China surpassed the US’s GDP in purchasing power parity terms in 2013, and has a considerable lead on its competitor in patent filings, research and development and key science metrics. Washington and its allies have responded with an expanded trade and technology war against Beijing, and efforts to hem the Asian nation in militarily.
America’s technology lead vis-à-vis China is rapidly “eroding” and in some places has disappeared completely, and the US and its AUKUS allies must pool their resources to compensate, Andrew Shearer, the director-general of Australia’s Office of National Intelligence, has recommended.
“We are seeing our longstanding technological edge start to erode, and in some cases that edge is totally gone,” Shearer said, speaking at the Sydney Dialogue, an Australia-based technology summit.
The chief spook also warned that the military balance of power in the Indo-Pacific was starting to “shift away from the United States and its allies,” thus “undermining deterrence.”
Also speaking at the forum, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt warned that China is “a new kind of competitor” for the West.....more below
US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is preparing to leave the Trump administration after what a new report has described as months of tension with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, potentially triggering another change at the army’s top echelons.
According to the Friday report by The Wall Street Journal, Driscoll is expected to step down before the end of the year and could leave his post earlier. The newspaper cited people familiar with discussions over his departure.
The Journal reported that Driscoll and his family vacated the official residence assigned to the army secretary at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall this summer, a move that could indicate he was preparing to leave the position.
The reported departure would come at a time of continuing uncertainty at the top echelons of the army.
Hegseth abruptly removed Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George in April, while Trump has not yet nominated a permanent successo....more below
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The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) warns the enemies that any act of aggression against the Islamic Republic will not go unanswered.
In a statement on Thursday, the IRGC issued a “stern warning” to the enemies after US forces launched strikes against the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas.
Following the US military attack on a point on the outskirts of Bandar Abbas Airport with aerial projectiles, the IRGC carried out new strikes targeting the US air base from which the attack originated in the wee hours of Thursday, it added.
“This response is a serious warning to the enemy that they should know the act of aggression will not go unanswered,” the IRGC emphasized.
The elite military force warned of a “more decisive” response if the enemy repeated any act of aggression.
It also said the responsibility for the consequences of any IRGC response lies with the aggressor.
The statement comes after the IRGC Navy on Thursday forced an American tanker to turn back. The tanker ...
