How the world’s largest military stacks up to the US armed forces

























http://www.businessinsider.my/chinese-mili...3HK88wfwzTeP.97

FROM PALMYRA TO DEIR EZZOR. THE UPCOMING CAMPAIGN IN EASTERN SYRIA









https://southfront.org/from-palmyra-to-deir...-eastern-syria/

Surely ISIS expects these detailed ground maneuvers

Muscovites term "Маскировка" only come into my mind when russian describe tactics & strategies openly

This post has been edited by BorneoAlliance: Apr 2 2016, 12:37 PM

America’s New Maritime Security Initiative for Southeast Asia





http://thediplomat.com/2016/04/americas-ne...southeast-asia/

Four Malaysian crewmen kidnapped off Sabah coast



KOTA KINABALU (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK): Four crewmen of a Malaysian boat have been kidnapped by armed Filipino gunmen near Pulau Ligitan off Semporna in the east coast of Sabah on Friday night.

Initial reports stated that eight Filipino gunmen in a speedboat jumped on board the Malaysian registered vessel, MV MASFIVE 6, which was sailing near Pulau Ligitan, and held them at gunpoint before forcing them to disembark.

The speedboat with the four Malaysian hostages and the gunmen were seen speeding towards Philippine waters. Other foreign crew members - three Myanmar and two Indonesians - were left unharmed.

According to initial reports, the four have been identified as Wong Teck Pang, 31; Wong Hung Song, 34; Wong Teck Chi, 29; and Johnny Lau Jung Hien, 21; although police have yet to confirm the identities. They are from Sarawak.

The foreign crew is believed to have later sailed the ship back to Tawau, Sabah. The ship with a crew of nine was returning to Tawau after sending a shipment of logs to Manila when the group of Filipinos struck at about 7 pm as the vessel was sailing near Pulau Ligitan.

It is not known if the gunmen were linked to the notorious Abu Sayyaf which has demanded ransom of US$1 million (S$1.35 million) for the release of a group of Indonesian crewmen kidnapped on Monday. The 10 Indonesian crewmen from a Taiwanese tugboat were kidnapped as their vessel was sailing close to the Malaysian waters off Sabah. Meanwhile, Indonesia has placed on standby an elite force to rescue the 10 hostages held by the Abu Sayyaf in Jolo in southern Philippines.

http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/f...off-sabah-coast

North Korean leader guides new anti-air weapon system: Pyongyang





Seoul - North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has overseen the test of a new anti-aircraft weapon system, state media said on Saturday, the latest in a series of missile trials as tensions run high on the divided Korean peninsula.

Over the past month the young leader has supervised several military drills, including the test-firings of medium ballistic missiles, a multiple rocket system and long-range artillery, in response to Seoul-Washington joint army drills south of the border.

The latest launch came as a two-day nuclear security summit was being hosted by Barack Obama in Washington, at which North Korea was the focus of the US president's talks with the leaders of China, South Korea and Japan.

Pyongyang's official KCNA news agency said Saturday Kim "guided the test of a new-type anti-air guided weapon system" to check its capability.

"Under his observation, AA rockets were fired to accurately hit mock enemy aerial targets", it said.

The South's defence ministry said the North fired an anti-air missile around 12:45 pm (0345 GMT) Friday from the eastern city of Sondok.

Kim "expressed great satisfaction over the successful test", calling it another striking demonstration of the the rapidly growing defence capability of the country, KCNA said.

Obama spoke Thursday of the need to "vigilantly enforce the strong UN security measures" imposed on the North after its fourth nuclear test in January and a subsequent long-range rocket launch.

Pyongyang's state media labelled the summit a "nonsensical" effort to find fault with the North's "legitimate access to nuclear weapons".

Existing UN sanctions ban North Korea from conducting any ballistic missile test, although short-range launches tend to go unpunished.

- AFP

Singapore to beef up nuclear security, PM Lee says



WASHINGTON, DC: Singapore will roll out tighter controls to detect and analyse radioactive and nuclear materials passing through its borders, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said.

PM Lee said this at the 4th Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) in Washington, DC on Friday (Apr 1), where more than 50 countries shared their progress in strengthening nuclear security.

Since the first NSS in 2010, Singapore has tightened checks on radioactive materials passing through its ports, with every case of nuclear fuel transiting through Singapore being tracked. “From time to time, we have intercepted cargo and confiscated items,” Mr Lee said.

He said that Singapore had recently discovered a significant amount of thorium - a radioactive element which can be used as nuclear fuel.

A laboratory called the Protective Analytical and Assessment Facility (PAAF), plans for which were first announced in 2011, will also be ready this year. The lab, located at Pasir Panjang, will be able to conduct radiation-nuclear detection and analysis.

