22 Dec 16. Japan’s government approves record military spending. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government on Thursday approved an increase in defence spending to record levels to counter growing Chinese military power in the East China Sea and an escalating North Korean ballistic missile threat.
Abe’s cabinet on Thursday signed off on a 1.4 percent increase in spending to 5.13trn yen ($43.66bn) for the year starting April 1.
If approved by lawmakers, which is highly likely given the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s control of parliament, it will be the fifth straight annual increase in outlays.
Under Abe, Japan’s Self Defense Forces are pivoting away from guarding the nation’s north to reinforce an island chain stretching 1,400 km (870 miles) along the southern edge of the East China Sea.
That means fewer tank divisions in favour of building a mobile force equipped with hardware such as tilt-rotor Osprey carriers, ships, amphibious vehicles and mobile missile batteries.
Japan is also spending more to upgrade its ballistic missile defence, in response to advances in North Korea’s ballistic missile programme.
(Source: Reuters)
16 Dec 16. MI6 Spies Infiltrate ISIS HQ. British spies are risking their lives daily in Islamic State heartlands to “take the fight to the enemy,” the head of MI6 said recently.
Alex Younger stressed agents recruited by the Secret Intelligence Service had penetrated IS “upstream” to stop terror attacks on Britain’s streets.
But in his first public speech, the SIS chief laid bare the perils these individuals faced operating in “the most dangerous and hostile environments on earth”, where paranoid IS fanatics have executed hundreds of people wrongly suspected of being spies.
Speaking at MI6 headquarters in Vauxhall, central London (pictured) Mr Younger, known as “C”, said: “They know that the result of being identified as an MI6 agent could be their death.
“But they do what they do because they believe in protecting their country and religion from the evil that Daesh (Islamic State) and other, terrorist organisations represent.”
He told how MI6 and GCHQ intelligence had on “numerous occasions” given MI5 and the police vital information to identify and stop threats in the UK and its allies. They had disrupted 12 terrorist plots in the UK since June 2013.
In a wide-ranging address, Mr Younger also: Accused Russia and Syrian tyrant Bashar Assad’s regime of seeking to “make a desert” of Aleppo and to “call it peace”. And warned Moscow that it was committing a “tragic example of the perils of forfeiting legitimacy” in the battle against terrorism.
He highlighted the “increasingly dangerous phenomenon” of hybrid warfare with states using cyber-attacks, propaganda or the subversion of democratic process, though he stopped short of naming Russia or China in this context.
He also stressed the strength of intelligence ties with the US and “quality work” with European allies, particularly France and Germany, and expects “continuity” after Brexit and Donald Trump’s election as president.
And explained that mastering new technologies was key to MI6 remaining at the cutting edge of intelligence gathering.
Described the data revolution and Internet as an “existential threat combined with a golden opportunity” for intelligence services.
Emphasised that “we need to be as fleet of foot on the highways and byways of cyberspace as we are on the streets of Raqqa”.
Made the case for new IT powers to spy on terror suspects while stressing restrictions to protect civil liberties.
Told how MI6 wants to recruit the “best from the widest range of backgrounds”, partly to avoid “group think”.
Describing James Bond’s “fierce dedication to the defence of Britain” as reflecting real-life MI6, but said the fictional character would have to “change his ways” to join it now.
Warning of the dangers of failed states providing a safe haven for terrorists, Mr Younger spoke out against Britain simply trying to “pu