Category: terrorism

MIL-OSI USA: Chairman McCaul Delivers Remarks to Hold Blinken in Contempt of Congress

Source: US House Committee on Foreign Affairs

Media Contact 202-226-8467

Washington, D.C. – House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul delivered remarks at today’s committee markup of a report calling for Secretary of State Antony Blinken to be held in contempt of Congress for his failure to comply with a duly issued subpoena. That subpoena compelled his testimony on the committee’s investigation into the Biden-Harris administration’s deadly Afghanistan withdrawal, which resulted in Chairman McCaul’s historic report released on September 9, 2024. During his remarks, Chairman McCaul emphasized that Secretary Blinken’s failure to appear demonstrates his continued prioritization of politics and optics over securing legislative solutions to prevent another similar catastrophe.

WATCH HERE

– Remarks as Delivered –

I wish we were not here today. However, Secretary of State Antony Blinken brought this upon himself.

I take no joy in this procedure.

After months of the secretary ignoring countless requests for his testimony, I was forced to subpoena him to discuss the findings of my report into the catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Secretary Blinken violated that subpoena and refused to appear. And now, I have no choice but to move forward with holding him in contempt of Congress.

Let the record reflect, that for four months, I have patiently asked for and waited on his availability in September.

But instead of working with me, Secretary Blinken made false promises and accused me of politicizing this important issue.

By failing to appear before the committee to discuss this serious event, he is politicizing the Afghanistan withdrawal.

His spokesperson has also presented outright lies on his behalf, both to the press and the American people. He claims Secretary Blinken has appeared 14 times before Congress and four times before my committee to discuss Afghanistan.

However, the facts speak for themselves. The secretary has never testified on this committee’s investigation — not once.

In fact, while I have served as chair in the 118^thCongress, he has appeared only two times before this committee — both times for statutorily mandated hearings on the State Department’s budget.

Throughout this committee’s investigation, the secretary and his State Department obstructed my access to witnesses and documents at every turn.

It was their failure to produce documents and testimony that determined the timing of my Afghanistan report and today’s contempt markup.

This was not my timeline; it was theirs.

On May 22nd, I publicly requested Secretary Blinken testify on my report in September.

What was my goal?

A single hearing dedicated to fixing the many issues at the State Department that my report had uncovered.

Following my public request, Secretary Blinken’s State Department ignored every outreach from my team.

Finally, on August 19th, I spoke to him directly on the phone. He promised me a date would be, ‘nailed down in the next week.’ But he broke that promise, and weeks passed, and I received no word from him.

And then on September 3rd, I informed Secretary Blinken that a subpoena would be coming and forthwith if he did not appear in September.

I offered him any date, any time that month.

But rather than step up to the plate as a leader, he offered me his subordinates – two deputies who did not even serve at the State Department during the withdrawal.

That is not leadership; that is passing the buck.

This committee expects better.

This is the committee of jurisdiction over the State Department.

Our veterans, Gold Star families, and the American people deserve better from the secretary of state.

After that call, I was forced to issue a subpoena compelling his appearance before this committee.

I have with me proof that Secretary Blinken disregarded my numerous good-faith efforts. Not once, not twice, but three times in this email.

In fact, I offered every day in September. However, the secretary could not make one day, could not make one day in September available for this committee, for this Congress on such an important matter.

Not a single day.

He and his team did not even bother to inform me of his schedule.

Still, when I learned through a public press statement that he would be in the Middle East, I changed the date of the hearing to accommodate his overseas schedule.

Again, I informed his staff of the new date. Unsurprisingly, I received no response. No response. That is the lack of respect that I as chairman and this committee received from this secretary.

Under the leadership of Secretary Blinken, 13 brave American lives were tragically murdered by an ISIS-K terrorist, and many more injured, and many Afghans [were] killed as well.

Rather than take accountability for this, the secretary hides from the American people. He would prefer to hide rather than be before this committee today.

The secretary’s willful indifference, his willful indifference has brought us to this moment.

I take no joy in moving forward to hold the secretary of state in contempt of Congress. It is an extraordinary act.

However, Article I of the United States Constitution entrusts Congress with the power of oversight and to legislate. Secretary Blinken’s failure to appear violates that. It violates Article I of the Constitution. It violates our ability to perform oversight, and it violates our ability to legislate on a hugely important issue — perhaps, the most important issue that occurred during [President Biden’s] presidency.

My sincere hope was that Secretary Blinken’s testimony in September would inform legislation to prevent a foreign policy disaster like this in the future. However, we will not have that testimony.

Instead, he has prioritized politics and optics over the needs of our servicemembers, our Gold Star families, and the American people.

In my judgment, he and the White House have made a judgment call that the risk simply outweighs the reward.

And to my colleagues, your actions today will speak to the respect you afford Congress and its constitutional responsibility.

I urge you all to join me in supporting this measure, holding Secretary of State Antony Blinken in contempt of Congress for violating a subpoena duly issued by this committee. For without that power, not only does that render this committee meaningless, but so to does that render the Constitution of the United States meaningless.

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MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: DLE News Release: Hawai‘i awarded $800,000 targeted violence prevention grant

Source: US State of Hawaii

DLE News Release: Hawai‘i awarded $800,000 targeted violence prevention grant

Posted on Sep 24, 2024 in Latest Department News, Newsroom

DEPARTMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT

Ka ʻOihana Hoʻokō Kānāwai

JOSH GREEN, M.D.

GOVERNOR

KE KIAʻĀINA

JORDAN LOWE

DIRECTOR

KA LUNA HO‘OKELE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 24, 2024

Hawai‘i awarded $800,000 targeted violence prevention grant

HONOLULU – The Hawai‘i Department of Law Enforcement Office of Homeland Security (OHS) is receiving a $803,330 Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention grant from U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to expand current initiatives and implement new measures to prevent targeted violence statewide.

“This award demonstrates a commitment by DHS’s Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships to help us protect our communities from increasing threats of targeted violence,” said Frank Pace, OHS Administrator.

Targeted violence refers to premeditated violence directed toward a specific individual, group, or location. Perpetrators often select their targets as the result of grievances. They may be motivated by many things including religious ideologies, political beliefs, conspiracy theories, or they may be victims of bullying.

The newly allocated funding will enhance statewide targeted violence prevention training for nonprofits, public and private schools and government agencies. The grant will also fund OHS to help Guam development its targeted violence prevention program.

“The Office of Homeland Security is focused on protecting people by providing the resources they need to identify, assist and most importantly, stop those on a pathway to violence. We can’t just react to targeted violence. We must, as a community, recognize the potential for violence and prevent tragedies before they occur.” Pace said.

“The Department of Law Enforcement is committed to using all resources at its disposal to protect our residents through effective enforcement and by working with our communities to implement violence prevention strategies,” said Department of Law Enforcement Director Jordan Lowe.

To view the statewide Targeted Violence Prevention Strategy and Implementation Plan, please visit this link. If you are interested in becoming a partner in preventing targeted violence in Hawai‘i, send an e-mail to [email protected], or visit OHS online at law.hawaii.gov/ohs.

###

Media Contact:

Brooks Baehr

Public Information Officer

Department of Law Enforcement

715 S. King Street

Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96813

Office 808-587-5051

Mobile 808-892-9272

MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: Will Rollins busted for lying about legal work

Source: US National Republican Congressional Committee

The following text contains opinion that is not, or not necessarily, that of MIL-OSI –

September 24, 2024

Extreme Democrat Will Rollins’ fantastical claims about his legal work crumbled under scrutiny.

“Rollins has greatly exaggerated his record,” a new investigation found. Reminder: A judge slapped down Rollins for attempting to trick voters with a similarly “misleading” ballot designation.

“Extreme liberal Will Rollins will say or do anything to get elected. Riverside County families cannot trust a word that comes out of this serial liar’s mouth.” – NRCC Spokesperson Ben Petersen

In case you missed it…

‘I Took On the Sinaloa Cartel’: Democratic House Candidate Will Rollins Claims He Fought Drug Lords, ISIS, and MS-13. Did He?
Washington Free Beacon
Meghan Blonder

Democrat Will Rollins has made his prosecutorial record central to his rematch against Rep. Ken Calvert (R., Calif.). The Palm Springs lawyer repeatedly boasted that he went after ISIS, the Sinaloa cartel, and MS-13 when he worked as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Central District of California.

“Rollins, a counterterrorism prosecutor, took on ISIS terrorists and went after the Sinaloa cartel to stop illegal drugs from crossing our border,” said a February ad, which made salacious allegations about Calvert and called him “one of the most corrupt members of Congress.”

The ad ended with Rollins saying, “I’m Will Rollins, and I approve this message because I’ve spent my career fighting to keep our families safe.”

But there’s no available evidence that Rollins had any role in fighting the Sinaloa Cartel or ISIS. His only documented involvement in fighting MS-13? He helped negotiate a lenient plea deal for a meth dealer who was once on a list of “members and associates” of the gang.

Indeed, an exhaustive Washington Free Beacon review found no documentation indicating Rollins participated in the prosecution of anyone tied to ISIS or the Sinaloas during his five-year stint as an assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles. Rollins also claims he’s gone after “murderers,” but the Free Beacon connected only one homicide case to the junior prosecutor—one that wasn’t resolved until two years after Rollins had quit his job.

In early August, the Free Beacon began asking the Rollins campaign to provide information about the candidate’s record during his tenure from 2016 to 2021 in the Central District, which includes Los Angeles and its surrounding suburbs. The Rollins campaign did not respond to any of the Free Beacon’s inquiries. Rollins’s extensive public claims—on his campaign website, social media, and press interviews—don’t cite specific cases or link to Department of Justice or FBI press releases.

The Free Beacon reviewed every federal court case that mentioned Rollins, scouring through reams of documents. The review also included extensive searches of the Central District’s website.

The Mexico-based Sinaloa cartel—which controls much of the drug trade—along with the sadistically violent Salvadoran immigrant gang, MS-13, and the Islamic terrorists of ISIS are three of the world’s most feared criminal organizations, and many ambitious young prosecutors would jump at the chance to battle them. But since Rollins’s name doesn’t appear on any public government documents involving Sinaloa or ISIS, it is highly unlikely he had a meaningful role in such cases, according to a former assistant U.S. attorney who spoke on the condition of anonymity. It is possible he was involved in more minor ways that kept his name off cases, like writing search warrants and applying for digital surveillance, or in supervising cases that others actually prosecuted.

Furthermore, the law firm where Rollins currently works makes no mention of ISIS, the Sinaloa cartel, or MS-13 on his biography page. Instead, Raines Feldman Littrell, a Los Angeles-based corporate law firm that must accurately represent its lawyers to its clients, simply says that Rollins prosecuted “a wide variety of U.S. counterterrorism, export control, and national security laws” as an assistant U.S. attorney.

The Free Beacon found one instance in which Rollins prosecuted a member of MS-13 for dealing meth—and struck a sweetheart plea deal. In that 2012 case, Juan Carlos Garcia was caught dealing 80 grams of meth in front of his children. He faced two distribution charges, one carrying a prison sentence of up to 40 years, the other a life sentence. Rollins dropped one count and helped Garcia score the mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison for the other.

A 2013 FBI press release lists Garcia among “members and associates of the MS-13 street gang.” Garcia’s indictment, however, doesn’t mention gang membership, nor does his pleading. His court judgment only noted that he was barred from associating with known members or wearing anything connected to MS-13.

Rollins’s attempts to use his stint in government to boost his campaign have become a flashpoint in his campaign. A county GOP chairman challenged Rollins’s bid to describe himself as a “counterterrorism attorney” on the primary ballot, and a judge ruled that he must instead describe himself as a “counterterrorism law attorney.”

[…]

Rollins has also said in campaign ads that he’s “put away” members of a gang called the Mexican Mafia. The United States-based prison and street gang organizes other Hispanic gangs to establish a larger network of illegal activities.

The Free Beacon’s review found Rollins was involved in two cases that were peripherally connected to the Mexican Mafia. In both, Rollins signed off on lenient plea deals that gave the gang members light prison sentences for serious crimes.

Julio Cesar Alvarado faced a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for a firearm charge in June 2016. He admitted he was a member of the Eastside Santa Ana gang, an affiliate of the Mexican Mafia. Rollins struck a plea deal, and Alvarado was sentenced to just two years in prison.

Justin Robert Burkett, a known member of the Westside VLP gang, another Mexican Mafia affiliate, was busted with 120 grams of meth and a stolen .38 caliber revolver. He faced a life sentence for peddling drugs and another five years for the gun crime. But Rollins dropped the firearm charge and helped Burkett score a 10-year prison sentence, the mandatory minimum for the distribution count. Burkett was also required to participate in a substance abuse program once he got out of prison.

Read more here.

MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Security: Man jailed for posting and sharing terrorist content online after Counter Terrorism investigation

Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

A 21-year-old man has been jailed for posting and sharing terrorist content online, as a result of a proactive Met Police Counter Terrorism investigation.

An investigation led by the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command exposed how Ayoub Nacir, 21 (26.07.03) of south-west London, was posting terrorist material on various social media accounts and platforms during the course of 2022 and 2023.

Nacir was sentenced at Kingston Crown Court on Tuesday, 24 September, to six years and nine months’ imprisonment.

Acting Commander Gareth Rees, of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command said: “We’re aware of the significant impact that spreading online terrorist material can have on vulnerable individuals may be at risk of being drawn into terrorism. The work that went into this investigation shows how seriously we take online terrorism, and we will continue to identify those individuals who spread this material online”.

Online material promoting terrorism or extremism can be reported anonymously via www.gov.uk/report-terrorism

When officers became aware that Nacir was distributing terrorist-related material online, it led to his arrest and seizure of electronic devices in October, 2023 at his home in south-west London. Officers examined Nacir’s devices, and they found that he had not only shared material that was promoting the terrorist group Daesh, but he also had documents that were likely to be useful to someone committing or preparing an act of terrorism.

In particular, detectives found he was in possession of documents containing instructions on how to make poisonous or noxious substances capable of endangering health, as well as other files containing practical guidance and advice for people interested in potentially preparing and carrying out terrorist acts.

Nacir was charged on 27 October, 2023 with five counts of dissemination of a terrorist publication, contrary to section 2 of the Terrorism Act (TACT) 2006, which related to videos he shared. He was also charged with five counts of possession of a document or record for terrorist purposes, contrary to section 58 TACT 2000, which related to various digital documents and files found on his devices.

Nacir pleaded guilty to eight of the ten counts and was sentenced as above on Tuesday, 24 September. Two counts of dissemination of terrorist publication, will lie on file.

+ Communities defeat terrorism, and information from the public is vital to counter terrorism investigations. If you see or hear something unusual or suspicious and think someone may be engaging in terrorist activity, trust your instincts and act by reporting it in confidence at www.gov.uk/act or call police direct on 0800 789 321.

In an emergency, dial 999.

Visit the ACT Early website – www.actearly.uk – to find out how you can seek help and support for anyone who you suspect may be being radicalised.

MIL Security OSI –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: Review of CUNY’s Antisemitism & Antidiscrimination Policies
Source: US State of New York

“My top priority as Governor has always been to ensure the safety and security of every New Yorker, and right now, too many students at our colleges and universities do not feel safe. Let me be clear: we will not tolerate threats of antisemitism or hate of any kind. Every New Yorker must be free to live, learn and worship without fear of harassment or violence.

“Even before the horrific terror attacks of October 7th, New York has been actively fighting hate — with acts such as releasing America’s first-ever statewide plan to combat antisemitism and funding security for institutions at risk of hate-fueled attacks. I changed the bail laws to crack down on hate crimes and deployed additional State personnel to the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. As the tragic anniversary of the October 7th attacks approaches, we will be announcing additional resources to ensure the safety and well-being of all New Yorkers.

“I want to thank Judge Jonathan Lippman for his work to produce a comprehensive report on antisemitism and antidiscrimination policies at CUNY. Hate on campus has surged nationwide over the past year, and we needed a candid review of how best to protect our students. After reviewing Judge Lippman’s report, I have directed CUNY to implement his 13 recommendations, which I believe will make a significant impact in preventing and addressing future incidents. My expectation is that CUNY will enact these recommendations, and they have already taken initial steps to address the Judge’s findings. I encourage every college and university in New York State to review Judge Lippman’s recommendations as a guide to help ensure that their campus community is a welcoming and safe place for people of every faith and background.”