On top of that, the city-state also cooperates with international partners such as the Interpol Global Complex for Innovation in Singapore, which fosters the sharing of data about transnational threats among countries.

Singapore also participates in the Proliferation Security Initiative – a global effort that combats the trafficking of weapons of mass destruction. It also adopts the recommendations of the Financial Agency Task Force, which is an intergovernmental body that fights against money laundering and terrorism funding.

NUCLEAR ATTACK BY TERRORISTS NOT IMPOSSIBLE: PM LEE

With the world becoming increasingly vulnerable to terrorism, a nuclear attack by terrorists using devices bought from the black market is “very plausible and believable”, and is a threat which countries must take seriously, Mr Lee said.

In its Dabiq magazine published last May, the Islamic State militant group had described such a scenario – where it launches a major attack with devices from the black market, Mr Lee said, urging the global community to continue fighting against nuclear terrorism.

“Terrorism in itself is a severe problem. If it's mixed up with a terrorist who has some form of radioactive weapon or WMD (weapon of mass destruction), a nuclear weapon, nuclear bomb, that's even worse,” he said.

“I think the countries (at the summit) are taking the issue of terrorism very seriously. In fact, we spent the last session this afternoon talking about terrorism rather than talking about nuclear issues –Turkey, Belgium, France all intervened passionately because they have direct experience of it,” Mr Lee said, adding that Singapore also takes a serious view of the issue.

Since the NSS began in 2010, more than 3.8 metric tons of nuclear materials have been removed globally. This amount could be used to make more than 150 nuclear weapons.

Mr Lee also expressed concern over North Korea, which he said continues to develop nuclear capabilities and conduct tests that raise tensions in North East Asia. These moves can destabilise the region, he said.

“I hope all countries will encourage (North Korea) to restrain itself and work towards denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula,” he said.

Mr Lee also touched on the region's plans for nuclear power plants. Vietnam and Indonesia are among the ASEAN countries planning to develop such facilities.

Nuclear power plants are not in itself a security issue, he said. “The risk is safety and in case of sabotage or theft of material, then we have a problem. That's why we are building up our capabilities to understand nuclear safety and that's why we participate in conferences like this, because the security part requires international cooperation."

During the summit, Mr Lee met with Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who has accepted an invitation to deliver the keynote speech at the Shangri-la Dialogue later this year, Singapore’s Prime Minister's Office said.

Mr Lee also had bilateral meetings with his Denmark and Netherlands counterparts, as well as Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and ministers from Australia and Israel.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singap...up/2659080.html

India furious as China blocks UN blacklisting of militant chief



UNITED NATIONS: China has put a hold on India's request to add the head of the Pakistani militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad to the United Nations' al Qaeda-Islamic State blacklist, U.N. diplomats said on Friday, eliciting an angry reaction from the Indian government.

India accused Jaish-e-Mohammad of masterminding a fatal attack on the Pathankot air base in India in January. India had requested that its leader be added to a U.N. Security Council blacklist of groups linked to al Qaeda or Islamic State, the diplomats said, but China objected.

The Kashmir-based group Jaish-e-Mohammad has already been blacklisted by the 15-nation Security Council, but not its leader, Maulana Masood Azhar, an Islamist hardliner and long-time foe of India.

"We find it incomprehensible that while the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad was listed ... as far back as 2001 for its well-known terror activities and links to al Qaeda, the designation of the group's main leader, financier and motivator, has been put on a technical hold," Indian government spokesman Vikas Swarup said in Washington.

"This does not reflect well on the determination that the international community needs to display to decisively defeat the menace of terrorism," he told reporters on the sidelines of a nuclear summit in the U.S. capital.

It was not immediately clear why China requested that a hold be placed on the Indian request to blacklist Masood Azhar. Technical holds can be lifted and often arise when a Security Council member wants more information. But sometimes they lead to a permanent blocking of a proposed blacklisting.

Asked about China's decision to place a technical hold on the proposed blacklisting of Masood Azhar, Chinese U.N. Ambassador Liu Jieyi offered no details.

"Any listing would have to meet the requirements" for blacklisting, he said.

Pakistani security officials have said that a special investigation team set up in Pakistan to probe the Pathankot attack found no evidence implicating Masood Azhar.

If Masood Azhar was blacklisted by the U.N. Security Council, he would face a global travel ban and asset freeze.

The Jan. 2 attack at Pathankot was followed by a raid on an Indian consulate in Afghanistan that has also been linked to Jaish-e-Mohammad, or the Army of Mohammad.

