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Defense Policy / Programs

• Three American military planes fly past Taiwan: MND CNA 12 Feb 2020 -- Three United States military aircraft flew close to Taiwan early Wednesday, two days after Chinese military planes crossed into Taiwan airspace, according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND).
• To Avoid 'Bureaucratic Inertia' With Space Force, DOD Must 'Think Differently DoD News 12 Feb 2020 -- Just in time for Christmas, President Trump gifted the nation with a new military service: the U.S. Space Force. But ensuring the new service doesn't become just another bloated government bureaucracy will take a bit of work and planning, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for space policy said.
• National Guard, Jordan troops train on MRAP driving Army News 12 Feb 2020 -- What is a vehicle that towers more than 9 feet, is used as a troop carrier and can withstand substantial explosive detonations?
• Oregon National Guard prepares for peacekeeping in Kosovo Army News 12 Feb 2020 -- Whether it's blistering hot, freezing cold, or pouring rain, nothing is stopping the training of the 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry Regiment, 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Oregon National Guard, as they prepare to assume peacekeeping duties with NATO's Kosovo Force mission.
• Remarks by Secretary of Defense Dr. Mark T. Esper with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg DoD 12 Feb 2020 -- Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper
• Secretary of Defense Dr. Mark T. Esper press availability at NATO Defense Ministerial DoD 12 Feb 2020 -- Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper
• Military Committed to Protecting Environmental, Cultural Resources, Service Officials Say DoD News 12 Feb 2020 -- Senior officials from the Army, Navy and Air Force assured lawmakers that military readiness and environmental concerns can coexist.
• DOD African Affairs Official, Somali Ambassador Discuss Partnerships DoD News 12 Feb 2020 -- The United States has lasting interests on the African continent, and military-to-military ties are part of the relationships, DOD officials said.
• DOD Using Multitiered Approach to Weed Out Extremist Ideologies DoD News 12 Feb 2020 -- New technologies, testing and screening techniques are assessing the mental and physical fitness of potential recruits for military service, including whether those recruits have extremist ties, the Defense Department's director of accessions policy said yesterday during a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee's military personnel subcommittee.
• Esper Discusses Rebalancing U.S. Forces to Align With National Defense Strategy DoD News 12 Feb 2020 -- The Defense Department wants to increase NATO's presence in Iraq to reduce the number of Americans serving there, Defense Secretary Dr. Mark T. Esper said.
• Exercise Fireball Eagle USMC News 12 Feb 2020 -- On June 6, 1944 U.S. Army Soldiers participated in the largest amphibious landing ever conducted. By the end of the battle, allied troop casualties stood at over 200,000. Marines fighting in the Pacific took this as a learning opportunity and adapted a better manual for amphibious fighting.
• Boxer Celebrates 25th Anniversary NNS 12 Feb 2020 -- Sailors aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4) celebrated the ship's 25th birthday Feb. 11 in the ship's hangar bay.
• Using Data for Smarter, Faster Decisions Is Focus of Event at Info Warfare Command NNS 12 Feb 2020 -- Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR) on Feb. 7 completed the first in a series of two-part data-science workshops to explore the use of data science techniques to improve decisionmaking, drive successful operations, and shape technology and resource investments for the future.
• USS Maine Successfully Tests Trident II D5LE Missile NNS 12 Feb 2020 -- The U.S. Navy conducted a scheduled, one-missile test flight of an unarmed life-extended Trident II (D5LE) missile from USS Maine (SSBN-741), an Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine, on the Western Test Range off the coast of San Diego, California, today.
• Bataan Amphibious Ready Group, 26th MEU Transit Strait of Hormuz NNS 12 Feb 2020 -- The Bataan Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and embarked 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) on Feb. 12 completed passage through the Strait of Hormuz, entering the Arabian Gulf from the Gulf of Oman.
• Unique F-35A program, maintainers progress during Red Flag 20-1 US Air Force 12 Feb 2020 -- Hundreds of Airmen from Hill's 388th and 419th Fighter Wing are deployed here with the 421st Fighter Squadron for Red Flag, the Air Force's premier large force combat exercise.
• Doorstep statement by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg ahead of the meeting of NATO Defence Ministers in Brussels NATO 12 Feb 2020
• Two Russian Space Probes Stalk U.S. Spy Satellite RFE/RL 12 Feb 2020 -- The newly-created U.S. Space Force has accused Russia of using a pair of its satellites to tail a U.S. spy satellite, calling it "disturbing behavior" while prompting a reserved response from Moscow on February 11.
• Philippine Move to End Military Pact Wrong, US Defense Chief Says Radio Free Asia 12 Feb 2020 -- The Philippine government's decision to terminate the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States is a "move in the wrong direction," the U.S. defense chief said, as Washington competes with Beijing in the South China Sea region.
• Pakistan Air Force trainer aircraft crashes, 2nd in recent days IRNA 12 Feb 2020 -- Pakistan Air Force (PAF) trainer aircraft crashed on a training mission on Wednesday near north western city of Takht Bhai, second incident in recent days.
• UK further commits to NATO and European Security through JEF Readiness Declaration and deployment of Typhoons to Lithuania UK MOD 12 Feb 2020 -- Defence Secretary Ben Wallace underlined the UK's leading role in the NATO Alliance as he met fellow defence ministers in Brussels.
• Remarks by President Trump and President Moreno of the Republic of Ecuador Before Bilateral Meeting The White House 12 Feb 2020
• Joint Statement from the President of the United States and the President of the Republic of Ecuador The White House 12 Feb 2020
• Senior State Department Official On the Women's Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Initiative US Dept. of State 12 Feb 2020
• On the One-Year Anniversary of the Launch of the Women's Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Initiative US Dept. of State 12 Feb 2020
• United States Conducts Inspections in Antarctica US Dept. of State 12 Feb 2020 -- A team of U.S. government officials from the U.S. Department of State, National Science Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and United States Coast Guard concluded a five-day inspection of foreign research stations, installations, and equipment in Antarctica on or just prior to February 11, 2020.

