SYDNEY: The United States commissioned a warship in Sydney, Australia, on Saturday, the first time a US Navy vessel joined active service at a foreign port, as the two close allies step up their military ties in response to China’s expanding regional reach.
The Independence-class littoral combat ship — named after a Royal Australian Navy cruiser that was sunk while supporting the US Marine landings on Guadalcanal in 1942 — was commissioned at a ceremony at an Australian naval base on Sydney Harbor, officially joining the US Navy’s active fleet.
“Australians can be proud that this ship, designed in Western Australia by local industry and named after HMAS Canberra, is being commissioned here for the first time in the history of the United States Navy,” Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said in a statement.
The commissioning of the US ship in Australian waters reflected “our shared commitment to upholding the rules-based order,” he added.
The ceremony comes amid biennial Talisman Sabre military exercises between the US and Australia, seen as a show of force and unity as China increasingly asserts power in the Indo-Pacific.
Asked if he was worried about the presence of a Chinese spy ship off Australia’s northeast coast, Marles said: “I’m not.”
“I’ve been to Talisman Sabre now for many years and there is always, it seems, a ship from China, which is looking at this, and that’s fine,” he told Channel 9 television.
The exercises, taking place in various locations across Australia over two weeks, include mock land and air combat, as well as amphibious landings.
In addition to Australia and the US, forces from Canada, Fiji, France, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Republic of Korea, Tonga and Britain are taking part.
Germany is participating for the first time with 210 paratroopers and marines, the latest European nation to bolster its presence in the region.
Under the AUKUS project announced in March, the United States and Britain have agreed to help Australia acquire a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines.
Before that, in the early 2030s, the United States is supposed to sell Australia three US Virginia class nuclear-powered submarines, with an option for Australia to buy two more.
USS Canberra: US commissions first Navy warship in foreign port
https://arab.news/wyrg2
USS Canberra: US commissions first Navy warship in foreign port
- Warship named after Royal Australian Navy cruiser that was sunk while supporting the US Marine landings on Guadalcanal in 1942
Nigerian president vows security reset in budget speech
- Government plans to buy 'cutting-edge' equipment to boost the fighting capability of military
ABUJA: Nigeria’s president vowed a national security overhaul as he presented the government budget, allocating the largest share of spending to defense after criticism over the handling of the country’s myriad conflicts.
Nigeria faces a long-running insurgency in the northeast, while armed “bandit” gangs commit mass kidnappings and loot villages in the northwest, and farmers and herders clash in the center over dwindling land and resources.
President Bola Tinubu last month declared a nationwide security emergency and ordered mass recruitment of police and military personnel to combat mass abductions, which have included the kidnapping of hundreds of children at their boarding school.
He told the Senate that his government plans to increase security spending to boost the “fighting capability” of the military and other security agencies by hiring more personnel and buying “cutting-edge” equipment.
Tinubu promised to “usher in a new era of criminal justice” that would treat all violence by armed groups or individuals as terrorism, as he allocated 5.41 trillion naira ($3.7 billion) for defense and security.
Security officials and analysts say there is an increasing alliance between bandits and extremists from Nigeria’s northeast, who have in recent years established a strong presence in the northwestern and central regions.
“Under this new architecture, any armed group or gun-wielding non-state actors operating outside state authority will be regarded as terrorists,” said Tinubu, singling out, among others, bandits, militias, armed gangs, armed robbers, violent cult groups, and foreign-linked mercenaries.
He said those involved in political or sectarian violence would also be classified as terrorists.
On the economic front, Tinubu hailed his “necessary” but not “painless” reforms that have plunged Nigeria into its worst economic crisis in a generation.
He said inflation has “moderated” for eight successive months, declining to 14.45 percent in the last month from 24.23 percent in March this year.
He projected that the budget deficit will drop next year to 4.28 percent of GDP from around 6.1 percent of GDP in 2023, the year he came into office.
