HONOLULU: US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Saturday he was traveling to Asia to boost military cooperation with American allies and foster “credible deterrence” against China.
Austin kicked off via Hawaii, seat of the American military command for the Indo-Pacific region, his first foreign visits as Pentagon chief.
“This is all about alliances and partnerships,” he told reporters on the trip that is to include meetings with key allies in Tokyo, New Delhi and Seoul.
“It’s also about enhancing capabilities,” he added, recalling that while the United States was focused on the anti-militant struggle in the Middle East, China was modernizing its army at high speed.
“That competitive edge that we’ve had has eroded,” he said. “We still maintain that edge. We are going to increase that edge going forward.”
“Our goal is to make sure that we have the capabilities and the operational plans... to be able to offer a credible deterrence to China or anybody else who would want to take on the US,” he added.
Lloyd will be joined in Tokyo and Seoul by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
“One of the things that the secretary of state and I want to do is begin to strengthen those alliances,” he said. “This will be more about listening and learning, getting their point of view.”
This tour in Asia of the heads of diplomacy and defense of the United States follows an unprecedented summit of the “Quad,” an informal alliance born in the 2000s to counterbalance a rising China.
Blinken will join President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, in Anchorage on March 18 with their Chinese counterparts Wang Yi and Yang Jiechi.
The Alaska talks will be the first between the powers since Yang met Blinken’s hawkish predecessor Mike Pompeo in June in Hawaii – a setting similarly far from the high-stakes glare of national capitals.
The Biden administration has generally backed the tougher approach to China initiated by former president Donald Trump, but has also insisted that it can be more effective by shoring up alliances and seeking narrow ways to cooperate on priorities such as climate change.
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Pentagon chief sees Asia ties as deterrent against China
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Pentagon chief sees Asia ties as deterrent against China
- ‘We still maintain that edge. We are going to increase that edge going forward’
Meloni condemns ‘enemies of Italy’ after clashes in Olympics host city Milan
MILAN: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has condemned anti-Olympics protesters as “enemies of Italy” after violence on the fringes of a demonstration in Milan on Saturday night and sabotage attacks on the national rail network.
The incidents happened on the first full day of competition in the Winter Games that Milan, Italy’s financial capital, is hosting with the Alpine town of Cortina d’Ampezzo.
Meloni praised the thousands of Italians who she said were working to make the Games run smoothly and present a positive face of Italy.
“Then there are those who are enemies of Italy and Italians, demonstrating ‘against the Olympics’ and ensuring that these images are broadcast on television screens around the world. After others cut the railway cables to prevent trains from departing,” she wrote on Instagram on Sunday.
A group of around 100 protesters threw firecrackers, smoke bombs and bottles at police after breaking away from the main body of a demonstration in Milan.
An estimated 10,000 people had taken to the city’s streets in a protest over housing costs and environmental concerns linked to the Games.
Police used water cannon to restore order and detained six people.
Also on Saturday, authorities said saboteurs had damaged rail infrastructure near the northern Italian city of Bologna, disrupting train journeys.
Police reported three separate incidents at different locations, which caused delays of up to 2-1/2 hours for high-speed, Intercity and regional services.
No one has claimed responsibility for the damage.
“Once again, solidarity with the police, the city of Milan, and all those who will see their work undermined by these gangs of criminals,” added Meloni, who heads a right-wing coalition.
The Italian police have been given new arrest powers after violence last weekend at a protest by the hard-left in the city of Turin, in which more than 100 police officers were injured.
The incidents happened on the first full day of competition in the Winter Games that Milan, Italy’s financial capital, is hosting with the Alpine town of Cortina d’Ampezzo.
Meloni praised the thousands of Italians who she said were working to make the Games run smoothly and present a positive face of Italy.
“Then there are those who are enemies of Italy and Italians, demonstrating ‘against the Olympics’ and ensuring that these images are broadcast on television screens around the world. After others cut the railway cables to prevent trains from departing,” she wrote on Instagram on Sunday.
A group of around 100 protesters threw firecrackers, smoke bombs and bottles at police after breaking away from the main body of a demonstration in Milan.
An estimated 10,000 people had taken to the city’s streets in a protest over housing costs and environmental concerns linked to the Games.
Police used water cannon to restore order and detained six people.
Also on Saturday, authorities said saboteurs had damaged rail infrastructure near the northern Italian city of Bologna, disrupting train journeys.
Police reported three separate incidents at different locations, which caused delays of up to 2-1/2 hours for high-speed, Intercity and regional services.
No one has claimed responsibility for the damage.
“Once again, solidarity with the police, the city of Milan, and all those who will see their work undermined by these gangs of criminals,” added Meloni, who heads a right-wing coalition.
The Italian police have been given new arrest powers after violence last weekend at a protest by the hard-left in the city of Turin, in which more than 100 police officers were injured.
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