Globalsecurity.org

Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs R. Clarke Cooper and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu met virtually September 23, 2020, to discuss bilateral security cooperation at the eleventh U.S.-Vietnam Political, Security, and Defense Dialogue.

Saudi Arabia's king expressed support for peace in the Middle East at the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, but did not suggest that Riyadh was likely to soon follow the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in normalizing relations with Israel.

China aims to push back against the United States by reopening talks with 10 Southeast Asian nations on a code of conduct that would help prevent mishaps in a crowded, disputed Asian sea, political scholars say.

India and China have agreed to not send more troops to a disputed border region in the Himalayas, where their respective troops engaged in deadly hand-to-hand fighting in June.

Pakistan and India have reported "intense" cross-border clashes in the disputed Kashmir territory a day after the United States reiterated its offer to facilitate peace talks between the South Asian rivals.

For the first time since former President Ronald Reagan's Administration, the Marine Corps is fielding a new service-wide pistol replacement.

The NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met with the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Wednesday (23 September 2020) and commended the Spanish people for their resilience during the COVID 19 crisis. Highlighting that Spain "has not stood alone" during the COVID 19 crisis, he said that NATO's disaster relief centre coordinated assistance for Spain and that NATO Allies delivered medical supplies, helping to

A Chinese military spokesperson said the Chinese and Indian military officials held the sixth round of commander-level talks on Monday.

China and India held the sixth commander-level talks at the border personnel meeting point in Moldo on September 21, and the two sides made a joint press release after consultation, said Senior Colonel Wu Qian, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense on Tuesday.

A bomb explosion has targeted a logistics convoy belonging to the US-led coalition forces in Iraq's northern province of Salahuddin.

A number of Taliban prisoners who were released by the Afghan government as a condition for peace talks have returned to the battlefield, lead Kabul negotiator Abdullah Abdullah has said.

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko claimed the formal beginning of his 6th presidential term in office on Wednesday — holding a secret inauguration ceremony in defiance of mass demonstrations demanding an end to his 26-year rule in the wake of controversial elections last month.

Aleksander Lukashenko has taken the oath of office as the president of Belarus in an official ceremony in the capital city, Minsk.

Riot troops used truncheons and a water cannon and detained dozens of protesters as clashes escalated in Minsk and other cities on September 23 following Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's surprise swearing-in for a sixth term despite weeks of unprecedented public calls for his exit.

Lukashenko garnered the support of 80 percent of voters in the 9 August election, according to the official results, which were widely rejected by the opposition as falsified. The controversial outcome of the vote has caused nationwide protests.

China's discipline inspection and supervisory authorities have made public six cases on gang-related corruption and "protective umbrellas" that shelter gangs.

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command, responsible for the Taiwan Straits and one of the most exercise-intensive PLA commands this year, has disciplined a soldier for leaking classified intelligence by mobile phone, the command recently revealed.

China resolutely rejects the "baseless accusation" against it and opposes "political virus," said China's permanent representative to the United Nations Zhang Jun on Tuesday following US President Donald Trump's criticism of China's handling of COVID-19 at the UN General Assembly.

China firmly rejects and opposes the groundless accusations made by the United States against China during the General Debate on 22 September. China will exercise the right of reply in accordance with the rules of the UN General Assembly to state its solemn position.

Tibetan residents, officials and experts have pointed out the many flaws in accusations of a "mass labor program in Tibet" fabricated by the notorious Adrian Zenz, a self-proclaimed Tibet and Xinjiang researcher, and Western media. These include grafting Tibetan government official reports and transplanting them to other usages, and twisting the truth about vocation training schools for herdsmen.