Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder speaks during a press briefing at the Pentagon on July 16, 2024 in Washington.
| Photo Credit: AP

India is a “strategic” ally, and the United States is looking forward to continuing to develop that partnership, the Pentagon has said.

Pentagon Press Secretary Pat Ryder made the remarks at a press conference in Washington on Tuesday.

Also read | India must play a constructive role in ensuring peace in Ukraine: U.S. official

“India is a strategic partner, and we look forward to continuing to develop that partnership,” he told reporters in response to a question.

Responding to a question on Ukraine-Russia conflict, Mr. Ryder said, “When it comes to Ukraine and Russia’s illegal occupation and invasion of Ukraine. Ultimately, at the end of the day, it’s up to Ukraine to decide when they are ready to negotiate for peace.”

“Right now, our focus continues to be on working with Ukraine to provide them with what they need to defend their country and defend their sovereignty and take back territory. But at the end of the day, there’s no decision about Ukraine without Ukraine,” he said.

Representational image of a Taiwan flag
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The U.S. State Department has approved the possible sale to Taiwan of drones and missiles for an estimated $360 million, the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said.

The United States is bound by law to provide Chinese-claimed Taiwan with the means to defend itself despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties, to the constant anger of Beijing.

China has been stepping up military pressure against Taiwan, including staging war games around the island last month after the inauguration of Lai Ching-te as president.

The sale “will help improve the security of the recipient and assist in maintaining political stability, military balance, and economic progress in the region”, the Pentagon agency said in separate statements on Tuesday in the United States.

The sale includes Switchblade 300 anti-personnel and anti-armour loitering munitions and related equipment for an estimated cost of $60.2 million, and ALTIUS 600M-V drones and related equipment for an estimated cost of $300 million, the agency added. Loitering munitions are small guided missiles that can fly around a target area until they are directed to attack.

Taiwan’s defence ministry expressed its thanks, especially for U.S. efforts to increase arms sales to the island. Taiwan has repeatedly complained of delayed deliveries.

“In the face of the Chinese communists’ frequent military operations around Taiwan, these U.S.-agreed-to arms sales items will have the ability to detect and strike in real time, and can respond quickly to enemy threats,” it said in a statement.

Peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait require goodwill from China, the ministry added.

“It is hoped that the People’s Liberation Army will stop its oppressive military operations around Taiwan and jointly contribute to regional stability.”

Washington:

The US military has suspended aid deliveries into the Gaza Strip by sea, the Pentagon said on Tuesday, after its temporary pier was damaged by bad weather.

Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters high seas and a North African weather system had caused a section of the pier to come away on Tuesday morning.

“The rebuilding and repairing of the pier will take at least over a week, and, following completion, will need to be re-anchored to the coast of Gaza,” she said.

“Thus, upon completion of the pier repair and reassembly, the intention is to re-anchor the temporary pier to the coast of Gaza and resume humanitarian aid to the people who need it most.”

The damage is the latest setback to the pier, which opened two weeks ago.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said Saturday four US Army vessels supporting the pier broke free from their moorings and ran aground in heavy seas.

Two beached in Gaza while the other two washed up on the coast of Israel, 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of Tel Aviv. One has been recovered and the other three will be brought back in within 48 hours, Singh said.

Gaza is suffering through its bloodiest ever war, which broke out after Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 35,800 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.

Israel has imposed a siege on Gaza that has deprived the territory’s 2.4 million people of most clean water, food, medicines and fuel.

US President Joe Biden had said in March the pier would be built to alleviate restrictions imposed by Israel on aid delivery by land to Gaza.

CENTCOM said 1,005 metric tons of aid had been delivered from the sea to the beach transfer point as of Friday, with 903 metric tons distributed from the transfer point to the UN warehouse.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Israel Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant (right) with Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin, in Tel Aviv, Israel. File
| Photo Credit: AP

“U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin will meet with Israel’s Minister of Defence on March 26 and discuss ways to defeat Hamas other than conducting a ground invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah,” the Pentagon said, at a time of rising tensions between the two countries.

Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, told reporters on March 25 that Mr. Austin’s planned morning meeting with Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant is still on, even though Israel abruptly cancelled the visit of a high-level delegation to Washington this week.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cancelled the visit in protest over Monday’s UN Security Council decision calling for an immediate cease-fire. The U.S. abstained, deciding not to use its veto power, and the resolution passed 14-0.

Israel-Hamas war | Timeline of major events from the first 100 days

“There are ways to go about addressing the threat of Hamas, while also taking into account civilian safety. A lot of those are from lessons, our own lessons, conducting operations in urban environments,” Mr. Ryder said. “I would expect the conversations to cover those kinds of things.” Israel says it cannot defeat Hamas without going into Rafah, where it says the group has four battalions composed of thousands of fighters.

