Chuyên mục: US

Don’t Believe the New Trump

~ Trần Đình Hoành ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

FP

He’s still the same old, uninformed, easily manipulated, egomaniac — surrounded by second-raters, lickspittles, and extremists.

Don’t Believe the New Trump

Donald Trump’s address to Congress on Tuesday night was the first truly presidential speech he has ever given and therefore the best — far superior to his egomaniacal “I alone can fix it” Republican National Convention acceptance speech or his dark and divisive “American carnage” inaugural address. His tribute to fallen Navy SEAL William “Ryan” Owens, delivered while his widow sobbed in the balcony, was a genuinely moving moment, even if earlier in the day he refused to accept any personal responsibility for ordering the raid in which Owens died. For once he did not vilify the media or his opponents. Tiếp tục đọc “Don’t Believe the New Trump” →

Merkel ally calls for Europe to retaliate if Trump imposes trade tariffs

~ Trần Đình Hoành ~ Bình luận về bài viết này
 Telegraph
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Volker Kauder (L), 
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Volker Kauder (L),  Credit: Steffi Loos/Getty Images

Europe should impose punitive tariffs on imports from the United States if President Donald Trump acts to shield U.S. industries from foreign competitors, a senior ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a newspaper interview.

Trump has already formally withdrawn the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, distancing America from its Asian allies, and vowed to renegotiate the U.S. free-trade deal with Canada and Mexico.

The tycoon-turned-president has also threatened German carmakers with a border tax of 35 percent on vehicles imported into the U.S. market, saying such a levy would help create more jobs on American soil.

Tiếp tục đọc “Merkel ally calls for Europe to retaliate if Trump imposes trade tariffs” →

China hits back at Donald Trump’s ‘champion of currency manipulation’ jibe

~ Trần Đình Hoành ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

The Guardian

US president risks ratcheting up tensions with latest currency claims and repetition of desire for nuclear supremacy

Donald Trump (left) and Xi Jinping
Strained relations between Donald Trump (left) and Xi Jinping appeared to have settled after their phone call a fortnight ago. Photograph: EPA

in Beijing

Friday 24 February 2017 05.03 EST First published on Friday 24 February 2017 03.04 EST

Beijing has hit back at Donald Trump after the US president risked reigniting a simmering feud with China by accusing it of being the “grand champion” of currency manipulation.

After months of turbulence and uncertainty between the world’s two biggest economies, relations appeared to settle two weeks ago after the US president and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, held their first phone conversation since the billionaire’s inauguration.

However, in an interview with Reuters on Thursday that also saw Trump reiterate his desire for American nuclear supremacy, the US president, who has attacked China over trade, Taiwan, North Korea and the South China Sea, threatened to undermine the tentative rapprochement with a fresh verbal assault.

Why China is building islands in the South China Sea

~ Phạm Thu Hương ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Vox – 17 thg 2, 2017

China claims they aren’t military bases, but their actions say otherwise.

China is building islands in the South China sea and its causing disputes among the other nations in the region; Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, and Indonesia. The US has many allies in the region and uses its massive Navy to patrol international waters, keeping shipping lanes open for trade.

Asia-Pacific freedom tested: US admiral

~ Trần Đình Hoành ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

news.com.au

February 23, 20178:00am
By Peter Mitchell, AAP US Correspondent Australian Associated Press

One of America’s top military commanders has painted a bleak picture of the Asia-Pacific, declaring freedom, justice and the rules-based international order hang in the balance.

Admiral Harry Harris, head of the US Pacific Command, told a conference in San Diego the path to stability in the region faces four considerable challenges: North Korea, China, Russia and Islamic State.

He warned the US would “co-operate where we can, but we’ll be ready to confront where we must”. Tiếp tục đọc “Asia-Pacific freedom tested: US admiral” →

CƠ SỞ DỮ LIỆU VỀ BOM CÓ ÍCH CHO CHIẾN TRANH TRONG QUÁ KHỨ VÀ HIỆN TẠI

~ Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Hợp ~ 1 bình luận

English: Bomb database useful for past, present wars

Lieutenant Colonel Jenns Robertson’s project is aiding efforts to spot unexploded bombs that still endanger civilians.

MEG MCKINNEY FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE

Dự án của Trung tá Colonel Jenns Robertson đang hỗ trợ các nỗ lực định vị các quả bom chưa phát nổ vẫn đang gây nguy hiểm cho người dân.

Cách đây 6 năm, dường như là một ý tưởng ngây thơ khi Trung tá Colonel Jenns Robertson, 45 tuổi, một người bản xứ ở Minnesota đeo kính hạng ngoại hạng thậm chí hơn cả các tiêu chuẩn của quân đội, đã bắt đầu một sở thích khá bất thường: ghi lại dữ liệu về bom của không lực Mỹ trong một thế kỷ – từng quả bom một Tiếp tục đọc “CƠ SỞ DỮ LIỆU VỀ BOM CÓ ÍCH CHO CHIẾN TRANH TRONG QUÁ KHỨ VÀ HIỆN TẠI” →

2 maps that explain US strategy in Asia-Pacific

~ Trần Đình Hoành ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Business Insider

Secretary of Defense James Mattis recently wrapped up his first international trip whose purpose was to “listen to the concerns of South Korean and Japanese leaders.”

