Iran's military chief in rare visit to Turkey for Syria talks


Turkish and Iranian military leaders held talks on Wednesday over cooperation in the Syrian conflict and counter-terrorism, officials said, during a rare visit to NATO-member Turkey by the Islamic Republic's military chief of staff.




ANKARA: Turkish and Iranian military leaders held talks on Wednesday over cooperation in the Syrian conflict and counter-terrorism, officials said, during a rare visit to NATO-member Turkey by the Islamic Republic's military chief of staff.

Turkey's ties with Washington have been strained by U.S. support for Kurdish fighters in Syria, and the visit by Iranian General Mohammad Baqeri is the latest sign that Ankara is increasing cooperation with other powers such as Iran and Russia.

Baqeri met his Turkish counterpart on Tuesday and Turkey's Defence Minister Nurettin Canikli on Wednesday in what Turkish media said was the first visit by an Iranian chief of staff since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution.

He was due to meet President Tayyip Erdogan later on Wednesday.

Turkey and Iran have supported rival sides in Syria's six-year-old conflict, with Iran-backed fighters helping President Bashar al-Assad to drive back rebels battling to overthrow him, including some supported by Ankara.



Turkey is concerned that the Syrian chaos has empowered Kurdish forces who it says are closely tied to the long-running insurgency in its southeastern regions, as well as Islamic State fighters who have waged attacks inside Turkey, and is working with Iran and Russia to reduce the fighting in some areas.

An Iranian source said Baqeri was accompanied by the head of the ground forces of the Revolutionary Guards Corps, Iran's most powerful security entity.

"There have been no such visits between the two countries for a long time, but considering regional developments and security issues - border security and the fight against terrorism - there was a need for such a visit," Baqeri told Iranian state television on arrival on Tuesday.

The Iranian source said that, in addition to the war in Syria, the two sides would discuss the conflict in Iraq as well as dealing with Kurdish militants in the Turkish-Iranian border region, where Turkish media say Turkey has started building a frontier wall.

RUSSIAN MILITARY CHIEF



Turkey, Iran and Russia agreed in May to set up "de-escalation zones" in Syria to try to stem the fighting in some parts of the country, including the northern province of Idlib, which borders Turkey and has since been overrun by jihadists linked to a former al Qaeda affiliate.

That has thrown into question any suggestion that the three countries could deploy a force to police the Idlib region.

"The negotiations regarding the Idlib issue are still ongoing," Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told Turkish broadcaster TRT Haber on Wednesday.

"After the Iranian chief of staff, the Russian chief of staff will also come to Turkey," he added.

Turkey has said for months that it is close to buying an S-400 missile defence system from Russia, and Erdogan said in July that the deal had already been signed.

Cavusoglu said Russia understood Turkey's sensitivities about arming Kurdish fighters better than the United States, although he said U.S. officials had informed Turkey that the most recent shipments to the YPG did not include guns.

"The United States gives us reports about how many weapons they have given to the YPG every month," he said. The latest "said they gave armoured vehicles and a bulldozer, but no guns."



Turkey's stepped-up military talks with Iran and Russia coincide with a major oil and gas deal involving firms from the three countries.

The Turkish firm Unit International said this week it has signed a US$7 billion agreement with Russia's state-owned Zarubezhneft and Iran's Ghadir Investment Holding to drill for oil and natural gas in Iran.

Turkey is also discussing transporting more goods through Iran to the Gulf state of Qatar, which is locked in a dispute with its neighbours Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

(Additional reporting by Tulay Karadeniz and Ece Toksabay in Ankara; Editing by Dominic Evans and Alister Doyle)
Source: Reuters
Read more at http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/...a-talks-9129266

Exercise Pacific Griffin: Republic of Singapore Navy RSN stealth frigates, Stalwart and Supreme, depart Changi Naval Base with LST/command ship, Endurance

You can tell which warships are heading out to sea from the activity pierside.

Signal cables and transit lines linking ship to shore are disconnected. Cranes standby to lift the gangways aside and the shimmering heat haze and wisps of diesel smoke from the funnels show that engines are fired up and ready to go.

At Changi Naval Base this morning (10 August 2017), three Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) warships prepared to cast off.

Their destination could be Guam, where they are likely to be involved in the inaugural Exercise Pacific Griffin (XPG), a naval warfare exercise involving the RSN and United States Navy (USN) said to be taking place this month.

http://kementah.blogspot.sg/2017/08/exerci...epublic-of.html

Fat & Fluffy any other news?

dont follow much on navy stuff... sorry...

ini kirja orang gila punya,

nanti saya bina same itu tol atas laut

Mugabe renamed the country Zimbabwe after taking over. Before that it was named Rhodesia, and it was the Rhodesian Army fighting Mugabe that came up with the Alouette 20mm

Norinco VT4 MBTs for the Royal Thai Army.



http://aagth1.blogspot.co.id/2017/08/vt4-t-72amt.html?m=1

Warfighter, Trainer, Leader: Ep 6 ME3 Savitri



Day and night, rain or shine, she follows troops on battalion mission exercises on foot to ensure they're proficient in their Battalion Casualty Stations.

Catch Medical Trainer ME3 Savitri in this last instalment of the Warfighter, Trainer, Leader series on our WOSpecs and watch how this tenacious trainer trains our combat medics to treat, stabilise and evacuate casualties.

catch episode 1, 2, 3, 4,5 here;

TNI AD @ NATUNA



LATIHAN GABUNGAN NATUNA

Russia Creates Super Light Motorized Infantry

More LCS Picture

Read more: http://www.tribune.net.ph/metro/dnd-plans-...re-medium-tanks

i think they mean IFV

According to MaxDefense Philippines they are planning to buy up to 15 Medium Tanks.

https://m.facebook.com/Maxdefense/

I think they mean light "tanks" like AMX-10RC, Centauro or even Stryker MGS

referring to pinoy definition of a med tank in the article

not with tracks?

What does 'medium tank' refers to nowadays anyway?

Malaysia signs State Partnership Program (SPP) with the Washington State National Guard


Tan Sri Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor and Maj Gen Brat Daugherty signing the SSP agreement

Malaysia has elected to join the State Partnership Program (SPP) with the Washington State National Guard (WANG), USA.

Citing the Public Affairs Division of the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) report, the signing ceremony of the SPP agreement was completed by Chief of Armed Forces, Tan Sri Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor with General Advisory, Washington National Guard, Maj Gen Brat Daugherty at Wisma Perwira ATM this morning.

"By joining the SPP, Malaysia has become the second ASEAN State besides Thailand which has officially participated in the program in 2002." ATM said in a statement today.

The State Partnership program is regulated by the Pentagon-based National Guard Bureau and has successfully established links between the United States and countries around the world for the last 20 years.

Malaysia's participation in this program will spur a deeper and deeper bond of confidence between the two countries as well as profits through the sharing of expertise and experience from both sides.

Through SPP, the National Guard and the ATM do not just carry out military cooperation activities to support the nation's defense goals but also involve social development programs. Since its inception, the Washington National Guard has conducted over 100 expert exchanges including humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR), emergency management, aviation opportunities and medical response and treatment that benefits the United States and the countries involved.

As a first step, ATM and the WANG have implemented a series of joint exercises through the Exercise WITHIN Warrior on Aug 6-18 at Mentakab, Pahang and Kluang, Johor.

I never realised how BIG a Namer APC actually is until I saw this pic



inb4 absolutely haram

hnnnnngggghh!

Read more: https://www.dailysabah.com/defense/2017/08/...e-military-ties

Well, it is essentially a turretless Merkava MBT with a troop space where its fighting position should be. We know how big those Merkavas are.