Do you think WW3 is coming??

[Joe Mahmood]

Chinese PLA Navy sends Liaoning Carrier task group to waters of Western Pacific for training; Japan shouldn’t hype legitimate activities: expert

By Global Times
Published: Oct 14, 2026 09:39 AM

The Chinese PLA Navy on Wednesday sent the Liaoning Carrier task group to the waters of the Western Pacific to conduct training, which is organized in accordance with annual routine training plan, aiming to test and improve the group's realistic training level and continuously enhance the capabilities to execute missions.

The move is in compliance with relevant international law and practices and not directed against any specific country or target, the PLA Navy said in a statement.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202610/1372236.shtml

 

[Joe Mahmood]

JULY 2026

 

[Joe Mahmood]

North Korea and Russia open first road bridge linking both countries​

8 September 2026

Jake Kwon
Seoul Correspondent

The first road bridge linking Russia and North Korea has opened, allowing the two countries to more easily move cargo and passengers between their border across the Tumen river.

Pyongyang state media said the bridge will be used for "personnel exchanges, tourism and trade".

But Ukrainian investigative organisation Truth Hounds said the bridge is intended "primarily to establish a covert military logistics corridor" to support Russia in the Ukraine war.

It comes amid stronger ties between the countries since the start of the Ukraine war, with Russia's Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un previously pledging that they would help each other in the event of "aggression" against either country.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin described the bridge as a "new symbol of friendship", while North Korea's Prime Minister Pak Thae Song said it was a "historical event".

Up to 300 vehicles and 2,323 people can cross the bridge daily, Russian state news TASS reports.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj9xvg1kz0mo

North Korea and China open new bridge after 12-year delay​

15th October 2026
Koh Ewe and Julianna Khan

A long-delayed road bridge linking China and North Korea has opened, Chinese state media report, as trade ties improve between the neighbours.

China is North Korea's largest trading partner and a lifeline against heavy international sanctions over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme.

The New Yalu River Bridge spans 3km (1.9 miles) from the Chinese border city of Dandong to Sinuiju in North Korea, and is set to become the main land route for trade between them.

Its launch, initially slated for 2014, had been indefinitely postponed after North Korea halted construction of its roads and customs facilities, as relations with Beijing turned frosty.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang, in a video address on Thursday, said the bridge was a "new landmark symbolising the traditional friendship between China and North Korea", and that the two countries were "opening a new chapter" in bilateral ties.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ck1exgw3j115o

North Korea says it will no longer seek reunification with South Korea, will launch new spy satellites in 2024​

Updated Jan 1, 2024
By Heather Chen, Yoonjung Seo

Seoul, South Korea —

North Korea will no longer seek reconciliation and reunification with South Korea, Kim Jong Un has declared, as his nation vowed to put three new military spy satellites into orbit in 2024.

Kim said inter-Korean relations had become “a relationship between two hostile countries and two belligerents at war,” the state-run news agency KCNA reported.

“It’s time for us to acknowledge the reality and clarify our relationship with the South,” Kim said, adding that if Washington and Seoul were to attempt a military confrontation with Pyongyang, its “nuclear war deterrent will not hesitate to take serious action.”

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/12/31/asia/north-korea-reconciliation-south-korea-intl-hnk

North Korea demolishes inter-Korean liaison office near border amid growing tensions​

Earlier this month, North Korea threatened to permanently shut down the liaison office with South Korea.

June 16, 2020, 4:09 PM GMT+8 /
Updated June 16, 2020, 8:34 PM GMT+8

By Yuliya Talmazan and Stella Kim

North Korea on Tuesday demolished an inter-Korean liaison office in a town on the border with South Korea in an escalation of tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

The North Korean state news agency, KCNA, reported Tuesday that the office was "completely ruined."

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/...ean-liaison-office-near-border-south-n1231143

 

[Joe Mahmood]

Japan aims to boost women troops as it struggles to enlist | The Standard

08-04-2026 18:02 HKT

Japan wants to significantly boost the number of women in the military by the mid 2030s, the defence ministry has said, as it struggles to convince young people to enlist.

Under a new target set this year, women should account for 13 percent of troops in Japan's Self-Defense Forces (SDF) by March 2036, up from nine percent currently, the ministry said.

The recruitment drive comes as the ministry pledged to improve conditions for female personnel in the wake of a widely reported sexual assault scandal in which an ex-soldier used YouTube to share her story after an internal military probe was dropped.

The ministry plans "to promote the active engagement of female personnel" it said in a statement to AFP, emphasising the need for "work-life balance".

As opportunities for female troops continue to expand, the ministry is "improving facilities...including the development of women's restrooms, baths, and dedicated areas at each garrison and base, as well as women's quarters on vessels," it added.

Tokyo is upping defence spending and trying to lure more talent to its armed forces, as anxiety grows over China's territorial ambitions in the region.

https://www.thestandard.com.hk/worl...-boost-women-troops-as-it-struggles-to-enlist

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Pay raises worked: Japan’s military breaks its recruitment crisis​

By Daisuke Sato - Jun 29, 2026

Japan’s Self-Defense Forces recruited 11,177 personnel in Fiscal Year 2025, surpassing 10,000 for the first time in three years and marking a 1,453-person increase over the previous year.

