[ SCMP ] Biden administration approves its first arms sale to Taiwan

The potential US$750 million deal includes 40 new M109 self-propelled howitzers and almost 1,700 kits to convert projectiles into more precise GPS-guided munitions The proposed sale would improve Taiwan’s capability to blunt a Chinese land invasion The US State Department notified Congress on Wednesday of a proposal to sell some US$750 million of weapons to…

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[ CNN Philippines ] Duterte admits US vaccine donations persuaded him to cancel VFA termination

https://www.cnn.ph/news/2021/8/3/Duterte-US-vaccine-donations-cancelation-of-VFA-termination.html President Rodrigo Duterte revealed on Monday that COVID-19 vaccine donations from the United States played a role in his decision to recall the termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement. “Give and take lang tayo, so pasalamat tayo sa kanila at may naibigay naman ako sa kanila na (we thank them, and I also gave them a) concession,”…

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[ DailyMail ] ‘Every officer is up to speed on diversity training. Not so much ship handling’: Scathing official report finds woke US Navy is not fit for war because of risk averse, politically correct, control-freak top brass

Members of Congress commissioned the report on issues in the surface Navy Came in response to fire on ship in San Diego and two ship collisions in Pacific  Retired Marine general and Navy admiral spoke with current and former officers They identified a number of disturbing trends in Navy leadership and training Many officers said…

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[ Nikkei Asia ] US does not support Taiwan independence: Kurt Campbell

 U.S President Joe Biden’s point man on Asia is “astonished” by China’s determination to play the leading role on the global stage and will “step up” its engagement in Southeast Asia to hold back such a trend. But the administration does not support Taiwan independence and understands the sensitivities involved, Indo-Pacific Coordinator Kurt Campbell said…

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[ Daily Mail ] REVEALED: Google FUNDED virus research carried out by Wuhan-linked scientist Peter Daszak for over a decade, new report reveals, amid accusations Big Tech has silenced COVID lab leak theory

Google’s charity arm, Google.org, has provided financial backing for research and studies carried out by Peter Daszak and his EcoHealth Alliance charity  The financial ties, which were first reported by The National Pulse , are disclosed in various scientific studies dating back to at least 2010 Google on Tuesday issued a statement saying the ‘one-off philanthropic…

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[ National Interest ] F-35: How This Stealth Fighter Dominates Every Wargame It ‘Fights’ In

“Even in this extremely challenging environment, the F-35 didn’t have many difficulties doing its job,” said Col. Joshua Wood, 388th Operations Group commander. “That’s a testament to the pilot’s training and the capabilities of the jet.” As with the 2017 exercises, F-35 pilots raved about the fighter’s survivability and sensor fusion capabilities. “With stealth, the F-35 can…

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[ Politico ] White House freezes Ukraine military package that includes lethal weapons

“The Biden White House has temporarily halted a military aid package to Ukraine that would include lethal weapons, a plan originally made in response to aggressive Russian troop movements along Ukraine’s border this spring. The aid package would be worth up to $100 million, according to four people familiar with internal deliberations. The National Security…

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