The two countries are crucial US allies in Asia, and both face serious threats in their near abroad.

Discussing security threats, though, wasn’t the main goal of Mattis’s trip. He was there to assure both countries that the Trump administration will not abandon the US alliance structure in the Pacific. Tiếp tục đọc “2 maps that explain US strategy in Asia-Pacific” →

Project Renew: Ridding Vietnam of Unexploded Ordnance

~ Trần Đình Hoành ~ Bình luận về bài viết này
I was invited by the editors of The VVA Veteran, publication of Vietnam Veterans of America, to submit an article reviewing the history of mine action efforts in Viet Nam, including the role of American veterans and U.S. veterans organizations. Over the past couple of decades of cooperation with our Vietnamese colleagues, and with support from the U.S. government and other international donors and project partners, we are coming very close to the reality of “making Viet Nam safe” from the daily threat of cluster bombs and other ordnance left from the war. CS
The VVA Veteran
January/February 2017
Project RENEW: Ridding Vietnam of Unexploded Ordnance

BY CHUCK SEARCY

For most Americans, the Vietnam War ended in 1975. But for too many Vietnamese, the war didn’t end then. They continued to suffer death, injury, and lifetime disabilities from munitions that remained on the surface or just under the soil. These weapons posed a constant danger to unsuspecting residents throughout the country—but especially along the former demilitarized zone.

Tiếp tục đọc “Project Renew: Ridding Vietnam of Unexploded Ordnance” →

US carrier group patrols in tense South China Sea

~ Trần Đình Hoành ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

ChannelNewsAsia

  • Posted 19 Feb 2017 09:30
  • Updated 19 Feb 2017 10:25

FILE PHOTO – Sailors man the rails of the USS Carl Vinson, a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, as it departs its home port in San Diego, California August 22, 2014. REUTERS/Mike Blak

BANGKOK: A United States aircraft carrier strike group has begun patrols in the South China Sea amid growing tension with China over control of the disputed waterway and concerns it could become a flashpoint under the new U.S. administration.

China’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday warned Washington against challenging its sovereignty in the South China Sea.

The U.S. navy said the force, including Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, began routine operations in the South China Sea on Saturday. The announcement was posted on the Vinson’s Facebook page.

The strike group’s commander, Rear Admiral James Kilby, said that weeks of training in the Pacific had improved the group’s effectiveness and readiness. Tiếp tục đọc “US carrier group patrols in tense South China Sea” →

US pledges nuclear defence for Japan and South Korea

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ChannelNewsAsia

  • Posted 17 Feb 2017 02:27
  • Updated 17 Feb 2017 02:30

Japan’s Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida (L), US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (C) and South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se (R) shake hands before a meeting at the World Conference Centre in Bonn, Germany. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP)

BONN: US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Thursday (Feb 16) pledged that Washington would use the full range of its arsenal, including nuclear weapons, to defend allies Japan and South Korea against North Korea if needed.

“The United States remains steadfast in its defence commitments to its allies, the Republic of Korea and Japan, including the commitment to provide extended deterrence, backed by the full range of its nuclear and conventional defence capabilities,” Tillerson said in a joint statement after meeting the foreign ministers in Bonn.

North Korea has carried out repeated missile launches despite UN sanctions and last year conducted two nuclear tests in a bid to develop a weapons system capable of hitting the US mainland.

Pyongyang said the latest missile tested on Sunday could carry a nuclear warhead.

Continue reading on ChannelNewsAsia

The Pentagon said it wouldn’t use depleted uranium rounds against ISIS. Months later, it did — thousands of times.

~ Trần Đình Hoành ~ Bình luận về bài viết này
Washington Post By Thomas Gibbons-Neff February 16 at 7:00 AM
 
An A-10 Thunderbolt II. (Justin Connaher/ U.S. Air Force)

Months after the Pentagon said it wouldn’t use a controversial type of armor-piercing ammunition that has been blamed for long-term health complications, U.S. aircraft fired thousands of the rounds during two high-profile air raids in Syria in November 2015, the Pentagon acknowledged Wednesday.

The use of the ammunition, a 30mm depleted-uranium bullet called PGU-14, was first reported by a joint Air Wars-Foreign Policy investigation on Tuesday. The roughly 5,265 rounds of the munition were fired from multiple A-10 ground attack aircraft on Nov 16, 2015, and Nov. 22, 2015, in airstrikes in Syria’s eastern desert that targeted the Islamic State’s oil supply during Operation Tidal Wave II, said Maj. Josh Jacques, a U.S. Central Command spokesman.

