French special forces on the ground in Yemen



PARIS (Reuters) - French special forces are present on the ground in Yemen with forces from the United Arab Emirates, French newspaper Le Figaro reported on Saturday, citing two military sources.

The newspaper gave no further information about their activities. The Defence Ministry was not immediately available for comment, but its usual policy is not to comment on special forces’ operations.



A French parliamentary source recently told Reuters French special forces were in Yemen.

Forces from an Arab alliance entered the airport in Yemen’s main port city on Saturday, in the biggest battle of the coalition’s war against the Iran-aligned Houthi movement.

The French Defence Ministry said on Friday that France was studying the possibility of carrying out a mine-sweeping operation to provide access to the port of Hodeidah once the coalition had wrapped up its military operations.

The ministry stressed that France at this stage had no military operations in the Hodeidah region and was not part of the Saudi-led coalition.

France, along with the United States and Britain, backs the Arab coalition in the Yemen conflict and provides weapons to both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Australian soldiers flew Nazi flag in Afghanistan



SYDNEY • Australian soldiers who flew a Nazi swastika flag over their fighting vehicle in Afghanistan more than a decade ago were "wrong" and punished at the time, Australia's Prime Minister said yesterday, after a picture of the incident emerged.

The flag was "briefly raised" above the vehicle in Afghanistan in 2007, Australia's Defence Department said.

The flag was clearly visible flying over the bonnet of a jeep in a photo published by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

"The flag obviously was removed and the personnel involved were disciplined," Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told reporters in the Tasmanian state capital of Hobart, without specifying their punishment.



"It was absolutely wrong and their commanders took action at the time," he said.

"It is completely unacceptable to use a flag of this nature," Australia's Defence Minister, Ms Marise Payne, said in an e-mailed statement.

"This is completely at odds with the values of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and the tens of thousands of ADF personnel who have served with distinction in Afghanistan."

The flag was later destroyed and those involved cautioned, the Defence Department statement said.



Australia, a staunch US ally, has had troops in Afghanistan for 17 years fighting against the Taleban and other Islamist militants.

Their behaviour between 2005 and 2016, including accusations that they used illegal force and showed a disregard for human life during missions, is being investigated by the defence authorities.

In recent days, the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper has published reports, citing unidentified witnesses, alleging Australian troops mistreated and executed prisoners in 2009 and 2012. The ABC has previously reported on an alleged cover-up of the killing of an Afghan boy by Australian special forces.

In response to the reports, Australia's former spy chief David Irvine was appointed last week to conduct a third inquiry into the nation's special forces in two years.

Some 300 Australian defence personnel remain in Afghanistan.

Like this also want to complain

Should send the libtard brigade to fight terrorists then

ST Engineering: Total Naval Solutions



As a total and integrated logistics solution provider, we manage naval and para-military vessels from cradle-to-grave while driving cost efficiencies. Explore our Total Naval Solutions and learn about our wide-ranging operations and support services to the navies and maritime security agencies.

FNSS Kaplan MT - Indonesian Medium Tank. Credit to FNSS.



https://www.instagram.com/p/BkMrr2kAJRT/

wonder how they fare against Russia and Israel tanks ..

waste of time, money and resources... its just an old witch hunt... let SOF do their job unshackled.

nope, there's a need for check and balance...

FORGET THE WARSHIPS: MALAYSIAN PM MAHATHIR’S PEACE FORMULA FOR SOUTH CHINA SEA

‘Someday, somebody might make some mistakes and there will be a fight, some ships will be lost, and there might be a war,’ warns the Malaysian prime minister



Keep out the warships and instead have joint small-boat patrols – that is Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s prescription for maintaining peace in the disputed and resource-rich South China Sea.

“I think there should not be too many warships. Warships create tension,” the 92-year-old leader told the South China Morning Post in an exclusive interview.

“Someday, somebody might make some mistakes and there will be a fight, some ships will be lost, and there might be a war. We don’t want that.”