Governor Hochul tapped Judge Lippman to conduct a comprehensive review of CUNY’s antisemitism and antidiscrimination policies last October following a surge in hate and bias incidents in the wake of the Hamas terror attacks. Judge Lippman delivered a 13-point action plan for CUNY to implement immediately to address antisemitism and other forms of discrimination or hate on campuses and protect Jewish students and faculty:
- Centralize resources for dealing with discrimination by creating a University-wide center to address antisemitism and other forms of hate and instituting an internal antisemitism and hate monitor.
- Overhaul CUNY’s university-wide discrimination and retaliation reporting portal to better support individuals lodging complaints of antisemitism and discrimination.
- Help victims of antisemitism and discrimination navigate the investigative process and identify available resources by establishing a centralized Victim’s Advocate program.
- Coordinate with law enforcement and security experts to establish standardized safety protocols to help protect everyone and ensure all individuals feel safe on CUNY campuses.
- Provide guidance and training for campus chief diversity officers and others who are responsible for investigating antisemitism and discrimination allegations and implement a system of investigation oversight.
- Use the principles of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism as a guide to help determine what may constitute antisemitism, in line with Governor Hochul’s 2022 proclamation identifying the IHRA definition as a valuable tool.
- Ensure all those at CUNY, including campus leadership and chief diversity officers, use the law as a guide when handling incidents of antisemitism on campus, regardless of personal views of what constitutes antisemitism.
- Update current policies and procedures to ensure they provide uniform and clear guidance to address modern incidents of antisemitism and other forms of hate, including the use of social media; train students, faculty and staff on these policies; and consistently review and update these policies in the future to ensure they do not become out of date.
- Consistently hold students and faculty accountable for conduct violating CUNY’s policies and procedures through instituting new clear protocols.
- Draft and adopt a Comprehensive Policy on Freedom of Speech and Expressive Conduct, including clear rules for time, place and manner of expressive conduct on campuses, consistent with the First Amendment.
- Encourage leadership to lead by example and speak out forcefully against antisemitism and any form of hate, even when it may not directly violate the law or CUNY’s policies.
- Increase efforts to train and recruit faculty and staff who consistently encourage and promote inclusivity, constructive dialogue and tolerance.
- Promote dialogue among people holding different viewpoints and create additional joint programming.
Judge Lippman’s full review and recommendations are available here.

MIL OSI USA News –
September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: Cornyn, Colleagues’ Bill to Strengthen Cross-Border Trade, Guard Against Terrorism Heads to President’s Desk

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for New Hampshire Maggie Hassan

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Tom Carper (D-DE), James Lankford (R-OK), and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) released the following statements after their legislation to create a pilot program to strengthen the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT) program passed the House and now heads to the President’s desk:

“In order for America to remain competitive in global markets, we must ensure our ports are open, efficient, and secure,” said Sen. Cornyn. “This legislation would allow additional trusted trading partners to expedite shipments important to Texas’ economy while protecting against illegal goods and national security threats, and I urge the President to swiftly sign it into law.”

“I am proud that the bipartisan Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT) Pilot Program Act passed in the House,” said Sen. Carper. “This commonsense bill will improve the reliability and efficiency of our supply chains in expediting the customs clearance process for trusted merchants. When President Biden signs this bill into law, the CTPAT Pilot Program will help reduce congestion at ports of entry and strengthen our national security.”

“America’s supply chain security is essential to keeping food on the table and businesses up and running,” said Sen. Lankford. “This bill will create a new pilot program to strengthen standards for border security while streamlining our trade with other nations, and I look forward to seeing it become law in the days ahead.”

“This bipartisan bill offers a commonsense approach that will both protect our national security and strengthen our supply chains,” said Sen. Hassan. “I’m pleased that it will now head to the President’s desk, as we continue to work together to help U.S. businesses thrive and outcompete the world.”

The legislation was introduced in the House by Representatives Morgan Luttrell (TX-08), Elissa Slotkin (MI-07), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-01), and Robert Menendez (NJ-08).

Background:

CTPAT was created as a part of the SAFE Port Act of 2006 to support secure cross-border trade through a fast-track, customs clearance process for trusted merchants who voluntarily submit themselves to enhanced security screening measures. The legislation would create a pilot program that would allow up to 20 trusted non-asset and asset based, third-party logistic providers (3PLs) to become CTPAT certified. The carrier companies would work with Customs and Border Protection to become CTPAT certified by meeting additional security requirements and participating in inspections throughout the cargo transit process.

MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Canada: The Government of Canada launches Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate
Source: Government of Canada News

News release

Canada’s first-ever Action Plan on Combatting Hate brings together key federal initiatives to combat hate across the country
OTTAWA, September 24, 2024

Canada, like elsewhere around the world, has seen a rise in hate both on the streets and online in recent years. The federal government is committed to doing whatever it takes to protect everyone living in Canada as well as the resilient and diverse communities across the country to ensure that all can thrive while being their authentic self.

The rise in hate incidents has disproportionately affected Indigenous Peoples; Black, racialized, religious minorities, and 2SLGBTQI+ communities; women; and persons with disabilities. Hate not only harms those directly targeted but also impacts the broader Canadian society, undermining social cohesion and posing a threat to national security.

That’s why today, the Honourable Kamal Khera, Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities, unveiled Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate. The Action Plan represents Canada’s first-ever comprehensive cross-government effort to combat hate. It brings together 20 key federal initiatives grounded on three pillars:
- Empower communities to identify and prevent hate;
- Support victims and survivors, and protect communities; and
- Build community trust, partnerships and institutional readiness.
The Action Plan invests $273.6 million over six years, and $29.3 million ongoing, to tackle hatred from multiple angles. It includes increasing support to victims and survivors, helping communities prevent, address and protect people from hate; enhancing research and data collection; providing greater resources for law enforcement; and raising public awareness.

Everyone has a right to be safe and treated with dignity. We will collaborate with provincial, territorial and international governments, as well as First Nations, Inuit and Métis partners, and cities and communities across Canada to make this happen. Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate will help us continue building a safer and more inclusive Canada where everyone can succeed, regardless of who they are, who they love or what they believe in.
Quotes

“Everyone has the right to feel safe, regardless of who they are, what they look like or what they believe in. We have all been alarmed to witness the tragic consequences of hate, both at home and abroad. Hate has no place in Canada – whether in person or online, in our schools, or in our places of worship. Our government is committed to keeping communities across the country safe. Because when someone becomes a victim of hate, it affects all of us. Canada’s first-ever Action Plan on Combatting Hate represents an unprecedented cross-government effort to combat hate while providing more support to victims of hate and at-risk communities. As we face difficult and challenging times, we must stand up for who are as a country – a country where diversity is our strength and where everyone can be who they are and achieve their dreams without fear.”

—The Honourable Kamal Khera, Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities

“Hate, in all its forms, has no place in Canada – everyone has a right to feel and be safe in their homes and in their communities. We all have a role to play in fighting discrimination and fostering a fairer, safer and more inclusive Canada. The Changing Narratives Fund, as part of Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate, will break down systemic barriers and empower diverse voices in the arts, culture and media. The fund ensures their experiences and perspectives are better represented, and advances anti-racism, equity, and diversity and inclusion within the cultural and media sectors.”

—The Honourable Pascale St‑Onge, Minister of Canadian Heritage

“In the face of an increase in hate crimes, our government is stepping up to ensure at-risk communities can access financial support to protect their institutions. The new Canada Community Security Program is designed to be simpler, more flexible and more generous, in direct response to what we’ve heard from community organizations across the country.”

—The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs

“No one should live in fear of being who they are, but we know that discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity and expression continues to be a reality in Canada. This is wrong and must be eliminated. Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate complements actions we have taken to protect and support Canadians since 2015, including the Federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan, all of which were developed by listening to the voices and lived experiences of individuals and communities across Canada. As always, we continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with all communities experiencing hate and we will not hesitate to use all federal tools to protect and support them.”

—The Honourable Marci Ien, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth

“We all expect to be safe in our homes, in our neighbourhoods and in our communities. This is why we introduced Bill C-63, a key component of Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate. We know that online harms can have real world impacts with tragic and sometimes fatal consequences. This legislation is about keeping everyone safer in an online world that can feel more dangerous and unfortunately more toxic each and every day so that women, racialized persons, 2SLGBTQI+ people, and people of diverse faiths and backgrounds can go to their places of worship, community centres, schools or work without fearing that online threats might turn into real world danger.”

—The Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

“Canada is as innovative as it is diverse, and it is far more successful when everyone is given a fair chance to develop their full potential, free from hate and discrimination. With Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate, we are standing up to confront hate and protect Canadians, and Statistics Canada will be key in researching and gathering the data needed to build a safer and more resilient society.”

—The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry

“Canada is a country rich in diversity, where every person deserves to feel safe and be respected. This is why today we’re launching Canada’s first-ever Action Plan on Combatting Hate, a commitment of $273 million to help build a safe Canada for everyone.”

—Sameer Zuberi, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities

Quick facts
- Budget 2022 provided $85 million over four years, starting in 2022–23, to the Department of Canadian Heritage to launch and implement the new Anti-Racism Strategy and a national action plan on combatting hate. Budget 2024 provides an additional $273.6 million over six years, starting in 2024–25, and $29.3 million ongoing to support Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate. The Action Plan brings together key initiatives led by federal departments and organizations, including Canadian Heritage, Public Safety Canada, Justice Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Women and Gender Equality Canada, Statistics Canada and the Canadian Race Relations Foundation.
- According to the July 2024 Statistics Canada data release, the number of police-reported hate crimes increased from 3,612 incidents in 2022 to 4,777 in 2023 (+32%), even though some victims might not report a hate crime they experienced. This followed an 8-percent increase in 2022 and a 72-percent increase from 2019 to 2021. Overall, the number of police-reported hate crimes (+145%) has more than doubled since 2019.
- Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate is complemented by the work of the Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism and the Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia.
- Public Safety Canada’s enhanced Canada Community Security Program (CCSP) (previously the Security Infrastructure Program) is also part of Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate. The CCSP is making it easier and more efficient for organizations and communities at risk of hate-motivated crime to access security support when they need it.
- The Action Plan aligns with ongoing efforts to further mitigate the risk of exposure to harmful content online through Bill C-63, which proposes to create a new Online Harms Act to create stronger protections for the most vulnerable groups online. The Government of Canada has tabled Bill C-63, An Act to enact the Online Harms Act, to amend the Criminal Code, the Canadian Human Rights Act and An Act respecting the mandatory reporting of Internet child pornography by persons who provide an Internet service and to make consequential and related amendments to other Acts, in the House of Commons.
- Canada is signatory to the Christchurch Call to Eliminate Terrorist and Violent Extremist Content Online, which is a global pledge by 56 governments, including Canada, as well as online service providers and civil society organizations to coordinate and collaborate on efforts to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online. The Government of Canada reiterates its engagement to advance the Christchurch Call to Action in Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate.
- Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate complements Changing Systems, Transforming Lives: Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy 2024–2028. Both initiatives take a comprehensive and intersectional approach to confronting hate, racism and discrimination.
Related products

Associated links

Contacts

For more information (media only), please contact:

Waleed Saleem
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities
waleed.saleem@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca

Media Relations
Canadian Heritage
819-994-9101
1-866-569-6155
media@pch.gc.ca

MIL OSI Canada News –
September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Translation: Government of Canada launches Canada’s Action Plan to Combat Hate

MIL OSI Translation. Canadian French to English –

Source: Government of Canada – in French 1

Press release

Canada’s first-ever Action Plan to Combat Hate brings together key federal anti-hate programs across the country

OTTAWA, September 24, 2024

In recent years, Canada, like other countries, has seen an alarming rise in hate both in neighbourhoods and online. The federal government is committed to doing everything it can to protect all people living in Canada, as well as resilient and diverse communities across the country, and to ensuring that everyone can thrive while being themselves.

The increase in hate incidents has disproportionately impacted Indigenous peoples; Black, racialized, religious minority and 2SLGBTQI communities; women; and persons with disabilities. Hateful behaviour not only harms those targeted, but also impacts Canadian society as a whole, undermining social cohesion and posing a threat to national security.

That’s why today, the Honourable Kamal Khera, Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities, unveiled Canada’s Action Plan to Combat Hate. This action plan represents Canada’s first-ever whole-of-government effort to combat hate. It brings together 20 key federal programs under three pillars.

Providing the means communities to detect and prevent hate. Support victims, survivors and protect communities. Build community trust, partnerships and institutional capacity.

Through the Action Plan, the Government of Canada is investing $273.6 million over six years, and $29.3 million per year ongoing, to address hate from a variety of perspectives. The funding will increase support for victims and survivors; help communities prevent and respond to hate, and protect their members from it; improve research and data collection; provide more resources to law enforcement; and increase public awareness.

Every person has the right to be safe and treated with dignity. We will work with provincial, territorial and international governments; First Nations, Inuit and Métis partners; and cities and communities across Canada to make this happen. Canada’s Action Plan to Combat Hate will help us continue to build a safer, more inclusive Canada where people can succeed, no matter who they are, who they love or what they believe.

Quotes

“Everyone has the right to feel safe, no matter who they are, what they look like or what they believe. We are all alarmed by the tragic consequences of hate, both in Canada and abroad. Hate has no place in Canada, whether in person or online, in schools or places of worship. Our government is committed to keeping every community safe across the country, because when one person is subjected to hateful behaviour, everyone suffers the consequences. Canada’s first-ever Action Plan to Combat Hate represents an unprecedented whole-of-government effort to combat hate while providing increased support to victims of hate and communities at risk. As we navigate these challenging and difficult times, we must stand up for who we are as a country – a country that is strong in its diversity and where people can be themselves and pursue their dreams without fear.”

– The Honourable Kamal Khera, Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities

“Hate, in all its forms, has no place in Canada. Every person has the right to feel and be safe in their homes and communities. We all have a role to play in combating discrimination and promoting a fairer, safer and more inclusive Canada. The Diversity of Voices Fund is part of Canada’s Action Plan to Combat Hate. It will help break down systemic barriers and elevate diverse voices in the arts, culture and media sectors. The Fund will also ensure that their experiences and perspectives are better represented and advance the fight against racism, equity, diversity and inclusion in the culture and media sectors.”

– The Honourable Pascale St-Onge, Minister of Canadian Heritage

“In response to the increase in hate crimes, our government is taking action to ensure that at-risk communities receive financial support to protect their institutions. Canada’s new Community Safety Program is designed to be simpler, more flexible and more generous, in response to requests from community organizations across the country.”

– The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs

“Everyone should be able to bring their true selves to life without fear of reprisal, but we know that discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression remains a reality in Canada. This is unacceptable and must end. Canada’s Action Plan to Combat Hate complements the measures we have taken to protect and support Canadians since 2015, including the Federal 2SLGBTQI Action Plan . These measures have all been implemented with the stories and experiences of individuals and communities across Canada in mind. As always, we stand in solidarity with all communities who have experienced hate and will not hesitate to use all means at our disposal to protect and support them.”

– The Honourable Marci Ien, Minister of Women and Gender Equality and Youth

“We expect to feel safe in our homes, neighbourhoods and communities. That is why we introduced Bill C-63, an important part of Canada’s Action Plan to Combat Hate. We know that online harm can have tragic and even fatal consequences in the real world. This bill aims to ensure the safety of all Canadians in an online world that seems increasingly dangerous and toxic by the day. This means that women, racialized people, transgender people and people of diverse faiths and backgrounds will be able to go to their places of worship, community centres, schools and offices without fearing that threats in the online world will translate into real-world danger.”

– The Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

“Canada is as innovative as it is diverse, and it does best when everyone has a fair chance to reach their full potential, free from hate and discrimination. Through Canada’s Action Plan to Combat Hate, we are standing up to hate and protecting Canadians. And Statistics Canada will play a key role in researching and collecting the data needed to build a safer, more resilient society.”

– The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry

“Canada is a country rich in diversity, where every person deserves to feel safe and respected. That is why today we are launching Canada’s first Action Plan to Combat Hate, a $273 million commitment to building a safer Canada for everyone.”

– Sameer Zuberi, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities

Quick Facts

In Budget 2022, the Government of Canada committed $85 million over 4 years, starting in 2022–23, to Canadian Heritage to launch and implement the new Anti-Racism Strategy and a National Action Plan to Combat Hate. Budget 2024 provides an additional $273.6 million over 6 years, starting in 2024–25, and $29.3 million per year ongoing to support Canada’s Action Plan to Combat Hate. The Action Plan brings together major programs delivered by federal departments and agencies, including Canadian Heritage, Public Safety Canada, Justice Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Women and Gender Equality Canada, Statistics Canada and the Canadian Race Relations Foundation.

