Free Republic

MoD breaches EU rules by training Chinese officer Michael Smith THE government has breached EU rules banning military cooperation with China by allowing a Chinese army officer to study at Sandhurst. Officer Cadet Liu Liu, who graduated from the Royal Military Academy last month, has spent the past year training alongside British army cadets. A second Chinese People's Liberation Army officer is expected to join the new intake at Sandhurst this week. The move will infuriate the US which has warned that a relaxation of the EU arms embargo to allow training would help China to work out ways of...

Vietnam looks to build ties with U.S. army Wed Jun 8, 1:49 AM ET HANOI (Reuters) - Communist Vietnam said a visit by a senior U.S. defense official will firm up ties between the former Vietnam War enemies and boost understanding between their armies, state-run media reported on Wednesday. U.S. Assistant Defense Secretary Peter Rodman held talks with Vietnam's Defense Minister Pham Van Tra and his deputy Nguyen Huy Hieu on Tuesday at the start of the two-day visit, the defense ministry-run Quan Doi Nhan Dan daily said. A front-page article in the newspaper quoted Tra as telling Rodman that...

IRABU, Okinawa Prefecture-An airstrip on the islet of Shimojijima, far southwest of Okinawa's main island, has been swept up in the United States' geopolitical strategy to transform its armed forces. Besides the U.S. military, the maneuverings involve the Self-Defense Forces, town council intrigue, local fear of Chinese submarines and a mysterious negotiator promising money from the central government. As for the island's strategic value, no one seems quite sure. What is certain is that little progress is being made on construction of an offshore heliport near Henoko in Okinawa's Nago. The facility is intended to replace the U.S. Marine Corps...

NICOSIA [MENL] -- Lebanon has improved its military cooperation with the United States. Lebanese and U.S. officials have reported increased military cooperation between Beirut and Washington. The officials said the two countries have increased training of the Lebanese military and held high-level meetings to bolster the level of military and security cooperation. The U.S. effort was meant to increase Lebanese cooperation in the war against Al Qaida. Lebanese officials said that despite Washington's criticism over Beirut's support for Hizbullah and Palestinian insurgency groups, the Bush administration has sought to exploit the recent arrests and prosecution of Al Qaida operatives in...

Indian forces to train in AlaskaFrom Shyam Bhatia NEW DELHI, March 28 Joint exercises are to take place between Indian forces and the US military in Alaska, Defence Minister George Fernandes has disclosed in an exclusive interview at his South Block office in New Delhi. This is the first time ever that Indian forces have been invited to participate in military exercises on the North American continent and the latest development is a pointer to expanding links between the defence establishments of the two countries that currently encompass intelligence sharing and joint naval patrols in the Indian Ocean between the Straits of Malacca...