Israel’s offensive has killed more than 32,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, and driven a third of Gaza’s population to the brink of starvation. It was launched in response to Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, which killed some 1,200 people.

Hamas-led militants also took around 250 people hostage. They are still holding around 100 hostages and the remains of around 30 others, after most of the rest were freed during a cease-fire last year in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners.

The United Nations Security Council resolution calls for a cease-fire during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Mr. Netanyahu accused the U.S. of “retreating” from a “principled position” by allowing the vote to pass without conditioning the cease-fire on the release of hostages.

The dispute signals an erosion in the U.S.-Israel relationship that has been under a microscope for months as the military assault on Hamas continues, escalating the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. was disappointed in the decision to cancel the delegation’s visit this week. He said the talks with Mr. Gallant would likely include some of what the U.S. had planned to discuss with the Israeli delegation on the possible Rafah invasion.

The White House was aiming to talk to the Israelis about possible alternatives to a ground invasion of Rafah. Mr. Gallant met, on March 25, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security advisor Jake Sullivan. Mr. Kirby said those meetings, however, had not been intended as a replacement for the delegation meetings.

There is a paradigm change and incredible momentum in the U.S.-India defence relationship which is now defined more by the overall trajectory rather than by differences on key issues, a senior Pentagon official has said.

The remarks by Siddharth Iyer, Director for South Asia, Office of the Secretary of Defense (Policy), Department of Defence, came at a roundtable on the future of the U.S.-India Defence Partnership with a focus on technology collaboration and maritime strategy.

The roundtable was organised by The U.S.-India Strategic and Partnership Forum and CUTS International, a non-profit body on trade relations.

“Incredible amount of progress [in India-U.S. relationship] has been made not just in the last two years, but even the last 12 months. I think that just sort of underscores the degree to which there’s incredible momentum and the relationship now is defined more by the pace and the sort of overall trajectory rather than by differences and divergences on key issues,” Mr. Iyer said.

“The overall paradigm of the relationship I think has changed, particularly from the perspective of the Department of Defence where I think historically security and defence cooperation has traditionally been viewed as an area sort of too sensitive or traditionally lags other areas of cooperation,” Mr. Iyer said.

According to Mr. Iyer, there are three areas of significance in the defence relationship.

“The first of course is technology cooperation which is pretty deep… Another area that I think for people who have watched this relationship over the decades where there’s been sort of tremendous upward momentum has been in the area of operational sort of engagements between our militaries,” he noted.

The final area of growth in the partnership has been in the scope and texture of our high-level bilateral engagements, he said.

“At least from the outside, it’s apparent that there’s just a very high frequency of engagements between our senior leaders, from the President, Prime Minister, our national security advisors and Cabinet officials. It would be hard to find a month in the calendar year when there’s not a high-level exchange, and then probably at least a handful of mid-level exchanges between our governments,” Mr. Iyer said.

Ryan Holliway, Political-Military Officer from the Department of State said America’s partnership with India is one of the most consequential relationships it has in the world.

“We see this strategic partnership as a crucial pillar of a free and open Indo-Pacific and the 21st century,” he said.

“In a general sense, our exchange of global and strategic issues has never been deeper or more sensitive than it is today, which is a testing out to the close partnership at all levels of our government,” he added.

The launch of the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology or iCET last year has the potential for a quantum leap in the U- India relationship, said Pradeep Mehta, secretary general of CUTS International, “It’s a platform to accelerate our strategic conversions and policy alignment. The initiatives under the ICET are substantially complimenting defence and security as the vital pivot of India’s ties with the U.S. and the success of it was evident during the midterm review held at the level of the Deputy national security advisors in early December of 2023. … The scope has been expanded to cover many other sensitive areas,” he said.

“This shows and underscores the degree of cooperation and trust in the long way that we have come. I agree that the aim of India-U.S. Technology Corporation is to harness talent, accelerate technology advancements, and broaden the innovation base through co-research and co-development, making a supply chain resilient with an overall intent to strengthen the multifaceted strategic partnership,” he said.

“It’s an opportune moment for our relationship,” Mr. Mehta said.

The US Pentagon has said that they have found no evidence of UFOs or aliens in its 63-page “Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP).” In addition to noting that “most sightings were ordinary objects and phenomena and the result of misidentification,” the Department of Defense’s All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) found no evidence of any U.S. government investigation, research, or review panel verifying a “UAP represented extraterrestrial technology.” They said that there was “no evidence” that the government had encountered alien life, as per a report in BBC.