Mahathir’s comments were his fullest yet on the contentious territorial dispute since he became prime minister after his crushing defeat of his protégé-turned-rival Najib Razak in the May 9 general election.

With an eye on a greater share of China’s economic largesse, the scandal-plagued former prime minister Najib was attacked for softening Malaysia’s position on the South China Sea – which is claimed almost in its entirety by Beijing. Beijing’s claims compete not only with those of Malaysia, but with various other jurisdictions, including Taipei, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Brunei.

Every year, some US$3 trillion worth of goods pass through the disputed waterway, rich in fisheries and potential oil and gas reserves.

Malaysia occupies at least five features in the disputed Spratly Islands, including the oceanic atoll known as Swallow Reef, where it has a small naval presence.

What’s behind Beijing’s South China Sea moves?
These islands are well within the U-shaped “nine-dash line” that marks China’s claims in the sea.



Observers say the waters have become a flashpoint because of heavy militarisation there by China and other claimant states, while the US sends warships to the area as part of “freedom of navigation” exercises.

China’s latest military exercise was held last month when it dispatched two navy warships to the contested waters.

Mahathir said that the presence of warships posed the biggest threat to peace in the waters.

Pressed on whether his government’s position on the South China Sea would differ from Najib’s softer tone, Mahathir said he just wanted Malaysia to continue occupying the disputed islands that it currently holds.

“There are certain rocks which we have developed into islands. And we hope that we will stay on those islands, because it is a part of our keeping the sea safe from pirates and others,” said Mahathir, who is serving as prime minister for the second time after his 1981-2003 turn at power.

“So we want to retain, of course, about four or five islands that we have occupied. The rest – whoever thinks it is theirs, they can occupy,” Mahathir said.

He added: “But it is something if China claims the South China Sea is theirs, but those islands have always been regarded as ours for a long time. So we want to retain them.”



Mahathir said that one way to keep the peace in the South China Sea was for the waters to be “patrolled by small boats” that would be “equipped to deal with pirates, not to fight another war”.

Asked who should be involved in these patrols, Mahathir said countries from the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) were a natural choice because “the whole sea is surrounded by Asean countries”.

“But if China wants to participate with small boats, they are welcome. Anybody, even the US if they want to participate – but don’t bring battleships here,” Mahathir said.



Asked if he was confident China would keep the waters open – Western powers say that Beijing’s island-building activity in the South China Sea may impede freedom of navigation – Mahathir said it was “to the benefit of China to have the seas open”.

“Because then, you will have more trade,” the premier said.

“You can’t expect all the goods going to China to change into Chinese ships before entering the Strait of Malacca and South China Sea.

“Goods from Europe and America, they will pass through the Strait of Malacca, and they should be free to pass through the Strait of Malacca, and then go to the South China Sea to reach China.

“You can’t expect an oil tanker belonging to the Americans to stop and pump the oil out into Chinese ships, I mean, that is ridiculous. The sea must always be open.”

He cited the narrow Strait of Malacca between Malaysia and Indonesia as an example of a free waterway.

“We have never tried to stop ships from passing through. They are welcomed. Although between Malaysia and Indonesia, we could have named this Strait of Malacca the ‘Malaysia-Indonesia Sea’, we didn’t,” Mahathir said.

“We want it to be open because it’s good for trade. The South China Sea also is good for trading nations.”

Ian Storey, a veteran researcher on the South China Sea dispute, said that Mahathir’s comments “underscore his determination to uphold Malaysia’s territorial and jurisdictional claims in the South China Sea”.

“His views do not represent a change in Malaysia’s policy, but I think we can expect Mahathir to be more critical of China’s assertive behaviour in the South China Sea than his predecessor, who was in hock to Beijing,” said Storey, of Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

RELATED ARTICLES
Storey said Mahathir might use his role as an “elder statesman” in the Asean bloc to encourage greater unity over the South China Sea, and to expedite talks with China for a code of conduct in the waters.