When loaded with depleted-uranium bullets, the A-10s fired what is called a “combat-mix,” meaning the aircraft’s cannon fires five depleted-uranium rounds to one high explosive incendiary bullet.

Continue reading on Washington Post

Xin lỗi và bồi thường chiến tranh trong quan hệ quốc tế ; Kinh nghiệm lịch sử trong quan hệ Việt – Mỹ

~ Phạm Thu Hương ~ 2 bình luận

  • VHNA –  NGUYỄN THÁI YÊN HƯƠNG
  • Thứ ba, 26 Tháng 5 2015 21:26

                                                                Hòa giải và giảng hòa một cách chân tình không có nghĩa là chúng ta quên quá khứ

Nelson Maldela

Trong quan hệ quốc tế nói chung, vấn đề xin lỗi và bồi thường chiến tranh là một vấn đề luôn song hành với quan hệ giữa các nước trong quá trình hàn gắn vết thương để đến bình thường hóa quan hệ ngoại giao. Đây là vấn đề đã được nhiều nhà nghiên cứu quan hệ quốc tế đề cập theo góc độ xã hội, lịch sử. Tiếp tục đọc “Xin lỗi và bồi thường chiến tranh trong quan hệ quốc tế ; Kinh nghiệm lịch sử trong quan hệ Việt – Mỹ” →

Head of U.S. Pacific Command urges democracy in Thailand

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U.S. Pacific Command chief Adm. Harry Harris (left) and Thailand defense forces chief Gen. Surapong Suwana-Adth pose during the opening ceremony of the multilateral Cobra Gold military exercises at Sattahip Royal Thai Marine Corps Base in Chonburi, Thailand, on Tuesday. | REUTERS

Japan times

AP Feb 14, 2017

SATTAHIP, THAILAND – The highest-ranking U.S. military official to visit Thailand since a 2014 coup urged the country to restore democracy, saying Tuesday that America needs “a strong and stable ally” in Southeast Asia.

Adm. Harry Harris, the head of the U.S. Pacific Command, spoke at the start of the annual Cobra Gold joint military exercises, the largest in the Asia-Pacific region.

The U.S. is vying with an increasingly powerful China for influence in Asia.

“We look forward to Thailand’s reemergence as a flourishing democracy because we need Thailand as a strong and stable ally,” Harris said. “We need Thailand to get back to being the regional and global leader that it always has been.”

Twenty-nine countries, including China, India and Malaysia, are participating in or observing the exercises.

continue reading on Japan times

US, Japan, S Korea request UN Security Council meeting on N Korea

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ChannelNewsAsia

  • Posted 13 Feb 2017 08:38
  • Updated 13 Feb 2017 08:40

Passengers watch a TV screen broadcasting a news report on North Korea firing a ballistic missile into the sea off its east coast, at a railway station in Seoul, South Korea, February 12, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

WASHINGTON: The United States, Japan and South Korea on Sunday (Feb 12) requested an urgent UN Security Council meeting to discuss North Korea’s latest missile test.

“The United States, along with Japan and the Republic of Korea, have requested urgent consultations on the DPRK’s launch of a ballistic missile on February 12,” said a US mission spokesperson.

The test was seen as a challenge to Donald Trump’s young presidency.

The request comes after North Korea’s state media quoted officials as saying the ballistic missile test was a “success”.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un “guided” the test, the KCNA report said, adding it was carried out in a way that took the “security of the neighbouring countries into consideration”. Tiếp tục đọc “US, Japan, S Korea request UN Security Council meeting on N Korea” →

U.S., Chinese military planes in ‘unsafe’ encounter over disputed South China Sea

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Japan Times

A Chinese H-6K bomber patrols islands and reefs in the South China Sea in this undated photo. | XINHUA NEWS AGENCY / VIA AP
by Staff Writer Feb 10, 2017

A U.S. Navy reconnaissance aircraft and a Chinese military plane were involved in an “unsafe” encounter earlier this week in international airspace over the disputed South China Sea, the U.S. Pacific Command said Friday.

The U.S. Navy P-3C was on a “routine mission” over the waters on Wednesday when the encounter with a Chinese military KJ-200 aircraft occurred, Pacific Command said.

The two planes flew within 1,000 feet (300 meters) of each other in the area of the contested Scarborough Shoal, just 230 km (140 miles) from the Philippine coast, CNN reported, citing unnamed U.S. defense officials.

Scarborough Shoal, which is also claimed by Manila, has been known as a potential flashpoint, and rumors of a push by China to build on the collection of rocky outcroppings have stoked concern in the region. Building at Scarborough would create a large “strategic triangle” covering much of the South China Sea that would give it the ability to declare and police an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) there. Tiếp tục đọc “U.S., Chinese military planes in ‘unsafe’ encounter over disputed South China Sea” →