According to the Statistics Canada July 2024 data release, the number of police-reported hate crimes increased from 3,612 in 2022 to 4,777 in 2023 (a 32% increase), and some victims may not have reported a hate crime. This follows an 8% increase in 2022 and a 72% increase between 2019 and 2021. Overall, the number of police-reported hate crimes has more than doubled since 2019 (a 145% increase).

Canada’s Action Plan to Combat Hate includes the work of the Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Anti-Semitism and Canada’s first Special Representative on Combating Islamophobia

Public Safety Canada’s new Community Safety Program (CSPP) (formerly the Communities at Risk Security Infrastructure Program) is also part of Canada’s Action Plan to Combat Hate. The CSPP makes it easier and more effective for communities and organizations at risk of hate crime to access security support when they need it.

The Action Plan is part of efforts to further reduce the risk of exposure to harmful content online through Bill C-63, which proposes to create a new Online Harms Act to strengthen protections for the most vulnerable groups. To this end, the Government of Canada tabled in the House of Commons the Bill C-63, An Act to enact the Online Harms Act, to amend the Criminal Code, the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Act respecting the mandatory reporting of Internet child pornography by persons who provide an Internet service and to make consequential and related amendments to other Acts.

Canada is a signatory to theChristchurch Call to Eliminate Violent Extremism and Terrorism on the Internet (Christchurch Call to Action). This is an agreement signed by 56 governments, as well as online service providers and civil society organizations, to coordinate efforts to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online. The Government of Canada reiterates its commitment to advance the Christchurch Call to Action as part of Canada’s Action Plan to Combat Hate.

Canada’s Anti-Hate Action Plan complements Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy 2024–28: Changing Systems to Transform Lives. Through these two initiatives, the government is implementing a comprehensive and intersectional approach to combating hate, racism and discrimination.

Related products

Related links

Contact persons

For further information (media only), please contact:

Waleed Saleem Press SecretaryOffice of the Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilitieswaleed.saleem@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca

Media RelationsCanadian Heritage819-994-91011-866-569-6155media@pch.gc.ca

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and/or sentence structure not be perfect.

MIL Translation OSI

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Translation: Canada imposes additional sanctions in response to Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel

MIL OSI Translation. Canadian French to English –

Source: Government of Canada – in French 1

The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today announced that Canada is imposing additional sanctions under the Special Economic Measures (Hamas Terrorist Attacks) Regulations. These sanctions build on Canada’s efforts to combat Hamas and its acts of terrorism, as well as its affiliates and financial networks.

September 18, 2024 – Ottawa, Ontario – Global Affairs Canada

The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today announced that Canada is imposing additional sanctions under the Special Economic Measures (Hamas Terrorist Attacks) Regulations. These sanctions build on Canada’s efforts to combat Hamas and its acts of terrorism, as well as its affiliates and financial networks.

These sanctions apply to eleven individuals and two entities involved in Hamas’ financial network. These individuals and entities directly or indirectly facilitated, supported, or contributed financially to the planning and execution of the attacks against Israel that began on October 7, 2023.

The eleven people are as follows:

Musa Muhammad Salim Dudin Amer Kamal Sharif Alshawa Ahmed Sadu Jahleb Walid Mohammed Mustafa Jadallah Zuhair Shamlakh Alaa Shamlakh Ahmed Shamlakh Imad Shamlakh Nabil Khaled Halil Chouman Khaled Chouman Reda Ali Khamis

The two entities are as follows:

Al-Markaziya Li-Siarafa (Al-Markaziya) Nabil Chouman

Canada unequivocally condemns the brutal terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas and its affiliates on October 7, 2023. These horrific attacks included the killing, maiming and abduction of innocent civilians, including children.

Today’s sanctions represent a further step in Canada’s response to the ongoing violence in the region. Canada remains deeply concerned about the impact of the conflict on Israeli and Palestinian civilian populations and is committed to promoting peace and security in the Middle East.

“Canada unequivocally condemns the brutal terrorist attack carried out by Hamas on October 7. The hostages who were abducted that day and who have been held captive by Hamas for over 300 days must be immediately released. By taking these steps today, Canada is taking another step to combat Hamas’ terrorist activities and disrupt its financial networks.”

– Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and/or sentence structure not be perfect.

MIL Translation OSI

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI NGOs: India: FATF raps government on the risk to abuse that non-profits face

Source: Amnesty International –

The ‘Financial Action Task Force’ (FATF) in its Mutual Evaluation Report pulls up the Indian government on the risk to abuse that the non-profit sector faces in India, said Amnesty International today. It also flags the delay in prosecutions in India under its money laundering and anti-terrorism laws.

The report published today, based on the fourth round of India’s evaluation on its measures to tackle illicit financing, highlights the ‘critical’ need to ‘taking a risk-based and educative approach with non-profit organisations.’

“The global financial watchdog significantly calls for ‘priority actions’, one of which is to ensure India’s civil society is not unnecessarily harassed and intimidated under the pretext of money-laundering or terrorism-financing. While the Indian Government may harp only on the positives in the FATF’s report on India, they can’t conveniently downplay how they have been rapped for their partial compliance with measures to protect the legitimate activities of the non-profit sector,” said Aakar Patel, chair of board at Amnesty International India.

The Indian Government… have been rapped for their partial compliance with measures to protect the legitimate activities of the non-profit sector.

Aakar Patel, chair of board at Amnesty International India

The report shows that India is only ‘partially compliant’ against FATF recommendation 8 which requires that laws and regulations to combat money laundering and terrorism financing target only those non-profit organisations that are identified – through a careful, targeted “risk-based” analysis – as vulnerable to terrorism financing abuse.

Three points of importance flagged in the report by FATF include the inability of India’s Income Tax department to demonstrate that its monitoring and outreach prioritised the 7500 non-profit organizations identified to be at-risk of terrorism financing abuse.

Secondly, the FATF also notes that the burdensome registration and audit requirements that non-profits in India have to undergo are not “always risk-based or implemented based on consultations with [them] to avoid negatively impacting their work”.

Thirdly, the FATF acknowledges that the 2020 amendments to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) were implemented without adequate consultation with non-profits. Thereby, “impacting their activity or operating models”. The Indian government has shut down foreign funding for thousands of civil society groups using FCRA with over 20,600 non-governmental organizations losing their licenses to receive foreign funding in the past decade, many of them groups that have long promoted human rights in the country.

In addition, the report also highlights the delay in prosecutions under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) were “resulting in a high number of pending cases and accused persons in judicial custody waiting for cases to be tried and concluded”. Such delays illustrate the possibility that these laws are being misused to clamp down on human rights defenders by ensuring that the criminal proceedings characterized by stringent bail provisions, prolonged detention, and lengthy investigation act as punishment.

Among the proposed ‘Priority Actions’ the watchdog recommends India should ensure a risk-based approach, including by conducting a more focused, coordinated outreach to non-profit organizations on their Terrorism Financing risks. FATF also recommends India to address the delays in concluding prosecutions under UAPA and PMLA considering high rate of arrests and low rate of conviction under these laws.

The Indian Government must take seriously the priority actions recommended by the FATF report and calibrate its actions to stop the witch-hunt of non-profit organizations, human rights defenders and activists who dare to dissent.

Aakar Patel

Previously, Amnesty International’s research documented how the FATF’s recommendations have been abused by the Indian authorities including by bringing in draconian laws in a coordinated campaign to stifle the non-profit sector. These laws are in turn used to bring terrorism-related charges and, amongst other things, to prevent organizations and activists from accessing essential funds.

“Amnesty International has consistently flagged how these laws have been weaponized by authorities to target, intimidate, harass and silence critics. In consultation with the non-profit sector, the government needs to put in place measures that are focused, proportionate and not overbroad by bringing laws like FCRA and UAPA in line with international human rights standards. The Indian Government must take seriously the priority actions recommended by the FATF report and calibrate its actions with a risk-based approach to stop the witch-hunt under India’s anti-terror and money-laundering laws of non-profit organizations, human rights defenders and activists who dare to dissent,” said Aakar Patel.

MIL OSI NGO –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Canada: Canada imposes additional sanctions in response to Hamas’ terrorist attacks against Israel
Source: Government of Canada News

Effective immediately, Canada is imposing additional sanctions against eleven individuals and two entities pursuant to the Special Economic Measures (Hamas Terrorist Attacks) Regulations, in response to the terrorist attacks by Hamas on Israel that began on October 7, 2023, and the threat that Hamas and its affiliates pose to regional security.
Effective immediately, Canada is imposing additional sanctions against eleven individuals and two entities pursuant to the Special Economic Measures (Hamas Terrorist Attacks) Regulations, in response to the terrorist attacks by Hamas on Israel that began on October 7, 2023, and the threat that Hamas and its affiliates pose to regional security.

Canadian measures

The regulations impose a prohibition on dealings related to the listed individuals and entities, effectively freezing any assets they may have in Canada. Persons in Canada and Canadians outside the country are prohibited from dealing with the listed individuals and entities, and the listed individuals are also rendered inadmissible to Canada under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. The specific prohibitions are set out in the regulations.

The names of the eleven individuals added to the schedule of these regulations are the following:
- Musa Muhammad Salim Dudin (Hamas financier and operative)
- Amer Kamal Sharif Alshawa (Hamas financier)
- Ahmed Sadu Jahleb (Hamas financier)
- Walid Mohammed Mustafa Jadallah (Hamas financier)
- Zuhair Shamlakh (Hamas financier)
- Alaa Shamlakh (Hamas financier)
- Ahmed Shamlakh (Hamas financer)
- Imad Shamlakh (Hamas financier)
- Nabil Khaled Halil Chouman (Hamas financier)
- Khaled Chouman (Hamas financier)
- Reda Ali Khamis (Hamas financier)
The names of the two entities added to the schedule of these regulations are the following:
- Al-Markaziya Li-Siarafa (Al-Markaziya) (Hamas-affiliated financial exchange company)
- Nabil Chouman & Co. (Hamas-affiliated financial exchange company)
MIL OSI Canada News –
September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: Kaptur Statement On the War In Gaza and Escalation Between Israel and Hezbollah In Lebanon

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09)

Washington, DC — Today, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09) released the following statement regarding the ongoing war in Gaza, and recent escalation of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“This weekend’s escalation in combat between Israel and 140,000 Hezbollah forces supported in southern Lebanon by Iran creates a powder keg. If not contained, this conflict could widen and adversely impact thousands more innocent people of adjacent nations, as well as destabilize global markets.

“This war must end. A ‘ceasefire’ is not enough. There must be a UN negotiated truce subject to multinational enforcement. The constituents I represent include thousands who trace their ancestry to Israel, Lebanon, Palestinian communities, and other impacted adjacent nations across the Middle East. I release this statement out of deep concern for them and the people of their ancestral lands. The road to peace must begin with the United Nations and its Security Council whose primary charge is the “maintenance of international peace and security.”

“The UN must demonstrate leadership and backbone in resolving this festering conflagration. With no intervention, the widening war of utter destruction across that war-torn region will escalate. It must end. An immediate truce is fundamental. It will require multinational enforced military lines of demarcation. Terrorist organizations cannot be voting parties to ongoing negotiations. States sponsoring terrorist organizations should face a strictly enforced multinational sanctions regime.

“I urge the Speaker and Minority Leader of the US House to bring forward this week, as the House reassembles, a first order of business House Privileged Resolution urging the United Nations be called into Special Session. The UN must address deescalating this widening carnage and ongoing war. In 1948, the United Nations following World War II acted with dispatch to address vast rebuilding and resettlement issues arising in post war regions of the Middle East and elsewhere.

“Today, the unresolved Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza and the West Bank — inflamed by the Hamas terrorist organization in alliance with other terrorist organizations and supported by arms from Iran — continues to plague the people of that region. Ethnic and religious cleansing forms a brutal and nonviable substitute for a truce and contemporary compact among neighboring States. It is long overdue. The United Nations must step up to this crucial, modern-day challenge which the people of all sovereign nations know is necessary. The bloody fighting in the Middle East must be brought to a negotiated truce.

“The hatred unleashed by the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel will reverberate across future generations of families on all sides of this conflict. Surely the people of the region and world seek a better road forward. The United Nations must rise to this compelling occasion.”

Since the start of the conflict in Gaza, Congresswoman Kaptur has remained actively engaged in urging an aggressive diplomatic path forward to address the ongoing conflict and work toward a negotiated two-state solution. On October 8th, Congresswoman Kaptur released a statement condemning the Hamas terror attacks. On November 3rd, Congresswoman Kaptur released a statement following a meeting with Egyptian Ambassador Zahran calling for a humanitarian pause so aid could be delivered and those seeking safety could reach it. On November 16th, Congresswoman Kaptur released a statement following a dialogue with Jordanian Ambassador Kawar in diplomatic efforts to secure a durable peace. On December 13th, Congresswoman Kaptur released a statement following a meeting with Lebanese Charge D’Affaires Hachem. On December 15th, Congresswoman Kaptur released a statement following a meeting with Apostolic Nuncio, Cardinal Pierre. On January 19th, Congresswoman Kaptur urged the State Department to affirm US opposition to forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza. On January 31st, Congresswoman Kaptur published an opinion article in the Toledo Blade. On March 28th, Congresswoman Kaptur reaffirmed her support for a two-state solution. On April 4th, Congresswoman Kaptur released a statement following a call between Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Biden. On May 6th, Congresswoman Kaptur released a statement on the ongoing developments in Gaza. On June 3rd, Congresswoman Kaptur affirmed her support for a two-state solution, and applauded the peace plan for Israel and Gaza. On June 11th Congresswoman Kaptur released a statement reaffirming her support for a Two-State Solution for the Israeli and Palestinian people, and applauding the United Nations Security Council vote to support the US diplomatic peace plan for Israel and Gaza.

# # #

MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: Chairman McCaul Urges House Colleagues to Hold the Biden-Harris Admin Accountable for the Afghanistan Withdrawal
Source: US House Committee on Foreign Affairs

Media Contact 202-226-8467

Washington, D.C. – Today, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul delivered opening remarks before the House Rules Committee in support of his legislation H.Res. 1469, “Ensuring Accountability For Key Officials In The Biden-Harris Administration Responsible For Decisionmaking And Execution Failures Throughout The Withdrawal From Afghanistan.” In his remarks, Chairman McCaul emphasized his bill will serve as a step toward holding the administration accountable for its deadly Afghanistan withdrawal, on behalf of U.S. servicemembers, veterans, Gold Star families, and the American people.

WATCH HERE

– Remarks as Delivered –

Let me just say first, I wish we did not have to be here tonight. But more than three years after the withdrawal from Afghanistan, President Biden [and] Vice President Harris have yet to hold a single person accountable for this catastrophic failure of epic proportions.

When asked just this month if there had been any accountability for the disastrous withdrawal, National Security Advisor Kirby responded, ‘We’ve all held ourselves accountable.’

That answer doesn’t fool anybody.

If the administration refuses to hold itself accountable, then the duly elected Representatives of the American people must.

In April 2021, the President announced the Biden-Harris administration would withdraw from Afghanistan.

They ignored the Taliban’s violations of the Doha agreement.

They ignored objections by our nation’s military and intelligence experts.

They ignored objections by our NATO allies.

The Biden-Harris administration was determined to withdraw from Afghanistan no matter the cost. According to their own admission, the Doha Agreement was, ‘immaterial,’ to that decision.

Following President Biden’s go-to-zero order, the Taliban captured province after province.

Meanwhile, thanks to this administration’s feckless policy, there were less than 1,000 U.S. troops on the ground and our Afghan allies suffered unsustainable losses.

All the while, this administration did nothing to plan an emergency evacuation, while denying the threats to American interests, American citizens, and our decades-long Afghan partners.

On August 15, 2021, Kabul fell, and the administration’s utter failure to prepare became painfully clear.

As my report revealed, the Biden-Harris administration had the information and opportunity to take necessary steps to plan for the inevitable collapse of the Afghan government. But at each step of the way, they prioritized optics – political optics – over the security of brave Americans.

To protect their partisan aims, the administration proffered our servicemembers, diplomats, citizens, and allies on a silver platter to the Taliban and ISIS-K.

The Biden-Harris administration treated the Taliban – a terrorist group – as security partners during the evacuation. They created the environment that allowed an ISIS-K terrorist to pass through a Taliban checkpoint.

Think about that. A Taliban checkpoint. We put the Taliban in charge.

On August 26, 2021, that terrorist detonated his bomb, murdering 13 U.S. servicemembers and over 170 Afghan civilians and injuring 45 American servicemembers.

It was the deadliest day for the U.S. military in Afghanistan since 2012, and it never should have happened.

Rather than own up to their mistakes, this administration touts their deadly evacuation as a success. I believe that is shameful.