MDR: Fanboy boleh lupakan nak Aster, Phalanx, Oto Melara Super Rapid
#byebye15to5

PLAN 3rd Carrier concept art leaked

most of the time its just a witch hunt.. ultimately hurting the whole SOF community and morale.

an excuse given... no one cares about the victims until one day you're the victim..

Zulkifli is the new Chief of Defence Forces



KUALA LUMPUR: Gen Tan Sri Zulkifli Zainal Abidin has been appointed the Chief of Defence Forces, succeeding Gen Tan Sri Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor effective today (June 20).

Zulkifli, 59, officially assumed his duties from Raja Mohamed Affandi, who went on mandatory retirement, during a handover ceremony witnessed by Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu.

Zulkifli had served as the Army Chief in 2011 before being appointed the Vice-Chancellor of the National Defence University of Malaysia in 2013.



Born in Port Weld, Perak, Zulkifli began service with the armed forces on Jan 30, 1978, by joining the Royal Malay Regiment.

He also served as a lecturer in management at the Army Management Training Centre from 1992 to 1993.

Zulkifli holds a Master in Management from the Asian Institute of Management and has attended various management courses, including a senior management development programme, at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. – Bernama



Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2018...MCSLXa4K2cfX.99

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This post has been edited by lokideangelus: Jun 21 2018, 01:51 PM

SAF combat troops get new top to stay cool



A new, cooler hybrid uniform for outfield training will be given to soldiers in all Singapore Armed Forces army combat units by the end of the year. The long-sleeved top, with a T-shirt-like material for the body and sleeves made of pixelised fabric used in the standard No. 4 uniform, helps to reduce the risk of heat injuries. The body of the uniform is made of a green T-shirt-like fabric that is a combination of flame-resistant synthetic material and aramid.

The new uniform is 40 per cent more permeable and dries 60 per cent faster than the standard No. 4 uniform, providing better air circulation and heat dissipation.

It is designed to be worn with soldiers' load-bearing vests during activities such as combat physical training and outfield exercises.

Servicemen will still be required to don the No. 4 uniform for other routine activities. All soldiers in the 3rd and 6th Battalions of the Singapore Infantry Regiment have been given two sets of the new uniforms.

Indonesian court sentences Islamic State-linked cleric to death for planning attacks



JAKARTA — An Indonesian court on Friday (June 22) sentenced to death an Islamic State-linked cleric for masterminding from his jail cell a string of deadly militant attacks across the world's largest Muslim-majority country.

Aman Abdurrahman, 46, is considered the ideological leader of Jemaah Ansharut Daulah — a loose grouping of Islamic State sympathisers in Indonesia.

"The court sentences the defendant to death," said Judge Ahmad Zaini, adding that Abdurrahman had been proved guilty of "carrying out terrorism".

Abdurrahman was convicted of planning a 2016 gun-and-bomb attack in the heart of Jakarta, the capital, that killed eight people, including four attackers. He was serving time in a maximum-security prison at the time.

Abdurrahman was also proven to be behind a suicide attack last year that killed three police officers at a Jakarta bus station and the bombing of a church in Samarinda on Borneo island that wounded four children.



The defence team had a week to consider filing an appeal against the ruling, Abdurrahman's lawyer told reporters, but added that the cleric had said he would not appeal, as he did not recognise the Indonesian state and its laws.

Earlier, dozens of masked and heavily armed police officers stood guard as Abdurrahman, handcuffed and wearing an orange prison jacket over a blue shirt and black trousers, was escorted into the South Jakarta courthouse by counter-terrorism officers.

A bomb squad was also on standby. Security experts had raised concerns that a harsh penalty for the cleric could trigger retaliatory attacks by followers.

The ruling comes as Indonesia struggles to rein in a rising tide of homegrown militancy, inspired in part by the extremist group Islamic State, with parliament approving tougher anti-terrorism laws last month.

Suicide bombings last month in Indonesia's second largest city of Surabaya that killed more than 30 people and were carried out by families with young children, were linked to JAD cells and were the country's deadliest in nearly two decades.

The US State department says the JAD grouping is a "terrorist" organisation linked to numerous attacks. REUTERS