Jaish-e-Mohammad militants are blamed for a 2001 attack on India's parliament that nearly led to a war between the nuclear-armed rivals.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapa...na/2658928.html

INTERNATIONAL MILITARY REVIEW – SYRIA & IRAQ, APR. 1, 2016



The Syrian Arab Army’s engineering units have started repairing and reconstructing of Palmyra military airport in order to resume its routine activities and operations. The airport will likely become an important air base for the Syrian army’s military choppers and fighter jets, especially, in case of advances on Deir Ezzor and Raqqa.

Meanwhile, Russian and Syrian warplanes continued air raids against ISIS positions at Al-Sukhnah and along the Palmyra-Deir Ezzor road. The oil reach town Al-Sukhnah is a logistical point of the ISIS oil smuggling business.

The SAA and its allies continue attempts to liberate the town of Quraytayn. The Syrian government reportedly decided to deploy additional reinforcements to strengthen 4000-strong military grouping aimed to conduct operations in the area. A new full-scale advance on the town is expected in the nearest future.

ISIS militants attacked Sheikh Hilal on Mar.31. The militants captured few checkpoints in the nearby area but failed to enter the town. Clashes are ongoing there.

Units of the joint detachment of the International Anti-Mine Center of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation arrived at the Hmeimim airbase on Mar.31 to take part in a mine clearing operation in the city of Palmyra.

The Iraqi security forces supported by coalition air strikes and US troops have advanced towards the town of Hit in an attempt to dislodge ISIS militants. Liberation of Hit, strategically located on the Euphrates River near Ain al-Asad air base where U.S. forces are training Iraqi troops, will help to cut the militant group’s logistic in the area leaving ISIS-held Samarra and Fallujah without reinforcements.

https://southfront.org/international-milita...raq-apr-1-2016/

Why Isn’t China Building a New Bomber?





http://warisboring.com/articles/why-isnt-c...g-a-new-bomber/

Engine problems and staffing crisis leave the Falklands without naval protection for the first time since 1982 war with Argentina





http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-35...e-1982-war.html

A Homemade Thermite Cannon Looks Like So Much Terribly Dangerous Fun





http://www.popularmechanics.com/adventure/...-dangerous-fun/

ISIS...now, they have APCs and tanks..modern firearms..modern AT..


if they have fighter/bomber planes/heli next, i'll be damned..

Military launches search for Malaysian sailors abducted off Sabah





http://www.philstar.com/nation/2016/04/02/...-abducted-sabah

Syrian Army approaches ISIL’s stronghold in east Hama: 11km to go



The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is in serious trouble in the east Hama countryside after the Syrian Arab Army’s 66th Brigade of the 11th Tank Division advanced several kilometers east of Al-Salamiyah over the last 72 hours.

On Friday, the Syrian Arab Army’s 66th Brigade – backed by the National Defense Forces (NDF) – began their attack by targeting ISIL’s positions at the village of Abu Hanaya; this would result in a long and bloody battle as the government forces pushed towards the nearby town of Al-Hardana.

ISIL fought hard, but in the end, they were unable to maintain control over the Abu-Hanaya-Hardana Road due to the Syrian Arab Army’s relentless push and the Syrian Arab Air Force’s merciless airstrikes that helped weaken the terrorist group’s defenses and resolve.

With the Abu Hanaya-Hardana Road cutoff, ISIL has lost one of its most important supply routes in the east Hama countryside, leaving them in desperate need to counter the Syrian Arab Army’s recent advance before it is too late.

Now, the Syrian Armed Forces have turned their attention to the ISIL stronghold of ‘Aqayrbat, which is located along the Hama-Palmyra Highway in east Hama.

As the map above illustrates, ‘Aqayrbat is strategically located at a crossroad that allows ISIL to travel back and forth along the Hama-Palmyra Highway.

If the Syrian Armed Forces are successful in their attempt to capture ‘Aqayrbat, they will be able to clear the remaining mountains under ISIL’s control in northeastern Homs.

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/syrian...t-hama-11km-go/

impossibru... GLA no aircraft or heli punya

Russian Nuclear Ballistic Missile "Iskander" Spotted In Syria









http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-03-30/r...r-spotted-syria

Considering how the Taliban.........yes the Taliban used to have an air force, I would say the only reason why ISIS does not have an air force of its own at this point is because the Arab armies have taken so little care of their Soviet aircraft (Syria) or just no aircraft (Iraq) for them to use at all.

Manned aircraft are probably beyond their capabilities. Small UAVs with IEDs on suicide missions though, are quite possible IMHO. IS are quite competent in their use of UAVs for battlefield surveillance. Using them for direct attack are probably a natural progression.