Today, U.S. national security is degraded, America’s credibility on the world stage is damaged, and the moral injury to America’s veterans and servicemembers is a stain on this administration’s credibility and legacy.

When I became chairman, I launched an investigation so that we, Congress, and the American people could work to ensure that what happened in Afghanistan never happens again.

And, as everyone here knows, we cannot begin to fix a problem without first admitting there is a problem. That is what accountability is all about. My 353-page report on this investigation works to provide that accountability.

So, we take the first step in fixing the problem by holding accountable those leaders who were derelict in their duties and responsible for this disaster. They are:
- Joseph Biden, President of the United States.
- Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States.
- Jake Sullivan, National Security Advisor.
- Jonathan Finer, Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor.
- Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Deputy National Security Advisor.
- John Kirby, National Security Council Spokesperson and former Defense Department Spokesperson.
- Jen Psaki, Former White House Press Secretary.
- Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State.
- Brian McKeon, Former Deputy Secretary of State.
- Ross Wilson, U.S. Ambassador and former Chief of Mission to U.S. Embassy in Kabul.
- Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. Ambassador and former Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation.
- Ned Price, Deputy to the U.S. Representative to the United Nations and former State Department Spokesperson.
- Lloyd Austin, U.S. Secretary of Defense.
- Derek Chollet, Chief of Staff to Secretary Austin and former Counselor to Secretary Blinken.
- Colin Kahl, Former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.
The American people, U.S servicemembers, veterans, and Gold Star families – who recently received the Congressional Gold Star medal, here in the Capitol – deserve both transparency and accountability. Those who support this resolution will deliver both. This will serve as a productive step toward ensuring that this never happens again.

So, with that, I thank the committee for your time and look forward to your questions.

###

MIL OSI USA News –
September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General Alan Wilson joins brief supporting victims of Hamas terrorismRead More

Source: US State of South Carolina

Brief opposes attempt by an organization that allegedly engaged in pro-Hamas propaganda and recruiting to dismiss victims’ claims

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson joined a 22-state coalition in filing a friend-of-the-court brief urging a federal court to deny requests to dismiss a lawsuit brought by survivors and family members of those murdered during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terrorist attack. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA). It seeks to hold AJP Educational Foundation Inc. (also known as American Muslims for Palestine (AMP)) and the National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP) accountable for allegedly providing material support to Hamas, a designated foreign terrorist organization. The brief argues that dismissing these claims before discovery would undermine the ability of victims to receive compensation and prevent organizations like AMP and NSJP from being held accountable for their actions.

“These groups said the day after the terrorist attack that they were part of a unified revolt under Hamas’s command, and they need to be held accountable,” Attorney General Wilson said. “Hamas is terrorism with a capital T. The Anti-Terrorism Act is the most effective way for survivors and victims’ families to try to get compensation from these groups, so the Court should deny the request to dismiss these claims.”

The ATA was specifically designed to provide a civil cause of action for victims of international terrorism, allowing them to seek monetary damages from those who provide material support to terrorist groups. Because some states, like Virginia, have limited avenues for victims to seek damages from supporters of terrorism, the ATA remains the most effective tool for plaintiffs seeking compensation for the horrific acts committed against them. In this case, the ATA may be the only legal recourse for the plaintiffs to hold AMP and NSJP accountable for their alleged actions.

The lawsuit alleges that AMP’s material support for Hamas has persisted for decades, originating from its predecessor organizations, including the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) and the Islamic Association of Palestine (IAP), whose board members were convicted of providing material support in the form of millions of dollars to Hamas.

Leaders from HLF and IAP, including AMP’s Executive Director, formed AMP after those organizations collapsed and dissolved. There is no evidence that AMP, NSJP, or their affiliates have ceased the nefarious activities of the defunct organizations. The lawsuit alleges that they have instead perpetuated this legacy by engaging in propaganda and recruitment for Hamas.

Hamas’s charter explicitly calls for its supporters to engage in communication and propaganda efforts on its behalf to join the battle. In the wake of the October 7 attack, Hamas leadership urged international supporters to rally. NSJP responded by releasing a “Day of Resistance Toolkit” that the lawsuit alleges instructs members on how to continue their support for Hamas.

Additionally, in Virginia, where AMP is based, Attorney General Jason Miyares launched a separate investigation into potential violations of state law, including allegations that AMP used funds to support terrorist organizations.

Attorney General Wilson is joined in this brief, led by Virginia Attorney General Miyares and Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, by Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia.

To read the amicus brief, click here.

MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Global: Ukraine drone strikes demonstrate its continuing intent to fight the long war against Russia

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By James Horncastle, Assistant Professor and Edward and Emily McWhinney Professor in International Relations, Simon Fraser University

Ukraine recently launched a long-range drone strike on a Russian ammunition depot in the Tver region of Russia. Ukraine followed up the strike with additional drone strikes near Tver and Krasnador.

These strikes were notable for two reasons. First, the destruction may represent Ukraine’s most successful drone strikes in the current phase of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Second, Toropets, where the first strike took place, is approximately 480 kilometres from the Russia-Ukraine border.

The success of the attack has caused considerable elation among Ukraine’s supporters.

The drone strikes, however, will not fundamentally alter the current battlefield. But they are part of broader efforts by Ukraine to undermine Russia’s ability to wage war. These efforts are unlikely to bear fruit in 2024, but do improve Ukraine’s position for 2025 and potentially beyond.

The failed search for fast victory

Both Ukraine and Russia have sought rapid victories in the war.

Russia, based on captured documents, believed that its invasion in 2022 would only take 10 days to result in total Ukrainian capitulation. Ukrainian resolve and the weaknesses of Russian armed forces, however, doomed this effort.

Ukraine and its supporters, likewise, placed too much hope in a decisive victory in the 2023 summer offensive. But their hopes were quashed by a Russian army that was not only superior to its 2022 iteration and fighting on the defensive, but also by structural weaknesses in the newly constituted Ukrainian units as well.

The reality of the Russia-Ukraine war is that rapid and decisive victories for either side are impractical. Instead, both Ukraine and Russia are undertaking efforts to win in 2025 and beyond.

Russian tactical actions

Ukraine realized it was in an existential fight from the outset of Russia’s invasion in February 2022. Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s focus on a rapid victory in Ukraine, however, meant Russia was unprepared for a protracted conflict.

Russia, however, adapted to the prolonged war, using the mercenary Wagner Group to stabilize its position in Ukraine. Russia’s efforts to find soldiers for the war effort included giving the Wagner Group the green light to recruit from Russian prisons.

Read more:
Russians flee the draft as the reality of the war in Ukraine hits home

These efforts, however, were more akin to patching holes in the Russian war effort than addressing its underlying issues. In September 2022, Putin announced a partial mobilization of Russian reservists, totalling 300,000 additional soldiers.

A Russian recruit and his wife kiss and hug each other outside a military recruitment centre in Volgograd, Russia, in September 2022.
(AP Photo)

This mobilization and subsequent recruitment efforts gave Russia the personnel advantages it had at the beginning of the conflict. The reinforcements have allowed Russia to resume grinding offensive operations in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. Notably, Russian forces are now nearing the strategic city of Pokrovsk.

Economic sanctions have affected Russia’s ability to produce high-end weapons. Nevertheless, it’s still able to acquire arms at scale from its domestic arms industry as well as from countries like Iran and North Korea.

Combined with Russia’s diplomatic offensive in Africa, Putin is not as isolated as western countries commonly believe.

Ukrainian morale

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is a war of attrition, and most analyses have assumed that type of war plays to Russia’s advantage given its material superiority. A factor neglected by many analysts in wars of attrition, however, is the importance of morale.

The Ukrainian government and armed forces have not neglected this crucial point. The recent and ongoing drone strikes help to boost declining Ukrainian morale as the war takes it toll and as hopes of a rapid conclusion have faded, both among Ukrainians themselves and their allies.

Ukrainian efforts over the summer should be viewed through this morale lens. When doing so, it also becomes evident that Ukraine is fighting the long war versus seeking decisive victories.

None of Ukraine’s major efforts over the summer, when viewed in isolation, have a serious chance of changing the war in a significant manner. The Ukrainian army’s occupation of parts of the Kursk region this summer brought the conflict to Russian territory. The amount of territory taken by Ukraine, however, is negligible.

Each operation improves Ukraine’s ability to fight a protracted war, however, while simultaneously undermining Russia’s material and moral resources. They also boost the country’s morale while humiliating Putin at the same time.

Long-term vision

Russia staked considerable political capital and material benefits in acquiring support in Africa through the Wagner Group.

Ukrainian special operation forces efforts in Africa against the Wagner Group undermine Russia’s ability to acquire diplomatic support and other resources.

Read more:
Ukrainian special operations abroad are part of its broader war effort against Russia

Ukraine’s drone strikes will not alter Russian military supplies in a permanent way. But the strikes, using domestically produced drones, creates pressure on Ukraine’s allies to allow western weapons to be used with potentially greater effect.

The daily news cycle focuses on the importance of individual acts. In assessing how the conflict is developing, however, it’s important to understand how these acts, ranging from drone strikes to ground offensives, are connected to an overall strategy. Each is designed to improve Ukraine’s position while undermining Russia’s during a protracted war.

James Horncastle does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Ukraine drone strikes demonstrate its continuing intent to fight the long war against Russia – https://theconversation.com/ukraine-drone-strikes-demonstrate-its-continuing-intent-to-fight-the-long-war-against-russia-239438

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Security: B. Chad Yarbrough Named Assistant Director of the Criminal Investigative Division

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News (b)

Director Christopher Wray has named B. Chad Yarbrough as assistant director of the Criminal Investigative Division at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Mr. Yarbrough most recently served as special agent in charge of the Dallas Field Office.

Mr. Yarbrough joined the FBI as a special agent in 2006 and was assigned to the Dothan Resident Agency of the Mobile Field Office in Alabama, where he investigated violent crime and crimes against children. In 2010, Mr. Yarbrough transferred to the Chicago Field Office. As a member of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, he investigated domestic terrorism matters.

In 2012, Mr. Yarbrough was promoted to supervisory special agent and worked in the Inspection Division at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. In 2014, Mr. Yarbrough was named supervisory special agent of the Mobile Field Office’s Violent Criminal Threats squad. In 2017, Mr. Yarbrough was promoted to assistant special agent in charge of the Pittsburgh Field Office, overseeing the criminal, crisis-management, and SWAT programs.

In 2020, Mr. Yarborough was promoted to section chief of the National Threat Operations Section. In 2021, he was named deputy assistant director in the Criminal Investigative Division at FBI Headquarters, overseeing the Transnational Organized Crime, Violent Crime, and Operational Support sections.

In 2023, Mr. Yarbrough was named special agent in charge of the Dallas Field Office.

Mr. Yarbrough holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Sam Houston State University in Texas. Prior to joining the FBI, Mr. Yarbrough served as a special agent for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

MIL Security OSI –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Security: Former Soldier Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Posting Video of Himself Threatening to Kill Personnel at Fort Irwin Army Base

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

RIVERSIDE, California – A Northern California man and former soldier was sentenced today to 24 months in federal prison for posting online videos of himself threatening to kill multiple military personnel at the Fort Irwin army base in San Bernardino County.

Christian Ernest Beyer, 42, of Petaluma, was sentenced by United States District Judge Suzanne S. Sykes.

Beyer pleaded guilty on June 28 to one count of sending threats by interstate communication.

“Mr. Beyer’s desire to carry out violence against members of our military and their families led to a federal prison sentence,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “Our military servicemembers deserve better and we will continue to prosecute those who seek to harm public servants.”

“Today’s sentence is a stern reminder that anyone who harms innocent military members and their families will serve jail time,” said Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force will continue to investigate all threats against those who bravely serve their country.”

According to court documents, in October 2023, Beyer published a video on his personal YouTube page. The video is approximately three minutes in length and contains multiple threats directed at four victims and their families. The victims were specific military personnel at Fort Irwin.

Beyer is an army veteran formerly stationed at Fort Irwin who was court martialed in 2021 for assault.

He has been in federal custody since November 2023.

The FBI investigated this matter as part of its Los Angeles Joint Terrorism Task Force.

Assistant United States Attorney Matt Coe-Odess of the General Crimes Section prosecuted this case.

MIL Security OSI –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Crow Introduces the Overseas CRISIS Act

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jason Crow (CO-06)

Bipartisan legislation would improve the State Department’s crisis response in US-involved conflicts abroad

WASHINGTON — Congressman Jason Crow (D-CO-06), Afghanistan veteran and Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability, introduced the Overseas Crisis Response Implementation System and Immediate Strategy Act(Overseas CRISIS Act) to consistently evaluate and improve the US response to emergency situations abroad. The legislation follows the US Department of State’s After Action Review on Afghanistan, which highlighted the critical need to strengthen the Department’s overall crisis preparedness and response capabilities, utilize Department personnel more effectively in a crisis, and bolster our existing infrastructure for crisis communications.

The Overseas CRISIS Act addresses these recommendations to ensure that the United States is ready and empowered to respond effectively to crises, wherever they may occur. Specifically, this bill would establish a Crisis Management and Strategy Unit within the State Department to coordinate the Department’s overall response to international crises and establish a Department of State Reserve Corps to leverage expert personnel when circumstances demand them. By requiring regular crisis simulations and exercises, creating a red team capability, and strengthening training through a clearinghouse of best practices and Foreign Service Institute curriculum, these measures will support US capabilities to address emergent threats and protect key diplomatic personnel and assets worldwide.

“As an Afghanistan veteran, I know the importance of readiness and decisive action when we respond to emergency situations abroad,” said Congressman Crow. “I’m proud to lead this effort to strengthen the State Department’s preparation for, and response to, international crises. Proactively assessing best practices, challenging existing assumptions, and investing in our workforce will help protect American citizens and our allies while advancing our national security interests around the world.”

As a former Army Ranger in Afghanistan, Congressman Crow continues his work to honor our promises to our Afghan partners and advance US interests abroad. Crow’s efforts include introducing the Afghan Allies Protection Act to expand and extend the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program, and co-leading the Afghan Adjustment Act to provide a legal adjustment process for Afghan allies already in the US. This year, Crow’s fierce advocacy, alongside House and Senate colleagues, resulted in the authorization of 12,000 additional Afghan SIVs in the State Department’s Fiscal Year 2024 foreign operations funding bill.

Read the full text of the legislation here.

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MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: Chairman McCaul on Potential Withdrawal of U.S. Troops from Iraq

Source: US House Committee on Foreign Affairs

Media Contact 202-226-8467

Washington, D.C. — Today, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul issued the following statement on reports that the Biden-Harris administration may withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq despite continued threats posed by ISIS and affiliates to U.S. national security.

“No one wants American soldiers in harm’s way a second longer than needed. With this in mind, I remain deeply concerned about the possibility of committing to a time-bound withdrawal from Iraq as we see an uptick in ISIS attacks across the Middle East, and ISIS infiltration across the U.S. southern border. In 2011, we withdrew from Iraq before our counterterrorism mission was complete. Just a few years later, ISIS had overrun the country and established a so-called ‘caliphate.’ Any U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq needs to be conditions based. Our Iraqi partners must demonstrate their ability to effectively take over the D-ISIS mission independent of coalition support, and must show sustained progress toward achieving ISIS’ lasting defeat. It should not be driven by arbitrary, politically motivated deadlines.”

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MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024

MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Change of British High Commissioner to Canada: Robert Tinline

Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

Robert Tinline has been appointed British High Commissioner to Canada.

Robert Tinline

Mr Robert Tinline has been appointed British High Commissioner to Canada in succession to Ms Susannah Goshko CMG, who will be transferring to another Diplomatic Service appointment.

Mr Tinline will take up his appointment during February 2025.

Curriculum vitae

Full name: Robert Tinline

Year	Role
2022 to present	FCDO, Director Americas
2020 to 2022	FCDO, Director COVID
2017 to 2019	Joint Intelligence Committee, Chief of the Assessments Staff
2015 to 2017	Head of HMG Counter Proliferation and Arms Control Centre
2012 to 2015	UK Representation to the EU, Deputy Head of Mission
2011 to 2012	Madrid, Deputy Head of Mission
2010 to 2011	FCO, Head of Consular Assistance
2008 to 2010	FCO, Head of Near East Department
2007 to 2008	Basra, Deputy Consul General
2005 to 2007	FCO, Press Office
2003 to 2005	FCO, Counter Terrorism Department
1999 to 2002	Bogotá, Second Secretary
1997 to 1998	FCO, Security Policy Department
1997	Joined FCO

Media enquiries

Email newsdesk@fcdo.gov.uk

Telephone 020 7008 3100

Contact the FCDO Communication Team via email (monitored 24 hours a day) in the first instance, and we will respond as soon as possible.

