Washington, May 15 (IANS) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, once sanctioned and barred by Beijing over his criticism of China, appeared prominently at President Donald Trump’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week after Chinese officials quietly adopted a different Chinese spelling of his name, according to a report by The Washington Post.Rubio, a long-time China hawk and vocal critic of Beijing’s policies in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, travelled with Trump as part of the American …
Latest Pete Hegseth News & Updates
Washington, May 13 (IANS) US Senator Lindsey Graham publicly questioned Pakistan’s credibility as a “mediator” in the Iran conflict after raising allegations that Iranian aircraft may have been parked at Pakistani air bases.The sharp exchange came during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense hearing on President Donald Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion defence budget, where lawmakers repeatedly pressed Pentagon officials over the widening Middle East conflict and the continuing cl…
Washington, May 13 (IANS) US lawmakers pressed Secretary of War Pete Hegseth over President Donald Trump’s upcoming trip to China, warning that allies such as Taiwan, Japan and the Philippines were closely watching whether Washington would stand firm against Beijing’s growing military and economic influence.China emerged as a dominant theme during a lengthy Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defence hearing on Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion defence budget, with lawmakers from both parti…
Washington, May 13 (IANS) US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth fiercely defended the Trump administration’s military campaign against Iran, clashed repeatedly with Democratic senators over the soaring costs of the conflict, and insisted the United States still “holds all the cards” despite continued disruption in the Strait of Hormuz.Appearing before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defence alongside Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine, Hegseth also sought to reassure allies in th…
Washington, May 13 (IANS) Pentagon leaders refused to publicly disclose detailed battle damage assessments from the ongoing Iran conflict.The issue became one of the sharpest points of confrontation during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defence hearing on President Donald Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion defence budget, as lawmakers pressed Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine for specifics on Iran’s remaining missile, drone and naval capabilities….
Washington, May 13 (IANS) The future of the strategically critical Diego Garcia military base surfaced unexpectedly during a heated Senate hearing, as Republican Senator John Kennedy warned against any move that could expand Chinese influence in the Indian Ocean through the Chagos Islands dispute.During a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defence hearing on President Donald Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion defence budget, Kennedy sharply criticised British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s rep…
Washington, May 13 (IANS) Democratic senators warned that the Trump administration risked dragging the United States into another prolonged Middle East conflict, as a tense Senate hearing exposed deep divisions over the ongoing war with Iran and its rising economic and military costs.During a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defence hearing on President Donald Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion defence budget, several Democratic lawmakers compared the current crisis to past US wars in Iraq an…
Seoul, May 12 (IANS) South Korea and the United States have agreed to work together to strengthen cooperation in areas of “mutual security interest,” including Seoul’s push to retake wartime operational control (OPCON) from Washington and joint efforts to modernise the alliance.Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back and US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth expressed the commitments during their talks at the Pentagon on Monday (US time) as Seoul seeks to regain wartime command from the US as part of broader …
Seoul/Washington May 11 (IANS) The top defence chiefs of South Korea and the United States held talks in Washington on Monday, focusing on advancing the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) from Washington to Seoul and Korea’s push to acquire nuclear-powered submarines.Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back met one-on-one with US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to discuss follow-up steps on the OPCON transition and nuclear-powered submarines, in line with the agreements reached between the lead…
Washington, May 11 (IANS) The top defence chiefs of South Korea and the United States are set to hold talks in Washington on Monday, focusing on advancing the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) from Washington to Seoul and Korea’s push to acquire nuclear-powered submarines. Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back will meet US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to discuss follow-up steps on the OPCON transition and nuclear-powered submarines, in line with the agreements reached between the leaders…