The turnaround reversed three consecutive years of declining recruitment that had culminated in fiscal 2023, when the SDF hit a record-low recruitment rate of just 51 percent of its target, registering only 9,959 new personnel against a goal of nearly 20,000 and raising serious questions about whether Japan could build the force it needed to execute its most ambitious military expansion since World War II.

Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, who has become one of the most publicly assertive defense ministers in recent Japanese history since taking office in late 2024, credited the turnaround directly to a package of more than 30 new allowances and compensation improvements the government enacted following a December 2024 policy framework on improving the treatment and working conditions of SDF personnel.

https://defence-blog.com/pay-raises-worked-japans-military-breaks-its-recruitment-crisis/?amp

AUGUST 2026

 

[Joe Mahmood]

ADF opens its ranks to non-citizens​

4 June 2024

New Zealanders who call Australia home will soon be able to apply to join the ADF, while eligible applicants from the UK, US and Canada will be able to join up from 2025.

The plan to expand eligibility criteria, announced by the Government on June 4, aligns with the National Defence Strategy's requirement for Defence to recruit, retain and grow a highly specialised and skilled workforce.

It will enable more people to join the ADF, including permanent residents who have been living in Australia for 12 months.

From July 2024, eligible New Zealanders who are living in Australia can apply to join the ADF.

Additionally, from January 2025, eligible permanent residents from the UK, US and Canada will have the same opportunity.

As well as meeting ADF entry standards and security requirements, permanent residents wishing to join the ADF must have lived in Australia for at least one year immediately prior to applying, not have served in a foreign military in the preceding two years, and be able to attain Australian citizenship.

https://www.defence.gov.au/news-events/news/2024-06-04/adf-opens-its-ranks-non-citizens

FlagPost,
22 July 2024

Non-citizen recruitment in the ADF: international comparisons​

Melissa George

The recruitment of non-Australian citizens into the Australian Defence Force (ADF) commenced on 1 July 2024, with New Zealand permanent residents living in Australia the first to be eligible to apply. The government will be keen to see ADF numbers grow under the new policy and has set an initial target of 350 non-citizens. From January 2025, ADF recruitment will extend to eligible permanent residents living in Australia from the UK, the US and Canada.

Australia’s allies support similar policies. Around ‘45,000 foreign-born’ personnel serve in the US military and the British Armed Forces include ‘nearly 12,000’ personnel from foreign and Commonwealth countries. Worldwide, over 20 countries recruit foreigners into their militaries.

https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parlia.../Research/FlagPost/2024/July/NonCitizensinADF

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ADF workforce is the largest it's been in 25 years​

Rizal
AAP News (AAP TOP NEWS)
September 16, 2026

This week, Defence Minister Richard Marles announced the Australian Defence Force (ADF) workforce is the largest it has been in 25 years.

The ADF’s workforce is now 64,000 people, following a recruitment push and the introduction of a $40,000 continuation bonus in response to low enlistment and retention rates.

Marles said the Government is “focused on recruiting, retaining and skilling” the ADF workforce.

https://www.thedailyaus.com.au/politics/adf-workforce-25-years-16-09-2026

 

[Joe Mahmood]

Automatic military draft registration takes effect in December. Here’s how it would work​

By Kaanita Iyer
Apr 10, 2026

Young, eligible men will be automatically registered for the military draft pool starting in December as part of a measure tucked into the annual defense policy bill Congress signed into law late last year.

Men ages 18 to 26 must already register for selective service in case a draft is required. The last time a draft was in effect was February 1973, during the Vietnam War.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/04/09/politics/us-military-draft-registration-2026

 

[Joe Mahmood]

Mon, Aug 24, 2026

Defense ministry details measures to boost recruitment​

By Huang Ching-hsuan and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer​

The Ministry of National Defense (MND) is implementing 14 measures to boost military recruitment as the number of new recruits declined for the second consecutive year.

The armed forces recruited 18,900 people in 2023, 17,971 in 2024 and 17,113 last year, while the overall fill rate was 80 percent, 78 percent and 80 percent respectively, the ministry said.

According to an estimate by the Ministry of the Interior’s Department of Conscription Administration, the number of men eligible for regular military service is expected to fall below 80,000 next year.

To address recruitment challenges and reduce personnel attrition, the MND has introduced 14 measures, including recruitment cooperation agreements with 116 universities and more than 400 senior-high and vocational schools, higher recruitment bonuses and salary increases for volunteer military personnel.

Other measures include improving recruitment organization, increasing media promotion, setting clear targets and responsibilities for recruiters, expanding recruitment outreach during new-recruit training, increasing the number of recruiters, improving leadership and management, upgrading service conditions, creating clearer career prospects for service members, providing proactive guidance to new recruits, adjusting assignments so personnel can serve where their families are registered and strengthening internal management, the MND said.

https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2026/08/24/2003863015