return home to end their painful separation, United States ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in Tokyo.

Army’s rapid development office tasked with fast-tracking Guam missile defense

The Army branch responsible for bringing new technology quickly into the U.S. arsenal is now tasked with creating an integrated missile defense system on Guam, a need the Indo-Pacific commander classified as paramount.

‘Hit the mark’: 101st soldiers impressed after firing Army’s new rifles for first time

The 101st Airborne Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team recently became the Army’s first brigade to field the XM7 rifle officially and the Army’s new XM250 squad automatic weapon.

Pentagon IG report finds military facilities at ‘increased risk’ of fuel spills

An investigation by the Pentagon’s Inspector General released this month found that military officials have failed to provide proper oversight of fuel facilities and that they are now “at an increased risk of fuel leaks and spills.”

Biden vows to shield US steel industry by blocking Japanese merger and seeking new Chinese tariffs

President Joe Biden suggested to cheering, unionized steelworkers on Wednesday that his administration would thwart the acquisition of U.S. Steel by a Japanese company, and he called for a tripling of tariffs on Chinese steel, seeking to use trade policy to win over working-class votes in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.

Taiwan wants to expand its military attache office in Hawaii

Taiwan is seeking to increase the size of its military attache office at its de facto consulate in Honolulu as the self-ruled island democracy looks to tighten ties with the United States and bolster defenses against potential Chinese military attacks.

Myanmar’s ousted leader Suu Kyi moved from prison to house arrest due to heat, military says

Myanmar’s former leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved from prison to house arrest. The military government said Wednesday the move was made as a health measure due to a heat wave.

Philippines plans ambitious exercise with US as concerns over China grow

In the military exercise, U.S. and Philippines troops will perform joint operations off the northern tip of the island of Luzon, facing Taiwan.

China scrambles fighters after Navy spy plane passes over Taiwan Strait

Chinese fighters tracked a U.S. Navy surveillance plane making a flight over the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, a day after the U.S. defense chief talked for the first time to his Chinese counterpart.

Revived Air Force program sends specialist to Japan to perform plastic surgeries

Nearly three dozen patients were treated through a program that brought a plastic surgeon to this airlift hub in western Tokyo for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Envoy says US and allies are mulling options ‘both inside and outside the UN’ to monitor North Korea

The United States and its allies are discussing options “both inside and outside the U.N. system” to create a new mechanism for monitoring North Korea over its nuclear weapons program, the American ambassador to the United Nations said.

North Korea is buying Chinese surveillance cameras in a push to tighten control, report says

North Korea is putting surveillance cameras in schools and workplaces and collecting fingerprints, photographs and other biometric information from its citizens in a technology-driven push to monitor its population even more closely, a report said.

House panel says China subsidizes fentanyl production to fuel crisis in US

Former U.S. Attorney General William Barr says a congressional committee’s report “uncovered persuasive evidence” that China’s government is “knee deep” in sponsoring and facilitating the export of fentanyl precursors.

Austin speaks with Chinese defense minister for first time since 2022

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday morning spoke with China’s minister of national defense for the first time since November 2022, marking another step toward restoring military communications between the two major powers, the Pentagon said.

German chancellor presses China on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he asked Chinese leader Xi Jinping to pressure Russia to end its “insane campaign” in Ukraine, the latest in a parade of European leaders and senior officials to make such an appeal. The Chinese side gave no sign Tuesday of any change in its position, which has been to blame Europe and the U.S. for prolonging the fighting and calling for peace negotiations that recognize Russian as well as Ukrainian concerns