Defense Industry

• Contracts For Feb. 12, 2020

Other Conflicts

• 12 February 2020 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 12 Feb 2020
• 'We must all do more' to protect children in armed conflict: UN chief UN News 12 Feb 2020 -- On the International Day against the Use of Child Soldiers, UN Secretary-General António Guterres emphasized the need to integrate child protection into peace processes during a high-level Security Council briefing on Wednesday.
• Foreign fighters: 'One of the most serious dimensions' in global counter-terrorism struggle UN News 12 Feb 2020 -- Over the past few years, ISIL and Al-Qaida terrorist fighters have posed an "unprecedented threat to international peace and security", the UN counter-terrorism chief said on Wednesday in Vienna, at the close of a joint UN- Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) regional conference on addressing challenges posed by terrorists who have gone to fight overseas.
• Libya's cities left 're-contaminated' by months of fighting, warn landmine clearance experts UN News 12 Feb 2020 -- Ongoing hostilities in Libya have left numerous cities severely "re-contaminated" with unexploded ordnance, threatening schools, universities and hospitals, the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) said on Wednesday.
• Libya: Security Council demands commitment to 'a lasting ceasefire' UN News 12 Feb 2020 -- After what has reportedly been weeks of diplomatic negotiation, the UN Security Council passed a resolution on Wednesday aimed at stemming rising violence across Libya, demanding the warring parties commit to "a lasting ceasefire" according to terms agreed by military representatives from both sides at recent talks in Geneva.
• Abbas rejects U.S. Mideast peace plan at UN Security Council meeting People's Daily 12 Feb 2020 -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday reiterated the rejection of a newly released U.S. Middle East peace plan, calling it an "Israeli-American proposal."
• Number of Civilian Casualties Grows in Armed Conflict in Myanmar's Northern Rakhine Radio Free Asia 12 Feb 2020 -- At least seven civilians, including four Rohingya Muslims, died and 30 residents were injured in the past 11 days in Myanmar's northern Rakhine state, a local aid worker said Wednesday, as the number of noncombatant deaths grows amid fighting between government forces and the rebel Arakan Army.
• Ukraine's Armored Vehicles Significantly Damaged In First 2 Years Of Donbas Conflict RFE/RL 12 Feb 2020 -- Ukraine's military says 2,576 units of its weaponized armored vehicles and equipment were damaged between April 2014 and June 2016 in the combat zone of the two easternmost regions where a war with Russia-backed separatists still rages.

News Reports

• Briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova, Moscow, February 12, 2020 Russia Ministry of Foreign Affairs 12 Feb 2020
• Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang's Daily Briefing Online on February 12, 2020 PRC MofA 12 Feb 2020
• China's Guangdong Passes Emergency Law Allowing Seizure of Private Property, Goods Radio Free Asia 12 Feb 2020 -- The widespread requisitioning of private property by the Chinese government for use as isolation facilities in the coronavirus epidemic has sparked fears that officials will abuse their powers, as the number of confirmed cases topped 45,000.
• Former North Korean Diplomat to Run for Seat in South Korea's National Assembly Radio Free Asia 12 Feb 2020 -- A high-profile North Korean diplomat who defected to South Korea has officially announced he is running for parliament in the South, in a move that has boosted the spirits of the marginalized North Korean refugee and defector community.
• Defense minister says Iran's satellite carriers "totally civilian" IRNA 12 Feb 2020 -- Minister of Defense and Logistics of the Armed Forces said on Wednesday that the Iranian satellite carriers are not related to the missiles whatsoever and are totally a civilian and non-defense issue.
• Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi Decries 'Political Problems' Behind Failure to Settle Ethnic Wars Radio Free Asia 12 Feb 2020 -- Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi said Wednesday that the country's unresolved political problems were the root cause of failure to end hostilities between the government military and ethnic armed groups as Myanmar continues to strive for permanent peace.
• EU Envoys Agree One-Year Extension Of Belarus Sanctions RFE/RL 12 Feb 2020 -- Meeting in Brussels on February 12, European Union ambassadors approved a one-year extension of the bloc's arms embargo on Belarus, as well as asset freezes and visa bans on four Belarusian citizens.
• Azerbaijan's Ruling Party Claims It Won At Least 72 Seats In Parliamentary Elections RFE/RL 12 Feb 2020 -- Azerbaijan's ruling Yeni Azerbaijan (New Azerbaijan) party says it has won at least 72 seats in parliament in the February 9 elections.