Published 23 September 2024

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

September 29, 2024

MIL-OSI USA: Speaker Johnson: SAVE Act is “One of the Most Important Votes Members of this Chamber Will Ever Take”

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Mike Johnson (LA-04)

WASHINGTON — Utilizing his “magic minute,” Speaker Johnson argued today on the House floor for swift passage of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, legislation introduced by Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) that would increase protections against noncitizens and illegal aliens voting in U.S. elections.

“This will be one of the most important votes that members of this chamber will ever take in their entire careers. And it’s an issue we never thought we would have to actually address, but that moment has come to us now,” Speaker Johnson said. “Should Americans and Americans alone determine the outcome of American elections? Or should we allow foreigners and illegal aliens to decide who sits in the White House and in the People’s House and in the Senate?”

Click here to watch Speaker Johnson’s remarks from the House floor

Below are excerpts from Speaker Johnson’s remarks.

On the risks posed by noncitizen voting and illegal immigration:

Americans all over the country understand what’s at stake here. They refuse to hand over our country to illegal aliens, cartels, traffickers and violent criminals and murderers. That’s what’s at stake. Now, look, I hate to say it, but we have so many noncitizens in the country right now. That if only one out of 100 of those illegal aliens voted, you’re talking about hundreds of 1000s of votes being cast.

And remember, these aren’t huddled masses of frightened families yearning to be free. In January of this year, we took the largest delegation of members of Congress to the border. In January, we went to Eagle Pass, Texas, it was the epicenter of the open border crisis at the time, and we met with the Border Patrol agents and high of high officers in US Customs and Border Patrol and they told us the truth.

They said down there at Eagle Pass of all the many, many countless people who have come across that border illegally because Joe Biden and Secretary Mayorkas opened the border wide, they said you should know this members of Congress, they said 70%, 70% of the people who crossed illegally in Eagle Pass in the Del Rio sector are single adult males between the ages of 18 and 49. These are not huddled masses of people seeking refuge from persecution, you know seeking asylum here for just causes. These are people who do not have our best designs in mind.

Because of Joe Biden’s open border policies, we’ve got ISIS smuggling rings operating in our country. We have cartels. We have operational control of the border. We’ve got Chinese and Russian spies here in our midst roaming freely in our country. We’ve got murderers and rapists offending again and again across the country and they are never deported. These are people that Joe Biden and his administration are releasing into the country every day. The director of the FBI has testified multiple times now before this before Congress before our committees and said all the red lights are flashing. What is he referring to? The unprecedented dangerous situation. The enemy is here the enemy is in our country now…

We’re facing a dangerously high number of dangerous individuals who could actually change the outcome of our elections and thus determine the future of this great Republic.

On addressing counter-arguments:

Now, some of our colleagues are arguing, some of the outside interest groups who want those open borders, the open borders crowd, they’re pointing out that it’s already illegal to vote and you don’t really need to do this. That’s true. It is illegal to vote under federal law. Only US citizens are supposed to vote in a US election. But here’s the problem. The law is not being followed.

Even though it’s already illegal, this is happening. Let me give a couple examples: in Georgia State election officials are catching 1000s of noncitizens who are trying to register to vote but they are one of only a few states that is making that effort right now to check the voter rolls on the front end before the disaster occurs.

In May, the state of Ohio, they had to remove 137 noncitizen voters from the rolls when they did a quick check. In May of last year, Virginia removed almost 1500 noncitizens from their voter rolls. But here’s the catch, only after more than 800 of those noncitizen ballots had been cast in 2019. They already participated in an election illegally.

It shouldn’t surprise us that criminals who break our border laws my friends are also going to break our election laws. These are not paragons of virtue in all these cases, as the 70% of people who came across the border who are military aged males coming into our country without any deterrence at all. They’re not law abiding citizens my friends, they’re illegal aliens and they should not be participating in the election. Remember, if just a small percentage, a fraction of a fraction of all those illegals that Joe Biden is brought in here vote, if they do vote, it wouldn’t just change one race and it might it might potentially change all of our races.

On the necessity of the SAVE Act:

The Save Act is the bill before us. It’s not complicated. It’s written in very plain language so that everyone can read it and understand it.

Everybody understands the SAVE Act. We’ll do several important things and all of them are obvious common-sense measures. Here’s the list: 1) It requires state election officials to ask about citizenship before providing voter registration forms. What a concept. 2) It requires an individual to provide proof of citizenship, if indeed he or she wants to register to vote in our federal elections. 3) Provide states with access to our federal agency databases. Why is that so important? Well, so they can remove noncitizens from voter rolls and confirm citizenship for individuals who lack that all important proof of citizenship. 4) It directs the Department of Homeland Security to determine whether to conduct removal proceedings if an illegal alien or noncitizen has been identified as having been registered to vote in federal elections.

American citizens will be protected and in no way harmed by this bill. There is not a conceivable argument that the Democrats can make to oppose the commonsense measures that we’re putting before them today. Nothing changes the voter registration process in the states. The only people who will face hurdles here are those who are trying to break our federal laws.

And that’s why it’s patently absurd that the White House issued a veto threat. They issued a veto threat. President Biden’s is going to veto the bill. And Democrat leadership right now is engaging in a very robust whipping operation to stop this bill from being passed. It is absolutely outrageous. And the American people need to know what’s happening here. It’s dangerous. It’s dangerous for the future of our country. It’s dangerous for the future of your family if you’re watching at home.

Joseph Story was the great American legal scholar and Supreme Court Justice and the author of the seminal commentaries on the constitution that we used to have to read in law school. And he said it this way on this subject this is very important. Listen to what he said. He said, “If aliens might be admitted indiscriminately to enjoy all the rights of citizens at the will of a single state, the Union might itself be endangered by an influx of foreigners, hostile to its institutions, ignorant of its powers and incapable of due estimate of its privileges.”

He said that so well, I wholeheartedly agree. I know everyone on our side of the aisle does. If we’re going to maintain this great American experiment, this grand experiment in self governance that we’ve now kept for 248 years, if we’re going to keep it for more than we have to ensure that the outcomes of our election remain in the hands of Americans alone.

MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: The Wilmington Declaration Joint Statement from the Leaders of Australia, India, Japan, and the United States

US Senate News:

Source: The White House
Today, we—Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan, and President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. of the United States—met for the fourth in-person Quad Leaders Summit, hosted by President Biden in Wilmington, Delaware.
Four years since elevating the Quad to a leader-level format, the Quad is more strategically aligned than ever before and is a force for good that delivers real, positive, and enduring impact for the Indo-Pacific. We celebrate the fact that over just four years, Quad countries have built a vital and enduring regional grouping that will buttress the Indo-Pacific for decades to come.
Anchored by shared values, we seek to uphold the international order based on the rule of law. Together we represent nearly two billion people and over one-third of global gross domestic product. We reaffirm our steadfast commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific that is inclusive and resilient. Through our cooperation, the Quad is harnessing all of our collective strengths and resources, from governments to the private sector to people-to-people relationships, to support the region’s sustainable development, stability, and prosperity by delivering tangible benefits to the people of the Indo-Pacific.
As four leading maritime democracies in the Indo-Pacific, we unequivocally stand for the maintenance of peace and stability across this dynamic region, as an indispensable element of global security and prosperity. We strongly oppose any destabilizing or unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion. We condemn recent illicit missile launches in the region that violate UN Security Council resolutions. We express serious concern over recent dangerous and aggressive actions in the maritime domain. We seek a region where no country dominates and no country is dominated—one where all countries are free from coercion, and can exercise their agency to determine their futures. We are united in our commitment to upholding a stable and open international system, with its strong support for human rights, the principle of freedom, rule of law, democratic values, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and peaceful settlement of disputes and prohibition on the threat or use of force in accordance with international law, including the UN Charter.
Reflecting the Vision Statement issued by Leaders at the 2023 Quad Summit, we are and will continue to be transparent in what we do. Respect for the leadership of regional institutions, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), and the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), is and will remain at the center of the Quad’s efforts.
A Global Force for Good
Health Security
The COVID-19 pandemic reminded the world how important health security is to our societies, our economies, and the stability of our region. In 2021 and 2022, the Quad came together to deliver more than 400 million safe and effective COVID-19 doses to Indo-Pacific countries and almost 800 million vaccines globally, and provided $5.6 billion to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment for vaccine supply to low and middle-income countries. In 2023, we announced the Quad Health Security Partnership, through which the Quad continues to deliver for partners across the region, including through the delivery of pandemic preparedness training.
In response to the current clade I mpox outbreak, as well as the ongoing clade II mpox outbreak, we plan to coordinate our efforts to promote equitable access to safe, effective, quality-assured mpox vaccines, including where appropriate expanding vaccine manufacturing in low and middle-income countries.
Today we are proud to announce the Quad Cancer Moonshot, a groundbreaking partnership to save lives in the Indo-Pacific region. Building on the Quad’s successful partnership during the COVID-19 pandemic, our collective investments to address cancer in the region, our scientific and medical capabilities, and contributions from our private and non-profit sectors, we will collaborate with partner nations to reduce the burden of cancer in the region.
The Quad Cancer Moonshot will focus initially on combatting cervical cancer—a preventable cancer that continues to claim too many lives—in the Indo-Pacific region, while laying the groundwork to address other forms of cancer as well. The United States intends to support this initiative, including through U.S. Navy medical trainings and professional exchanges around cervical cancer prevention in the region starting in 2025, and through U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) openness to finance eligible private sector-driven projects to prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer, including cervical cancer. Australia is announcing the expansion of the Elimination Partnership in the Indo-Pacific for Cervical Cancer Program (EPICC) with support of the Australian Government and the Minderoo Foundation to AUD 29.6 million, to cover up to eleven countries in the Indo-Pacific in helping advance the elimination of cervical cancer and support complementary initiatives focused on cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. India commits to providing HPV sampling kits, detection kits, and cervical cancer vaccines worth $7.5 million to the Indo-Pacific region. India, through its $10 million commitment to the WHO’s Global Initiative on Digital Health, will offer technical assistance to interested countries in the Indo-Pacific region for the adoption and deployment of its Digital Public Infrastructure that helps in cancer screening and care. Japan is providing medical equipment, including CT and MRI scanners, and other assistance worth approximately $27 million, including in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Timor-Leste, and is contributing to international organizations such as the Gavi Vaccine Alliance. Quad partners also intend to work, within respective national contexts, to collaborate in advancing research and development in the area of cancer and to increase private sector and non-governmental sector activities in support of reducing the burden of cervical cancer in the region. We welcome a number of new, ambitious commitments from non-governmental institutions, including the Serum Institute of India, in partnership with Gavi, which will support orders of up to 40 million HPV vaccine doses, subject to necessary approvals, for the Indo-Pacific region, and which may be increased consistent with demand. We also welcome a new $100 million commitment from Women’s Health and Empowerment Network to address cervical cancer in Southeast Asia.
Altogether, our scientific experts assess that the Quad Cancer Moonshot will save hundreds of thousands of lives over the coming decades.
Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR)
Twenty years since the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, when the Quad first came together to surge humanitarian assistance, we continue to respond to the vulnerabilities caused by natural disasters in the Indo-Pacific. In 2022, the Quad established the “Quad Partnership on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief in the Indo-Pacific” and signed Guidelines for the Quad Partnership on HADR in the Indo-Pacific, which enable Quad countries to rapidly coordinate in the face of natural disasters. We welcome Quad governments working to ensure readiness to rapidly respond, including through pre-positioning of essential relief supplies, in the event of a natural disaster; this effort extends from the Indian Ocean region, to Southeast Asia, to the Pacific.
In May 2024, following a tragic landslide in Papua New Guinea, Quad partners collectively contributed over $5 million in humanitarian assistance. Quad partners are working together to provide over $4 million in humanitarian assistance to support the people of Vietnam in light of the devastating consequences of Typhoon Yagi. The Quad continues to support partners in the region in their longer-term resiliency efforts.
Maritime Security
In 2022, we announced the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) to offer near-real-time, integrated, and cost-effective maritime domain awareness information to partners in the region. Since then, in consultation with partners, we have successfully scaled the program across the Indo-Pacific region—through the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency, with partners in Southeast Asia, to the Information Fusion Center—Indian Ocean Region, Gurugram. In doing so, the Quad has helped well over two dozen countries access dark vessel maritime domain awareness data, so they can better monitor the activities in their exclusive economic zones—including unlawful activity. Australia commits to boosting its cooperation with the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency to enhance regional maritime domain awareness in the Pacific through satellite data, training, and capacity building.
Today we are announcing a new regional Maritime Initiative for Training in the Indo-Pacific (MAITRI), to enable our partners in the region to maximize tools provided through IPMDA and other Quad partner initiatives, to monitor and secure their waters, enforce their laws, and deter unlawful behavior. We look forward to India hosting the inaugural MAITRI workshop in 2025. Furthermore, we welcome the launch of a Quad maritime legal dialogue to support efforts to uphold the rules-based maritime order in the Indo-Pacific. In addition, Quad partners intend to layer new technology and data into IPMDA over the coming year, to continue to deliver cutting edge capability and information to the region.
We are also announcing today that the U.S. Coast Guard, Japan Coast Guard, Australian Border Force, and Indian Coast Guard, plan to launch a first-ever Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission in 2025, to improve interoperability and advance maritime safety, and continuing with further missions in future years across the Indo-Pacific.
We also announce today the launch of a Quad Indo-Pacific Logistics Network pilot project, to pursue shared airlift capacity among our nations and leverage our collective logistics strengths, in order to support civilian response to natural disasters more rapidly and efficiently across the Indo-Pacific region.
Quality Infrastructure
The Quad remains committed to improving the region’s connectivity through the development of quality, resilient infrastructure.
We are pleased to announce the Quad Ports of the Future Partnership, which will harness the Quad’s expertise to support sustainable and resilient port infrastructure development across the Indo-Pacific, in collaboration with regional partners. In 2025, we intend to hold a Quad Regional Ports and Transportation Conference, hosted by India in Mumbai. Through this new partnership, Quad partners intend to coordinate, exchange information, share best practices with partners in the region, and leverage resources to mobilize government and private sector investments in quality port infrastructure across the Indo-Pacific region.
We applaud the expansion of the Quad Infrastructure Fellowships to more than 2,200 experts, and note that Quad partners have already provided well over 1,300 fellowships since the initiative was announced at last year’s Summit. We also appreciate the workshop organized by the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure in India, working to empower partners across the Indo-Pacific to strengthen power sector resilience.
Through the Quad Partnership for Cable Connectivity and Resilience, we continue to support and strengthen quality undersea cable networks in the Indo-Pacific, the capacity, durability, and reliability of which are inextricably linked to the security and prosperity of the region and the world. In support of these efforts, Australia launched the Cable Connectivity and Resilience Centre in July, which is delivering workshops and policy and regulatory assistance in response to requests from across the region. Japan will extend technical cooperation to improve public ICT infrastructure management capacity for an undersea cable in Nauru and Kiribati. The United States has conducted over 1,300 capacity building trainings for telecommunication officials and executives from 25 countries in the Indo-Pacific; today the U.S. announces its intent, working with Congress, to invest an additional $3.4 million to extend and expand this training program.
Investments in cable projects by Quad partners will help support all Pacific island countries in achieving primary telecommunication cable connectivity by the end of 2025. Since the last Quad Leaders’ Summit, Quad partners have committed over $140 million to undersea cable builds in the Pacific, alongside contributions from other likeminded partners. Complementing these investments in new undersea cables, India has commissioned a feasibility study to examine expansion of undersea cable maintenance and repair capabilities in the Indo-Pacific.
We reaffirm our support for the Pacific Quality Infrastructure Principles, which are an expression of Pacific voices on infrastructure.
We underscore our commitment to an inclusive, open, sustainable, fair, safe, reliable and secure digital future to advance our shared prosperity and sustainable development across the Indo-Pacific. In this context, we welcome the Quad Principles for Development and Deployment of Digital Public Infrastructure.
Critical and Emerging Technologies
Today, we are proud to announce an ambitious expansion of our partnership to deliver trusted technology solutions to the broader Indo-Pacific region.
Last year, Quad partners launched a landmark initiative to deploy the first Open Radio Access Network (RAN) in the Pacific, in Palau, to support a secure, resilient, and interconnected telecommunications ecosystem. Since then, the Quad has pledged approximately $20 million to this effort.
Quad partners also welcome the opportunity to explore additional Open RAN projects in Southeast Asia. We plan to expand support for ongoing Open RAN field trials and the Asia Open RAN Academy (AORA) in the Philippines, building on the initial $8 million in support that the United States and Japan pledged earlier this year. The United States also plans to invest over $7 million to support the global expansion of AORA, including through establishing a first-of-its-kind Open RAN workforce training initiative at scale in South Asia, in partnership with Indian institutions.
Quad partners will also explore collaborating with the Tuvalu Telecommunications Corporation to ensure the country’s readiness for nationwide 5G deployment.
We remain committed to advancing our cooperation on semiconductors through better leveraging of our complementary strengths to realize a diversified and competitive market and enhance resilience of Quad’s semiconductor supply chains. We welcome a Memorandum of Cooperation between Quad countries for the Semiconductor Supply Chains Contingency Network.
Through the Advancing Innovations for Empowering NextGen Agriculture (AI-ENGAGE) initiative announced at last year’s Summit, our governments are deepening leading-edge collaborative research to harness artiﬁcial intelligence, robotics, and sensing to transform agricultural approaches and empower farmers across the Indo-Pacific. We are pleased to announce an inaugural $7.5+ million in funding opportunities for joint research, and welcome the recent signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation between our science agencies to connect our research communities and advance shared research principles.
The United States, Australia, India, and Japan look forward to launching the Quad BioExplore Initiative—a funded mechanism that will support joint AI-driven exploration of diverse non-human biological data across all four countries.
This project will also be underpinned by the forthcoming Quad Principles for Research and Development Collaborations in Critical and Emerging Technologies.
Climate and Clean Energy
As we underscore the severe economic, social, and environmental consequences posed by the climate crisis, we continue to work together with Indo-Pacific partners, including through Quad Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Package (Q-CHAMP), to enhance climate and clean energy cooperation as well as promote adaptation and resilience. We emphasize the significant benefits of transitioning to a clean energy economy for our people, our planet, and our shared prosperity. Our countries intend to strengthen our cooperation to align policies, incentives, standards, and investments around creating high-quality, diversified clean energy supply chains that will enhance our collective energy security, create new economic opportunities across the region, and benefit local workers and communities around the world, particularly across the Indo-Pacific.
We will work together, through policy and public finance, to operationalize our commitment to catalyzing complementary and high-standard private sector investment in allied and partner clean energy supply chains. To this end, Australia will open applications for the Quad Clean Energy Supply Chains Diversification Program in November, providing AUD 50 million to support projects that develop and diversify solar panel, hydrogen electrolyzer and battery supply chains in the Indo-Pacific. India commits to invest $2 million in new solar projects in Fiji, Comoros, Madagascar, and Seychelles. Japan has committed to $122 million grants and loans in renewable energy projects in Indo-Pacific countries. The United States, through DFC, will continue to seek opportunities to mobilize private capital to solar, as well as wind, cooling, batteries, and critical minerals to expand and diversify supply chains.
We are pleased to announce a focused Quad effort to boost energy efficiency, including the deployment and manufacturing of high-efficiency affordable, cooling systems to enable climate-vulnerable communities to adapt to rising temperatures while simultaneously reducing strain on the electricity grid.
We jointly affirm our commitment to addressing the challenges posed by climate change and ensure the resilience and sustainability of port infrastructure. Quad partners will leverage our learning and expertise to forge a path towards sustainable and resilient port infrastructure, including through the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).
Cyber
In the face of a deteriorating security environment in the cyber domain, Quad countries intend to enhance our cybersecurity partnership to address common threats posed by state-sponsored actors, cybercriminals, and other non-state malicious actors. Our countries commit to taking concrete steps to increase our collective network defense and advance technical capabilities through greater threat information sharing and capacity building. We plan to coordinate joint efforts to identify vulnerabilities, protect national security networks and critical infrastructure networks, and coordinate more closely including on policy responses to significant cybersecurity incidents affecting the Quad’s shared priorities.
Quad countries are also partnering with software manufacturers, industry trade groups, and research centers to expand our commitmentto pursuing secure software development standards and certification, as endorsed in the Quad’s 2023 Secure Software Joint Principles. We will work to harmonize these standards to not only ensure that the development, procurement, and end-use of software for government networks is more secure, but that the cyber resilience of our supply chains, digital economies, and societies are collectively improved. Throughout this fall, Quad countries each plan to host campaigns to mark the annual Quad Cyber Challenge promoting responsible cyber ecosystems, public resources, and cybersecurity awareness. We are constructively engaging on the Quad Action Plan to Protect Commercial Undersea Telecommunications Cables, developed by the Quad Senior Cyber Group, as a complementary effort to the Quad Partnership for Cable Connectivity and Resilience. Our coordinated actions to protect global telecommunications infrastructure as guided by the Action Plan will advance our shared vision for future digital connectivity, global commerce, and prosperity.
Space
We recognize the essential contribution of space-related applications and technologies in the Indo-Pacific. Our four countries intend to continue delivering Earth Observation data and other space-related applications to assist nations across the Indo-Pacific to strengthen climate early warning systems and better manage the impacts of extreme weather events. In this context, we welcome India’s establishment of a space-based web portal for Mauritius, to support the concept of open science for space-based monitoring of extreme weather events and climate impact.
Quad Investors Network (QUIN)
We welcome private sector initiatives—including the Quad Investors Network (QUIN), which facilitates investments in strategic technologies, including clean energy, semiconductors, critical minerals, and quantum. The QUIN is mobilizing a number of investments to promote supply chain resilience, advance joint research and development, commercialize new technologies, and invest in our future workforce.
People-to-People Initiatives
The Quad is committed to strengthening the deep and enduring ties between our people, and among our partners. Through the Quad Fellowship, we are building a network of the next generation of science, technology, and policy leaders. Together with the Institute of International Education, which leads implementation of the Quad Fellowship, Quad governments welcome the second cohort of Quad Fellows and the expansion of the program to include students from ASEAN countries for the first time. The Government of Japan is supporting the program to enable Quad Fellows to study in Japan. The Quad welcomes the generous support of private sector partners for the next cohort of fellows, including Google, the Pratt Foundation, and Western Digital.
India is pleased to announce a new initiative to award fifty Quad scholarships, worth $500,000, to students from the Indo-Pacific to pursue a 4-year undergraduate engineering program at a Government of India-funded technical institution.
Working Together to Address Regional and Global Issues
Today we reaffirm our consistent and unwavering support for ASEAN centrality and unity. We continue to support implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and are committed to ensuring the Quad’s work is aligned with ASEAN’s principles and priorities.
We underscore ASEAN’s regional leadership role, including in the East Asia Summit, the region’s premier leader-led forum for strategic dialogue, and the ASEAN Regional Forum. As comprehensive strategic partners of ASEAN, our four countries intend to continue to strengthen our respective relationships with ASEAN and seek opportunities for greater Quad collaboration in support of the AOIP.
We recommit to working in partnership with Pacific island countries to achieve shared aspirations and address shared challenges. We reaffirm our support for Pacific regional institutions that have served the region well over many years, with the PIF as the region’s premier political and economic policy organization, and warmly welcome Tonga’s leadership as the current PIF Chair in 2024-2025. We continue to support the objectives of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent. We and our governments will continue to listen to and be guided at every step by Pacific priorities, including climate action, ocean health, resilient infrastructure, maritime security and financial integrity. In particular, we acknowledge climate change remains the single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security and wellbeing of the peoples of the Pacific and applaud Pacific island countries’ global leadership on climate action.
We remain committed to strengthening cooperation in the Indian Ocean region. We strongly support IORA as the Indian Ocean region’s premier forum for addressing the region’s challenges. We recognize India’s leadership in finalizing the IORA Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (IOIP) and express our support for its implementation. We thank Sri Lanka for its continued leadership as IORA Chair through this year and look forward to India’s assuming the IORA Chair in 2025.
As Leaders, we are steadfast in our conviction that international law, including respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the maintenance of peace, safety, security and stability in the maritime domain, underpin the sustainable development, and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific. We emphasize the importance of adherence to international law, particularly as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to address challenges to the global maritime rules-based order, including with respect to maritime claims. We are seriously concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas. We continue to express our serious concern about the militarization of disputed features, and coercive and intimidating maneuvers in the South China Sea. We condemn the dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels, including increasing use of dangerous maneuvers. We also oppose efforts to disrupt other countries’ offshore resource exploitation activities.We reaffirm that maritime disputes must be resolved peacefully and in accordance with international law, as reflected in UNCLOS. We re-emphasize the importance of maintaining and upholding freedom of navigation and overflight, other lawful uses of the sea, and unimpeded commerce consistent with international law. We re-emphasize the universal and unified character of UNCLOS and reaffirm that UNCLOS sets out the legal framework within which all activities in the oceans and the seas must be carried out. We underscore that the 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea is a significant milestone and the basis for peacefully resolving disputes between the parties.
Together, with our global and regional partners, we continue to support international institutions and initiatives that underpin global peace, prosperity and sustainable development. We reiterate our unwavering support for the UN Charter and the three pillars of the UN system. In consultation with our partners, we will work collectively to address attempts to unilaterally undermine the integrity of the UN, its Charter, and its agencies. We will reform the UN Security Council, recognizing the urgent need to make it more representative, inclusive, transparent, efficient, effective, democratic and accountable through expansion in permanent and non-permanent categories of membership of the UN Security Council. This expansion of permanent seats should include representation for Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean in a reformed Security Council.
We stand for adherence to international law and respect for principles of the UN Charter, including territorial integrity, sovereignty of all states, and peaceful resolution of disputes. We express our deepest concern over the war raging in Ukraine including the terrible and tragic humanitarian consequences. Each of us has visited Ukraine since the war began, and seen this first-hand; we reiterate the need for a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in line with international law, consistent with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, including respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity. We also note the negative impacts of the war in Ukraine with regard to global food and energy security, especially for developing and least developed countries. In the context of this war, we share the view that the use, or threat of use, of nuclear weapons is unacceptable. We underscore the importance of upholding international law, and in line with the UN Charter, reiterate that all states must refrain from the threat of or use of force against the territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence of any state.
We condemn North Korea’s destabilizing ballistic missile launches and its continued pursuit of nuclear weapons in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs). These launches pose a grave threat to international peace and stability. We urge North Korea to abide by all its obligations under the UNSCRs, refrain from further provocations and engage in substantive dialogue. We reaffirm our commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula consistent with relevant UNSCRs and call on all countries to fully implement these UNSCRs. We stress the need to prevent any proliferation of nuclear and missile technologies related to North Korea in the region and beyond. We express our grave concern over North Korea’s use of proliferation networks, malicious cyber activity and workers abroad to fund its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs. In that context, we urge all UN Member States to abide by the relevant UNSCRs including the prohibition on the transfer to North Korea or procurement from North Korea of all arms and related materiel. We express deep concern about countries that are deepening military cooperation with North Korea, which directly undermines the global nonproliferation regime. As the mandate of the UN Panel of Experts tasked with monitoring violations of North Korea-related UNSCR sanctions was not renewed, we reiterate our commitment to continued implementation of the relevant UNSCRs which remain in full force. We reconfirm the necessity of immediate resolution of the abductions issue.
We remain deeply concerned by the worsening political, security and humanitarian situation in Myanmar, including in Rakhine State, and again call for an immediate cessation of violence, the release of all those unjustly and arbitrarily detained, safe and unhindered humanitarian access, resolution of the crisis through constructive and inclusive dialogue among all stakeholders, and a return to the path of inclusive democracy. We reaffirm our strong support for ASEAN-led efforts, including the work of the ASEAN Chair and the Special Envoy of the ASEAN Chair on Myanmar. We call for full implementation of all commitments under the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus. The ongoing conflict and instability have serious implications for the region, including increases in transnational crime such as cybercrime, the illegal drug trade, and human trafficking. We restate our appeal to all States to prevent the flow of arms and dual-use material, including jet fuel. We remain resolute in our support for the people of Myanmar and commit to continuing to work with all stakeholders in a pragmatic and constructive way, to find a sustainable solution to the crisis in a process which is led by the people of Myanmar and returns Myanmar to the path of democracy.
We call upon all States to contribute to the safe, peaceful, responsible, and sustainable use of outer space. We remain committed to fostering international cooperation and transparency, as well as confidence-building measures with the goal of improving the security of outer space for all States. We reaffirm the importance of upholding the existing international legal framework for outer space activities, including the Outer Space Treaty, and the obligation of all States Parties to the Treaty not to place in orbit around the Earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction, install such weapons on celestial bodies, or station such weapons in outer space in any other manner.
The Quad reaffirms its commitment to fostering a resilient information environment including through its Countering Disinformation Working Group by supporting media freedom and addressing foreign information manipulation and interference, including disinformation, which undermines trust and sows discord in the international community. We recognize these tactics are intended to interfere with domestic and international interests, and we are committed, together with our regional partners, to leverage our collective expertise and capacity to respond. We reaffirm our commitment to respect international human rights law, strengthen civil society, support media freedom, address online harassment and abuse, including technology-facilitated gender-based violence, and counter unethical practices.
We unequivocally condemn terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism. We are committed to international cooperation and will work with our regional partners in a comprehensive and sustained manner to strengthen their capability to prevent, detect and respond to threats posed by terrorism and violent extremism, including threats posed by the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes, consistent with international law. We are committed to working together to promote accountability for the perpetrators of such terrorist attacks. We reiterate our condemnation of terrorist attacks including the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai and in Pathankot, and our commitment to pursuing designations, as appropriate, by the UN Security Council 1267 Sanctions Committee. We welcome the constructive discussions held at the first Quad Working Group on Counter-Terrorism and the fourth tabletop exercise in Honolulu last year, and look forward to Japan hosting the next meeting and tabletop exercise in November 2024.
We share great interest in achieving peace and stability in the Middle East. We unequivocally condemn the terror attacks on October 7, 2023. The large-scale loss of civilian lives and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is unacceptable. We affirm the imperative of securing the release of all hostages held by Hamas, and emphasize that the deal to release hostages would bring an immediate and prolonged ceasefire in Gaza. We underscore the urgent need to significantly increase deliveries of life-saving humanitarian assistance throughout Gaza as well as the crucial need to prevent regional escalation. We urge all parties to comply with international law, including international humanitarian law, as applicable. We welcome UNSCR S/RES/2735 (2024), and strongly urge all parties concerned to work immediately and steadily toward the release of all hostages and an immediate ceasefire. We call on all parties to take every feasible step to protect the lives of civilians including aid workers, and facilitate the rapid, safe and unimpeded humanitarian relief to civilians. We also encourage other countries, including those in the Indo-Pacific, to increase their support in order to address the dire humanitarian need on the ground. We underscore that the future recovery and reconstruction of Gaza should be supported by the international community. We remain committed to a sovereign, viable and independent Palestinian state taking into account Israel’s legitimate security concerns as part of a two-state solution that enables both Israelis and Palestinians to live in a just, lasting, and secure peace. Any unilateral actions that undermine the prospect of a two-state solution, including Israeli expansion of settlements and violent extremism on all sides, must end. We underscore the need to prevent the conflict from escalating and spilling over in the region.
We condemn the ongoing attacks perpetrated by the Houthis and their supporters against international and commercial vessels transiting through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, which are destabilizing the region and impeding navigational rights and freedoms and trade flows, and jeopardize the safety of vessels and people on board including sailors.
We reaffirm our commitment to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the achievement of its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We underscore the importance of achieving the SDGs in a comprehensive manner without selectively prioritizing a narrow set of such goals, and reaffirm that the UN has a central role in supporting countries in their implementation. With six years left, we remain steadfast in our commitment to the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and accelerating progress toward all the SDGs in a comprehensive manner that is balanced across three dimensions – economic, social and environmental. From global health to sustainable development and climate change, the global community benefits when all stakeholders have the opportunity to contribute to addressing these challenges. We affirm our commitment to contributing to and implementing the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda and to achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. We underscore our commitment to strongly engaging constructively in the discussion on advancing sustainable development, including at the Summit of the Future. The Quad continues to realize a safe and secure world where human rights and human dignity are protected, based on the central premise of the SDGs: “Leave no one behind.”
We, the Quad Leaders, remain dedicated to working in partnership with Indo-Pacific countries in deciding our future and shaping the region we all want to live in.
Enduring Partners for the Indo-Pacific
Over the past four years, Quad Leaders have met together six times, including twice virtually, and Quad Foreign Ministers have met eight times in the last five years. Quad country representatives meet together on a regular basis, at all levels, including among ambassadors across the four countries’ extensive diplomatic networks, to consult one another, exchange ideas to advance shared priorities, and deliver benefits with and for partners across the Indo-Pacific region. We welcome our Commerce and Industry ministers preparing to meet for the first time in the coming months. We also welcome the leaders of our Development Finance Institutions and Agencies deciding to meet to explore future investments by the four countries in the Indo-Pacific. Altogether, our four countries are cooperating at an unprecedented pace and scale.
Each of our governments has committed to working through our respective budgetary processes to secure robust funding for Quad priorities in the Indo-Pacific region to ensure an enduring impact. We intend to work with our legislatures to deepen interparliamentary exchanges, and encourage other stakeholders to deepen engagement with Quad counterparts.
We look forward to the next Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting hosted by the United States in 2025, and the next Quad Leaders’ Summit hosted by India in 2025. The Quad is here to stay.

MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA News: Fact Sheet: 2024 Quad Leaders’ Summit
Source: The White House

On September 21, 2024, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. hosted Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India in Wilmington, Delaware, for the fourth Quad Leaders’ Summit.

The Quad was established to be a global force for good. This year, the Quad is proudly executing tangible projects that benefit partner countries across the Indo-Pacific—including in the Pacific, Southeast Asia, and the Indian Ocean Region. The Quad is working together at unprecedented scope and scale to deliver on Indo-Pacific partners’ priorities. Together, the Quad is leading ambitious projects to help partners address pandemics and disease; respond to natural disasters; strengthen their maritime domain awareness and maritime security; mobilize and build high-standard physical and digital infrastructure; invest in and benefit from critical and emerging technologies; confront the threat of climate change; bolster cyber security; and cultivate the next generation of technology leaders.

ENDURING PARTNERS FOR THE INDO-PACIFIC

Over the past four years, Quad Leaders have met six times, including twice virtually. Quad Foreign Ministers have met eight times, most recently in Tokyo in July. Quad country representatives convene on a regular basis, at all levels, to consult one another, exchange ideas to advance shared priorities, and deliver benefits for partners across the Indo-Pacific region. All Quad governments have institutionalized the Quad at all levels and across a diverse array of departments and agencies. Today, Quad Leaders announced new initiatives to solidify these habits of cooperation and to set up the Quad to endure for the long-term.
- Each Quad government has committed to work through their respective budgetary processes to secure robust funding for Quad priorities in the Indo-Pacific region to ensure an enduring impact.
- The Quad governments also intend to work with their respective legislatures to deepen interparliamentary exchanges, and encourage other stakeholders to deepen engagement with Quad counterparts. Yesterday, Members of Congress announced the creation of a bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Quad Caucus.
- In the coming months, Quad Commerce and Industry ministers will meet for the first time.
- Quad Leaders also welcome the leaders of the Quad Development Finance Institutions and Agencies deciding to meet to explore future investments by the four countries in the Indo-Pacific, including in health security, food security, clean energy, and quality infrastructure. This builds on a previous meeting in 2022 between the heads of the Export Finance Australia, the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific, India Export-Import Bank, Japan Bank for International Cooperation, and U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).
- The United States will host the 2025 Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting, and India will host the 2025 Quad Leaders Summit.
GLOBAL HEALTH & HEALTH SECURITY

In 2023, the Quad announced the Quad Health Security Partnership to strengthen coordination and collaboration in support of health security in the Indo-Pacific. The Quad Health Security Partnership is delivering on its commitments to strengthen the Indo-Pacific’s ability to detect and respond to outbreaks of diseases with epidemic or pandemic potential, including through a set of new initiatives announced today.

Quad Cancer Moonshot
- The Quad is launching the historic Quad Cancer Moonshot, a collective effort to leverage public and private resources to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer in the Indo-Pacific, with an initial focus on cervical cancer. Altogether, the Quad Cancer Moonshot announced today is projected to save hundreds of thousands of lives over the coming decades. More information can be found here.
Pandemic Preparedness
- Quad countries are committed to supporting health security and resiliency efforts across the region, including continued support for the Pandemic Fund.
- The Quad reaffirms commitment to bolstering health security across the Indo-Pacific region. In 2024, the Quad Health Security Partnership advanced regional resilience through the second pandemic preparedness table top exercise, building on the success of the Quad Vaccine Partnership to enhance prevention, early detection, and response to potential disease outbreaks, and is exploring developing Standard Operating Procedures for Pandemic Response. The Quad’s collaborative efforts included training health specialists from the Indo-Pacific to strengthen regional capabilities for health emergencies.
- India will host a workshop on pandemic preparedness and release a white paper outlining emergency public health responses.
- Australia is increasing the pool of public health specialists who are ready to deploy, in-country or in the region, in response to disease outbreaks, with the first training session to commence in Darwin, Australia, in the coming days.
- In coordination with Quad partners, the United States is pledging over $84.5 million to partner with fourteen countries in the Indo-Pacific region to strengthen capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats.
Mpox
- In response to the current clade I mpox outbreak, as well as the ongoing clade II mpox outbreak, the Quad plans to coordinate our efforts to promote equitable access to safe, effective, quality-assured mpox vaccines, including where appropriate expanding vaccine manufacturing in low and middle-income countries.
HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE AND DISASTER RELIEF (HADR)

Twenty years ago, the Quad first came together to respond to the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, surging humanitarian assistance to affected countries. In 2022, Quad Foreign Ministers signed the Guidelines for the Quad Partnership on HADR in the Indo-Pacific. In May 2024, following a tragic landslide in Papua New Guinea, Quad countries coordinated their response in accordance with these guidelines. The Quad collectively provided over $5 million in humanitarian assistance. Quad partners continue to support Papua New Guinea in its longer-term resiliency efforts. The Quad continues to deepen HADR coordination and support partners in the region in their longer-term resiliency efforts.
- Quad governments are working to ensure readiness to rapidly respond, including through pre-positioning of essential relief supplies, in the event of a natural disaster; this effort extends from the Indian Ocean region, to Southeast Asia, to the Pacific.
- In the coming months, Quad HADR experts will conduct a tabletop exercise to prepare for potential future disasters in the region.
- Quad partners are working together to provide over $4 million in humanitarian assistance to support the people of Vietnam in light of the devastating consequences of Typhoon Yagi.
MARITIME SECURITY

Quad partners are working side-by-side with partners throughout the region to bolster maritime security, improve maritime domain awareness, and uphold a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness and Maritime Training
- Quad Leaders launched the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) at the 2022 Quad Leaders’ Summit in Tokyo. This initiative provides partners with near-real-time, cost-effective, cutting-edge radio frequency data, enabling them to better monitor their waters; counter illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing; respond to climate change and natural disasters; and enforce their laws within their waters.
- Since the announcement, in consultation with partners, the Quad has successfully scaled the program across the Indo-Pacific region—through the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency, with partners in Southeast Asia, to the Information Fusion Center—Indian Ocean Region, Gurugram. In doing so, the Quad has helped well over two dozen countries access dark vessel maritime domain awareness data, so they can better monitor the activities in their exclusive economic zones—including unlawful activity.
- In the next phase of implementation, announced today, the Quad intends to layer new technology and data into IPMDA over the coming year, to continue to deliver cutting edge capability and information to the region. The Quad intends to leverage electro-optical data and advanced analytic software to sharpen the maritime domain awareness picture for partners.
- Today the Quad announced a new regional Maritime Initiative for Training in the Indo-Pacific (MAITRI) to enable our partners in the region Indo-Pacific partners to maximize tools provided through IPMDA and other Quad partner initiatives, to monitor and secure their waters, enforce their laws, and deter unlawful behavior. The Quad countries look forward to India hosting the inaugural MAITRI workshop in 2025.
- Quad countries are coordinating comprehensive and complementary training across the full suite of legal, operational, and technical maritime security and law enforcement knowledge domains. Quad partners have pledged to expand engagement with regional maritime law enforcement fora, share best practices, and improve civil maritime cooperation.
Indo-Pacific Logistics Network
- The Quad launches today a Quad Indo-Pacific Logistics Network pilot project, to pursue shared airlift capacity among the four nations and leverage collective logistics strengths, in order to support civilian response to natural disasters more rapidly and efficiently across the Indo-Pacific region. This effort will complement existing efforts with Indo-Pacific partners.
Coast Guard Cooperation
- The U.S. Coast Guard, Japan Coast Guard, Australian Border Force, and Indian Coast Guard plan to launch a first-ever Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission in 2025 in the Indo-Pacific to improve interoperability. Through this effort, members of Japan Coast Guard, Australian Border Force, and Indian Coast Guard will spend time on board a U.S. Coast Guard vessel operating in the Indo-Pacific. The Quad intends to continue with further missions in the Indo-Pacific.
QUALITY INFRASTRUCTURE

The Quad is delivering quality, resilient infrastructure to the region to increase connectivity, build regional capacity, and meet critical needs.
- This year, the Quad countries’ export credit agencies (ECAs) signed and are implementing a Memorandum of Cooperation, which supports supply chain resilience, critical and emerging technologies, renewable energy, and other high-quality projects in the Indo-Pacific. Quad ECAs are strengthening communication on pipeline information and provision of relevant financing for projects in the Indo-Pacific region, and will pursue joint business promotion efforts that involve industry experts, project developers, and other major market players.
- The Quad released joint Principles for Development and Deployment of Digital Public Infrastructure, underscoring the Quad’s commitment to an inclusive, open, sustainable, fair, safe, reliable, and secure digital future to advance shared prosperity and sustainable development.
- The Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure organized a workshop in India to empower partners across the Indo-Pacific to strengthen power sector resilience.
Quad Ports of the Future Partnership
- The Quad Ports of the Future Partnership will harness the Quad’s expertise to support sustainable and resilient port infrastructure development across the Indo-Pacific, in collaboration with regional partners.
- In 2025, Quad partners intend to hold the inaugural Regional Ports and Transportation Conference, hosted by India in Mumbai.
- Through this new partnership, Quad partners intend to coordinate, exchange information, share best practices with partners in the region, and leverage resources to mobilize government and private sector investments in quality port infrastructure across the Indo-Pacific region.
Quad Infrastructure Fellows
- The Quad Infrastructure Fellowship was announced at the 2023 Quad Leaders’ Summit to improve capacity and deepen professional networks across the region to design, manage, and attract investment in infrastructure projects. Over the past year, it has expanded to more than 2,200 experts, and Quad partners have already provided well over 1,300 fellowships.
Undersea Cables and Digital Connectivity
- Through the Quad Partnership for Cable Connectivity and Resilience, Quad partners continue to support and strengthen quality undersea cable networks in the Indo-Pacific, the capacity, durability, and reliability of which are inextricably linked to the security and prosperity of the region and the world.
- In support of these efforts, Australia launched the Cable Connectivity and Resilience Centre in July, which is delivering workshops and policy and regulatory assistance in response to requests from across the region.
- Japan has conducted capacity building trainings to enhance connectivity and resilience in the Indo-Pacific through cooperation with specialized agencies and international organizations. Japan intends to further extend technical cooperation to improve public information and communication technology infrastructure management capacity for an undersea cable in Nauru and Kiribati.
- The United States has conducted over 1,300 capacity building trainings for telecommunication officials and executives from 25 countries in the Indo-Pacific; today the U.S. announces its intent, working with Congress, to invest an additional $3.4 million to extend and expand this training program.
- Investments in cable projects by Quad partners will help support all Pacific island countries in achieving primary telecommunication cable connectivity by the end of 2025. Since the last Quad Leaders’ Summit, Quad partners have committed over $140 million to undersea cable builds in the Pacific, alongside contributions from other likeminded partners.
- Complementing these investments in new undersea cables, India has commissioned a feasibility study to examine expansion of undersea cable maintenance and repair capabilities in the Indo-Pacific.
CRITICAL AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGY

The Quad is working in lockstep to stay at the forefront of technology innovation, and remains committed to harnessing emerging technologies for the benefit of people across the Indo-Pacific, and deploying these technologies to facilitate economic prosperity, openness, and connectivity.

Open Radio Access Network (RAN) and 5G
- In 2023, Quad partners announced the first-ever Open RAN deployment in the Pacific, in Palau, to support a secure, resilient, and interconnected telecommunications ecosystem. Since then, the Quad has committed approximately $20 million to this effort. Building on this initiative, the Quad announces an expansion of Open RAN collaboration to deliver trusted technology solutions.
- The Quad plans to expand support for ongoing Open RAN field trials and the Asia Open RAN Academy (AORA) in the Philippines, building on the initial $8 million in support that the United States and Japan pledged earlier this year.
- In addition, the United States plans to invest over $7 million to support the global expansion of AORA, including through establishing a first-of-its-kind Open RAN workforce training initiative at scale in South Asia, in partnership with Indian institutions.
- Quad partners also welcome the opportunity to explore additional Open RAN projects in Southeast Asia.
- Quad partners will also explore collaborating with the Tuvalu Telecommunications Corporation to ensure the country’s readiness for nationwide 5G deployment.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Through the Advancing Innovations for Empowering NextGen Agriculture (AI-ENGAGE) initiative announced at the 2023 Quad Leaders’ Summit, Quad governments are deepening leading-edge collaborative research to harness artiﬁcial intelligence, robotics, and sensing, to transform agricultural approaches and empower farmers across the Indo-Pacific. The Quad announces an inaugural $7.5+ million in funding opportunities for joint research, and highlights the recent signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation among the four countries’ science agencies to connect research communities and advance shared research principles.
- The Quad recognizes the importance of advancing international efforts to achieve safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence systems, including through the outcomes of the Hiroshima AI Process, GPAI New Delhi Ministerial Declaration 2023, and UN General Assembly resolution 78/625 on “Seizing the opportunities of safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence systems for sustainable development.” The Quad seeks to further deepen international cooperation on artificial intelligence systems and interoperability among artificial intelligence governance frameworks.
- Quad countries, through the Standards Sub-Group, launched two Track 1.5 dialogues on AI and Advanced Communications Technologies to promote international standardization cooperation, including frameworks for AI conformity assessment.
Biotechnology
- The Quad partners look forward to launching the BioExplore Initiative – a joint effort supported by an initial $2 million in funding to use AI technology to study and analyze biological ecosystems across all four countries. This initiative will help advance our ability to discover and use the diverse capabilities found in living organisms to yield new products and innovations with the potential to diagnose and treat disease, develop resilient crops, generate clean energy, and much more. The initiative will also aim to build technological capacity across the Quad nations.
- This project will also be underpinned by the forthcoming Quad Principles for Research and Development Collaborations in Critical and Emerging Technologies, which advances sustainable, responsible, safe and secure collaborations in biotechnologies and other critical technologies among the Quad and across the region.
Semiconductors
- Quad Leaders welcome the finalization of a Memorandum of Cooperation for the Semiconductor Supply Chains Contingency Network to facilitate collaboration in addressing semiconductor supply chain risks.
The Quad Investors Network

The Quad Investors Network (QUIN) is a nonprofit initiative launched at the 2023 Quad Leaders’ Summit. The QUIN aims to accelerate investments in critical and emerging technologies across the Indo-Pacific region, bringing together investors, entrepreneurs, technologists, and public institutions from the Quad countries to support innovation that aligns with the Quad’s shared values and promotes economic growth, resilience, and regional stability. This year, the QUIN supported ten major strategic investments and partnerships across the Quad in the critical minerals, renewable energy, cybersecurity, and aerospace sectors.
- The QUIN has advanced additional frameworks to foster the development of new technologies and facilitate investment partnerships for emerging startups, including through finalizing a Memorandum of Understanding for the creation of a startup campus in Tokyo, supported by the QUIN and the Chiba Institute of Technology’s Center for Radical Transformation.
- The QUIN is also working to establish a new venture accelerator in Tokyo through a collaboration between the University of Tokyo, Northeastern University, and the QUIN. These collaborations will not only fuel technological advancements but also strengthen the economic ties among the Quad nations, contributing to a more integrated and resilient Indo-Pacific region.
- Finally, the QUIN developed a Quantum Center of Excellence, which produced a report this year highlighting ways each Quad country’s Quantum ecosystems can work together to collectively leverage capital and expertise.
CLIMATE AND CLEAN ENERGY

The Quad recognizes the existential threat climate change poses to the world, the Indo-Pacific, and in particular island nations in the Pacific and in the Indian Ocean region, and is taking ambitious steps to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change, promote clean energy innovation and adoption, and support sustainable development.