The Pentagon officials acknowledged that the public’s perception of alien visits will not be dispelled by their findings.”The proliferation of television programmes, books, movies, and the vast amount of internet and social media content centred on UAP-related topics most likely has influenced the public conversation on this topic, and reinforced these beliefs within some sections of the population,” the report said.

The report is a part of the US government’s extensive public examination of UFOs, or “unidentified anomalous phenomena.” Congress hearings and open discussions with NASA officials have been part of the study.

According to the researchers, there is a “particularly persistent narrative” that the government has secretly conducted alien research while recovering spaceships and alien corpses. The AARO further connected “circular reporting from a group of individuals who believe this to be the case, despite the lack of any evidence” to an incorrect allegation that the government is withholding from Congress claims of reverse-engineering extraterrestrial technology.

According to the report, “misidentification of never-before-seen experimental and operational space, rocket, and air systems, including stealth technologies and the proliferation of drone platforms” has been cited as a contributing factor in some of the UFO sightings claimed since the 1940s. The investigation said that the AARO has interviewed around thirty people, looked through both secret and unclassified records, and reviewed all government UAP investigations dating back to 1945.

Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said, “AARO assesses that all of the named and described alleged hidden UAP reverse-engineering programs provided by interviewees either do not exist; are misidentified authentic national security programs that are not related to extraterrestrial technology exploitation; or resolve to a disestablished program.”

David Grusch, a former intelligence officer, stated before a congressional committee in 2023 that he thought the US government had alien bodies and spacecraft. According to Mr. Grusch, he based his claims on records, papers, and discussions with coworkers.

The organisation added that rather than attempting to disprove any beliefs, they wished to “use a rigorous analytic and scientific approach” to the examination of past UAP investigations conducted by the government and allegations made by individuals who said that the government and contractors were hiding “off-world technology and biological material.”

File picture of an aerial view of the U.S. Pentagon. A new Pentagon study has found no evidence of aliens or extraterrestrial intelligence in UFO sightings
| Photo Credit: AP

A U.S. Pentagon study released Friday that examined reported sightings of UFOs over nearly the last century found no evidence of aliens or extraterrestrial intelligence, a conclusion consistent with past U.S. government efforts to assess the accuracy of claims that have captivated public attention for decades.

The study from the Defense Department’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office analysed U.S. government investigations since 1945 of reported sightings of unidentified anomalous phenomena, more popularly known as UFOs. It found no evidence that any of them involved signs of alien life, or that the U.S. government and private companies had reverse-engineered extraterrestrial technology and had conspired to hide it from the public.

It dispelled claims, for instance, that a former CIA official had been involved in managing the movement of and experimentation on extraterrestrial technology and said a purported 1961 intelligence community document about the supposed extraterrestrial nature of UFOs was actually inauthentic.

ALSO READ | What we know about mysterious objects shot down by the U.S.

“All investigative efforts, at all levels of classification, concluded that most sightings were ordinary objects and phenomena and the result of misidentification,” said the report, which was mandated by Congress. Another volume of the report will be out later.

U.S. officials have endeavored to find answers to legions of reported UFO sightings over the years, but so far have not identified any actual evidence of extraterrestrial life. A 2021 government report that reviewed 144 sightings of aircraft or other devices apparently flying at mysterious speeds or trajectories found no extraterrestrial links but drew few other conclusions and called for better data collection.

The issue received fresh attention last summer when a retired Air Force intelligence officer testified to Congress that the U.S. was concealing a longstanding program that retrieves and reverse engineers unidentified flying objects. The Pentagon has denied his claims, and said in late 2022 that a new Pentagon office set up to track reports of unidentified flying objects — the same one that released Friday’s report — had received “several hundreds” of new reports but had found no evidence so far of alien life.

The authors of Friday’s report said the purpose was to apply a rigorous scientific analysis to a subject that has long captured the American public’s imagination.

“AARO recognizes that many people sincerely hold versions of these beliefs which are based on their perception of past experiences, the experiences of others whom they trust, or media and online outlets they believe to be sources of credible and verifiable information,” the report said.

“The proliferation of television programs, books, movies, and the vast amount of internet and social media content centered on UAP-related topics most likely has influenced the public conversation on this topic, and reinforced these beliefs within some sections of the population,” it added.

Washington:

The Pentagon said Monday that privacy concerns contributed to the secrecy surrounding Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s cancer treatment, but that it found no evidence of intentional wrongdoing or obfuscation.

Austin controversially kept US President Joe Biden in the dark about his prostate cancer diagnosis for weeks, while the commander-in-chief and Congress were not told until days after he was hospitalized on January 1 for complications from his treatment.

