Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- May 31, 2019

CNN: Rival South China Sea visions in spotlight as Washington, Beijing front Shangri-La Dialogue

Hong Kong (CNN)With China-US relations already strained amid an escalating trade war, attention is about to turn to a familiar arena -- the South China Sea.

After years of stand-offs and brinkmanship in the hotly contested region, acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan is expected to unveil the Pentagon's new Indo-Pacific strategy at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday.

Intriguingly, just one day later Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Wei Fenghe is scheduled to speak about Beijing's role in the Indo-Pacific -- the highest-ranking Chinese official to appear at Asia's premier defense conference in eight years.

Their presence is significant. Beijing claims almost the entire 1.3 million square mile South China Sea as its sovereign territory and aggressively asserts its stake, with President Xi Jinping saying it will never give up "any inch of territory."

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Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- May 31, 2019

U.S., China Defense Chiefs to Lay Out Rival Visions for Asia -- Bloomberg

US-China competition to loom over key defence gathering -- Al Jazeera

Testing the waters: China’s maritime militia challenges foreign forces at sea -- Defense News

Chinese militarization of South China Sea "excessive": acting Pentagon chief -- Reuters

Shanahan to call out China over South China Sea -- FOX News/AP

Top US military official says Beijing achieving immediate South China Sea goals, but further moves should be challenged -- SCMP

Air Force Maps Plan to Arm B-21 Stealth Bomber With Nuclear Weapons -- Warrior Maven

U.S. Navy's 2nd Fleet reaches initial operational capability -- UPI

‘Approaching competitive’ US 2nd Fleet seeks to confront Russia in Arctic -- RT

Navy to transfer future satcom programs to Air Force -- UPI

Army Chinook Helicopter Destroyed by 'Hard Landing' in Afghanistan -- Military.com

Military judge frees Navy SEAL in advance of murder trial -- NBC

Trump emphasizes need for military strength in Air Force commencement speech -- The Hill

Trump claims USS McCain report was 'an exaggeration, or even Fake News' -- The Hill

DoD bought phony military gear made in China, including counter-night vision clothing that didn’t actually work -- Military Times

US Senators Nearly Triple Army Request for Stryker Cannons -- Military.com

US military building ‘missile-killing’ lasers that it will mount onto jets -- FOX News

New Global Navigation System Could Guard U.S. Military Against GPS-Attacks -- Forbes

Northrop Grumman nabs $65M for drones for Navy, Australia -- UPI

Here are 5 of the worst weapons projects the US military has in the works -- Business Insider

Pentagon: Turkey’s S-400 Acquisition to Be Devastating to F-35 Programme -- Sputnik

US Navy Ship Enters Baltic Sea For Drills as NATO Beefs Up Activities -- Sputnik

European defense industry could come to regret new US weapons fund -- Defense News

Dunford: Leaders Mull First NATO Strategy In Decades -- Breaking Defense

Germany in Secret Talks With US on Military Support in Syria – Report -- Sputnik

Iran Forced To Cut Military Budget Just As U.S. And Saudi Warn 'No More Threats' -- Forbes

Top general: Recent Iran threats were different because they were 'more of a campaign' -- The Hill

Pakistan's military sentences officer to death for espionage -- Al Jazeera

Putin submits bill to withdraw Russia from nuclear treaty -- UPI

Russian Armed Forces Detected 21 Foreign Reconnaissance Jets Near Border -- Sputnik

Canadian coast guard welcomes first ‘new’ icebreaker -- WorkBoat

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