“Nothing examined during this review demonstrated any indication of ill intent or an attempt to obfuscate,” the Pentagon said in an unclassified summary of a review ordered by Austin’s chief of staff into the circumstances surrounding his hospitalization last month.

However, “medical privacy laws prohibited medical providers from candid sharing of medical information with the secretary’s staff,” who were also “hesitant to pry or share any information that they did learn,” the review found.

The summary also said there was an “absence of an established methodology for making… an unplanned decision” to transfer authorities from the secretary to his deputy, which “may have contributed to the lack of comprehensive information sharing about the situation.

Austin, a 70-year-old career soldier, initially underwent minor surgery to treat the cancer on December 22, returning home the following day.

But he was readmitted due to complications including nausea and severe pain on January 1.

The White House was not informed about Austin’s hospitalization until January 4, while Congress was not told until the following day, and Biden did not learn of the cancer diagnosis until January 9.

Various Republican lawmakers called for Austin — who apologized earlier this month for the secrecy surrounding his treatment — to be sacked, but Biden has stood by him.

The defense secretary was hospitalized again on February 11 and treated under general anesthetic for bladder issues.

The public informed around two hours after the fact and the Pentagon said that military, White House and congressional officials had all been notified. Austin was released from the hospital two days later.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

Amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, the United States is sending additional troops to the US Central Command region, which covers the Middle East and parts of Africa, Pentagon press secretary Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said on Tuesday (local time).

Ryder said that these troops will provide capabilities, explosive ordnance disposal, communications and other support enablers for forces already in the region. He said that additional US troops are not going to Israel.

While addressing a press briefing on Tuesday (local time), he said, “I can announce the decision to deploy an additional 300 troops to the US Central Command region from home stations in the continental United States. These additional troops will provide capabilities, explosive ordnance disposal, communications and other support enablers for forces already in the region.”

The region monitored by the US Central Command encompasses 20 countries, including Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, the countries of the Arabian Peninsula and northern Red Sea, and the five republics of Central Asia.

“Please note that we will not discuss specific deployment locations for these forces, but I can confirm they are not going to Israel and that they are intended to support regional deterrence efforts and further bolster US force protection capabilities,” he added.

Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said that US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin, during his remarks at the Senate testimony, said the US will continue to provide critical security assistance to Israel.

He said that Austin said that the focus of the US is on providing air defence capabilities, precision-guided munitions and more interceptors for the Iron Dome system.

According to Ryder, Austin said that the US is coordinating closely with the Israelis to help secure the release of the hostages held by Hamas, including American citizens.

Ryder said that Austin highlighted that the US immediately provided military advisors to offer best practises for integrating hostage recovery into Israel’s operations.

Lloyd Austin said that the US has strengthened its force posture across the region to deter any state or nonstate actors from escalating this crisis beyond Gaza, according to Patrick Ryder.

While addressing the press briefing, Ryder said Austin continues to remain in close contact with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant by phone and received updates regarding Israel’s operations in Gaza.
Ryder said, “The secretary commended the Israel Defense Forces’ commitment to hostage recovery” and re-emphasized the importance of conducting operations in accordance with the law of war. He also stressed the imperative to protect innocent civilians and allow unfettered humanitarian aid into Gaza.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Pentagon spokesman Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder speaks at the Pentagon on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023 in Washington. The U.S. military launched airstrikes early Friday on two locations in eastern Syria linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Pentagon said.
| Photo Credit: AP

The U.S. military launched airstrikes early Friday, October 27, 2023 on two locations in eastern Syria linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Pentagon said, in retaliation for a slew of drone and missile attacks against U.S. bases and personnel in the region that began early last week.

The U.S. strikes reflect the Biden administration’s determination to maintain a delicate balance. The U.S. wants to hit Iranian-backed groups suspected of targeting the U.S. as strongly as possible to deter future aggression, possibly fueled by Israel’s war against Hamas, while also working to avoid inflaming the region and provoking a wider conflict.

According to the Pentagon, there have been at least 12 attacks on U.S. bases and personnel in Iraq and four in Syria since Oct. 17. Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said 21 U.S. personnel were injured in two of those assaults that used drones to target al-Asad Airbase in Iraq and al-Tanf Garrison in Syria.

In a statement, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the “precision self-defense strikes are a response to a series of ongoing and mostly unsuccessful attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed militia groups that began on October 17.”

He said President Joe Biden directed the narrowly tailored strikes “to make clear that the United States will not tolerate such attacks and will defend itself, its personnel, and its interests.” And he added that the operation was separate and distinct from Israel’s war against Hamasa.

Mr. Austin said the U.S. does not seek a broader conflict, but if Iranian proxy groups continue, the U.S. won’t hesitate to take additional action to protect its forces.