Climate Adaptation
- The Quad intends to expand its Early Warning Systems and the Climate Information Services Initiative (CIS), announced at the 2023 Leaders’ Summit. This will help improve Pacific Island countries’ access to high-quality climate data and services, and increase partners’ capacity to prepare for and respond to climate change and its impacts.
- The United States plans to provide 3D-printed automatic weather stations to the Pacific in 2025 to support local weather and climate forecasts, and also train experts in Fiji with the goal of operating a regional center to develop and deploy this technology.
- Australia is also strengthening Early Warning Systems through Weather Ready Pacific, a Pacific-led initiative supported by the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders in 2021 that drives and delivers on the EWS4ALL UN initiative in the Pacific.
- Japan is also enhancing cooperation with Pacific Island countries under its “Pacific Climate Resilience Initiative”, inter alia, by strengthening disaster risk reduction and preparedness through satellite technology and by promoting clean energy through capacity building and installation of renewable energies.
- The Quad also plans to train experts in Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu to better monitor and forecast flash floods, for timely and accurate warnings, reducing human and economic losses from flash floods.
Clean Energy
- Our countries intend to strengthen our cooperation to align policies, incentives, standards, and investments around creating high-quality, diversified clean energy supply chains that will enhance our collective energy security, create new economic opportunities across the region, and benefit local workers and communities around the world, particularly across the Indo-Pacific. We will work together, through policy and public finance, to operationalize our commitment to catalyzing complementary and high-standard private sector investment in allied and partner clean energy supply chains. We note the uniquely complementary capabilities Quad partners share across the battery supply chain, and pledge to focus near-term efforts on strengthening mineral production, recycling, and battery manufacturing across our respective industries.
- Quad Leaders announced a Quad Clean Energy Supply Chain Diversification Program last year, which aims to support the development of secure and diversified clean energy supply chains in the Indo-Pacific region. Australia will open applications for the Quad Clean Energy Supply Chains Diversification Program in November, providing AUD 50 million to support projects that develop and diversify solar panel, hydrogen electrolyzer and battery supply chains. Secure and diversified clean energy supply chains are an integral part of achieving the Indo-Pacific’s collective energy security, emissions reduction goals and transition to a net zero future.
- India commits to invest $2 million in new solar projects in Fiji, Comoros, Madagascar, and Seychelles.
- Japan has committed to $122 million grants and loans, both public and private, in renewable energy projects in the Indo-Pacific.
- The United States, through the DFC, has extended a $250 million loan to Tata Power Solar to construct a solar cell manufacturing facility and a $500 million loan to First Solar to construct and operate a solar module manufacturing facility in India, and continues to seek opportunities to mobilize private capital to solar, as well as wind, cooling, batteries, and critical minerals to expand capacity and diversify supply chains.
- The Quad announces an initiative to boost energy efficiency, including the deployment and manufacturing of affordable, high-efficiency, cooling systems, to enable climate-vulnerable communities to adapt to rising temperatures while simultaneously reducing strain on the electricity grid. The United States intends to invest an initial $1.25 million of technical assistance financing to this effort.
CYBER SECURITY

The Quad is working together to build a more resilient, secure, and complementary cyber security environment for Quad countries and partners.
- The Quad has [developed/released] the Quad Action Plan to Protect Commercial Undersea Telecommunications Cables, to advance the Quad’s shared vision for future digital connectivity, global commerce, and prosperity.
- Quad countries are also partnering with software manufacturers, industry trade groups, and research centers to expand the Quad’s commitment to pursuing secure software development standards and certification, as endorsed in the Quad’s 2023 Secure Software Joint Principles.
- Quad partners will work to harmonize these standards to not only ensure that the development, procurement, and end-use of software for government networks is more secure, but that the cyber resilience of our supply chains, digital economies, and societies are collectively improved.
- Throughout this fall, each Quad country plans to host events to mark the annual Quad Cyber Challenge promoting responsible cyber ecosystems, public resources, and cybersecurity awareness. This year’s Cyber Challenge campaigns will focus on establishing career pathway programs to increase the number and diversity of global cybersecurity professionals, including increased participation by women, in this rapidly growing field. Last year’s Quad Cyber Challenge included over 85,000 participants across the Indo-Pacific region.
- Capacity building projects like the Quad Cyber Bootcamp and the international conference on cyber capacity building in the Philippines are important initiatives to enhance cybersecurity and workforce development in the Indo-Pacific region.
- The Quad is undertaking joint efforts to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities to national security and protection of critical infrastructure networks, and coordinate more closely including on policy responses to sharing of cyber threat information on significant cybersecurity incidents affecting shared priorities.
COUNTERING DISINFORMATION

The Quad is working together to foster a resilient information environment, including through its Countering Disinformation Working Group, by supporting media freedom and addressing foreign information manipulation and interference, including disinformation, which undermines trust and sows discord in the international community.

PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE TIES

Quad countries are building enduring ties between their peoples. Stakeholders from Quad countries have participated in International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) and other exchanges, on topics related to cyber security, workforce development for critical and emerging technologies, women in STEM, government transparency and accountability, combating disinformation, and regional maritime governance.

The Quad Fellowship
- Together with the Institute of International Education, which leads implementation of the Quad Fellowship, Quad governments welcome the second cohort of Quad Fellows and the expansion of the program to include students from ASEAN countries for the first time. The Government of Japan is supporting the program to enable Quad Fellows to study in Japan. The Quad welcomes the generous support of private sector partners for the next cohort of fellows, including Google, the Pratt Foundation, and Western Digital.
- The Quad looks forward to the Quad Fellowship Summit in Washington, DC, in October, organized by the Institute of International Education.
Additional People-to-People Initiatives
- India announces a new initiative to award fifty Quad scholarships, worth $500,000, to students from the Indo-Pacific to pursue a 4-year undergraduate engineering program at a Government of India-funded technical institution.
SPACE

The Quad recognizes the essential contribution of space-related applications and technologies in the Indo-Pacific. The four countries plan to continue delivering Earth Observation data and other space-related applications to assist nations across the Indo-Pacific to strengthen climate early warning systems and better manage the impacts of extreme weather events.
- The Quad welcomes India’s establishment of a space-based web portal for Mauritius to support the concept of open science for space-based monitoring of extreme weather events and climate impact.
Space Situational Awareness Initiative
- Quad partners intend to share expertise and experience in space situational awareness (SSA), contributing to long-term sustainability of the space environment. Cooperation is intended to leverage SSA and space traffic coordination capabilities in the civil domain, including to help avoid collisions in outer space and manage debris.
COUNTERING TERRORISM

The Quad hosted its first Counter Terrorism Working Group (CTWG) in 2023 and will meet annually to discuss CT threats, Quad CT good practices, and ways the Quad can work together to mitigate acts of terrorism through information sharing, consequence management and strategic messaging. The Quad CTWG currently focuses on countering the use of unmanned aerial systems (C-UAS), chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear devices (CBRN), and the internet for terrorist purposes. The Quad CTWG discusses new CT lines of effort on which to collaborate, hosts technical workshops for establishing CT good practices, and explores ways to engage non-Quad members with Quad-established CT expertise.

###

MIL OSI USA News –
September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Fact Sheet: 2024 Quad Leaders’ Summit

Source: Government of India (2)

Posted On: 22 SEP 2024 8:58AM by PIB Delhi

On September 21, 2024, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. hosted Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India in Wilmington, Delaware, for the fourth Quad Leaders’ Summit.

The Quad was established to be a global force for good. This year, the Quad is proudly executing tangible projects that benefit partner countries across the Indo-Pacific—including in the Pacific, Southeast Asia, and the Indian Ocean Region. The Quad is working together at unprecedented scope and scale to deliver on Indo-Pacific partners’ priorities. Together, the Quad is leading ambitious projects to help partners address pandemics and disease; respond to natural disasters; strengthen their maritime domain awareness and maritime security; mobilize and build high-standard physical and digital infrastructure; invest in and benefit from critical and emerging technologies; confront the threat of climate change; bolster cyber security; and cultivate the next generation of technology leaders.

ENDURING PARTNERS FOR THE INDO-PACIFIC

Over the past four years, Quad Leaders have met six times, including twice virtually. Quad Foreign Ministers have met eight times, most recently in Tokyo in July. Quad country representatives convene on a regular basis, at all levels, to consult one another, exchange ideas to advance shared priorities, and deliver benefits for partners across the Indo-Pacific region. All Quad governments have institutionalized the Quad at all levels and across a diverse array of departments and agencies. Today, Quad Leaders announced new initiatives to solidify these habits of cooperation and to set up the Quad to endure for the long-term.

Each Quad government has committed to work through their respective budgetary processes to secure robust funding for Quad priorities in the Indo-Pacific region to ensure an enduring impact.

The Quad governments also intend to work with their respective legislatures to deepen interparliamentary exchanges, and encourage other stakeholders to deepen engagement with Quad counterparts. Yesterday, Members of Congress announced the creation of a bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Quad Caucus.

In the coming months, Quad Commerce and Industry ministers will meet for the first time.

Quad Leaders also welcome the leaders of the Quad Development Finance Institutions and Agencies deciding to meet to explore future investments by the four countries in the Indo-Pacific, including in health security, food security, clean energy, and quality infrastructure. This builds on a previous meeting in 2022 between the heads of the Export Finance Australia, the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific, India Export-Import Bank, Japan Bank for International Cooperation, and U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).

The United States will host the 2025 Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting, and India will host the 2025 Quad Leaders Summit.

GLOBAL HEALTH & HEALTH SECURITY

In 2023, the Quad announced the Quad Health Security Partnership to strengthen coordination and collaboration in support of health security in the Indo-Pacific. The Quad Health Security Partnership is delivering on its commitments to strengthen the Indo-Pacific’s ability to detect and respond to outbreaks of diseases with epidemic or pandemic potential, including through a set of new initiatives announced today.

Quad Cancer Moonshot

The Quad is launching the historic Quad Cancer Moonshot, a collective effort to leverage public and private resources to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer in the Indo-Pacific, with an initial focus on cervical cancer. Altogether, the Quad Cancer Moonshot announced today is projected to save hundreds of thousands of lives over the coming decades. More information can be found here.

Pandemic Preparedness

Quad countries are committed to supporting health security and resiliency efforts across the region, including continued support for the Pandemic Fund.

The Quad reaffirms commitment to bolstering health security across the Indo-Pacific region. In 2024, the Quad Health Security Partnership advanced regional resilience through the second pandemic preparedness table top exercise, building on the success of the Quad Vaccine Partnership to enhance prevention, early detection, and response to potential disease outbreaks, and is exploring developing Standard Operating Procedures for Pandemic Response. The Quad’s collaborative efforts included training health specialists from the Indo-Pacific to strengthen regional capabilities for health emergencies.

India will host a workshop on pandemic preparedness and release a white paper outlining emergency public health responses.

Australia is increasing the pool of public health specialists who are ready to deploy, in-country or in the region, in response to disease outbreaks, with the first training session to commence in Darwin, Australia, in the coming days.

In coordination with Quad partners, the United States is pledging over $84.5 million to partner with fourteen countries in the Indo-Pacific region to strengthen capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats.

Mpox

In response to the current clade I mpox outbreak, as well as the ongoing clade II mpox outbreak, the Quad plans to coordinate our efforts to promote equitable access to safe, effective, quality-assured mpox vaccines, including where appropriate expanding vaccine manufacturing in low and middle-income countries.

HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE AND DISASTER RELIEF (HADR)

Twenty years ago, the Quad first came together to respond to the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, surging humanitarian assistance to affected countries. In 2022, Quad Foreign Ministers signed the Guidelines for the Quad Partnership on HADR in the Indo-Pacific. In May 2024, following a tragic landslide in Papua New Guinea, Quad countries coordinated their response in accordance with these guidelines. The Quad collectively provided over $5 million in humanitarian assistance. Quad partners continue to support Papua New Guinea in its longer-term resiliency efforts. The Quad continues to deepen HADR coordination and support partners in the region in their longer-term resiliency efforts.

Quad governments are working to ensure readiness to rapidly respond, including through pre-positioning of essential relief supplies, in the event of a natural disaster; this effort extends from the Indian Ocean region, to Southeast Asia, to the Pacific.

In the coming months, Quad HADR experts will conduct a tabletop exercise to prepare for potential future disasters in the region.

Quad partners are working together to provide over $4 million in humanitarian assistance to support the people of Vietnam in light of the devastating consequences of Typhoon Yagi.

MARITIME SECURITY

Quad partners are working side-by-side with partners throughout the region to bolster maritime security, improve maritime domain awareness, and uphold a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness and Maritime Training

Quad Leaders launched the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) at the 2022 Quad Leaders’ Summit in Tokyo. This initiative provides partners with near-real-time, cost-effective, cutting-edge radio frequency data, enabling them to better monitor their waters; counter illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing; respond to climate change and natural disasters; and enforce their laws within their waters.

Since the announcement, in consultation with partners, the Quad has successfully scaled the program across the Indo-Pacific region—through the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency, with partners in Southeast Asia, to the Information Fusion Center—Indian Ocean Region, Gurugram. In doing so, the Quad has helped well over two dozen countries access dark vessel maritime domain awareness data, so they can better monitor the activities in their exclusive economic zones—including unlawful activity.

In the next phase of implementation, announced today, the Quad intends to layer new technology and data into IPMDA over the coming year, to continue to deliver cutting edge capability and information to the region. The Quad intends to leverage electro-optical data and advanced analytic software to sharpen the maritime domain awareness picture for partners.

Today the Quad announced a new regional Maritime Initiative for Training in the Indo-Pacific (MAITRI) to enable our partners in the region Indo-Pacific partners to maximize tools provided through IPMDA and other Quad partner initiatives, to monitor and secure their waters, enforce their laws, and deter unlawful behavior. The Quad countries look forward to India hosting the inaugural MAITRI workshop in 2025.

Quad countries are coordinating comprehensive and complementary training across the full suite of legal, operational, and technical maritime security and law enforcement knowledge domains. Quad partners have pledged to expand engagement with regional maritime law enforcement fora, share best practices, and improve civil maritime cooperation.

Indo-Pacific Logistics Network

The Quad launches today a Quad Indo-Pacific Logistics Network pilot project, to pursue shared airlift capacity among the four nations and leverage collective logistics strengths, in order to support civilian response to natural disasters more rapidly and efficiently across the Indo-Pacific region. This effort will complement existing efforts with Indo-Pacific partners.

Coast Guard Cooperation

The U.S. Coast Guard, Japan Coast Guard, Australian Border Force, and Indian Coast Guard plan to launch a first-ever Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission in 2025 in the Indo-Pacific to improve interoperability. Through this effort, members of Japan Coast Guard, Australian Border Force, and Indian Coast Guard will spend time on board a U.S. Coast Guard vessel operating in the Indo-Pacific. The Quad intends to continue with further missions in the Indo-Pacific.

QUALITY INFRASTRUCTURE

The Quad is delivering quality, resilient infrastructure to the region to increase connectivity, build regional capacity, and meet critical needs.

This year, the Quad countries’ export credit agencies (ECAs) signed and are implementing a Memorandum of Cooperation, which supports supply chain resilience, critical and emerging technologies, renewable energy, and other high-quality projects in the Indo-Pacific. Quad ECAs are strengthening communication on pipeline information and provision of relevant financing for projects in the Indo-Pacific region, and will pursue joint business promotion efforts that involve industry experts, project developers, and other major market players.

The Quad released joint Principles for Development and Deployment of Digital Public Infrastructure, underscoring the Quad’s commitment to an inclusive, open, sustainable, fair, safe, reliable, and secure digital future to advance shared prosperity and sustainable development.

The Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure organized a workshop in India to empower partners across the Indo-Pacific to strengthen power sector resilience.

Quad Ports of the Future Partnership

The Quad Ports of the Future Partnership will harness the Quad’s expertise to support sustainable and resilient port infrastructure development across the Indo-Pacific, in collaboration with regional partners.

In 2025, Quad partners intend to hold the inaugural Regional Ports and Transportation Conference, hosted by India in Mumbai.

Through this new partnership, Quad partners intend to coordinate, exchange information, share best practices with partners in the region, and leverage resources to mobilize government and private sector investments in quality port infrastructure across the Indo-Pacific region.

Quad Infrastructure Fellows

The Quad Infrastructure Fellowship was announced at the 2023 Quad Leaders’ Summit to improve capacity and deepen professional networks across the region to design, manage, and attract investment in infrastructure projects. Over the past year, it has expanded to more than 2,200 experts, and Quad partners have already provided well over 1,300 fellowships.

Undersea Cables and Digital Connectivity

Through the Quad Partnership for Cable Connectivity and Resilience, Quad partners continue to support and strengthen quality undersea cable networks in the Indo-Pacific, the capacity, durability, and reliability of which are inextricably linked to the security and prosperity of the region and the world.

In support of these efforts, Australia launched the Cable Connectivity and Resilience Centre in July, which is delivering workshops and policy and regulatory assistance in response to requests from across the region.

Japan has conducted capacity building trainings to enhance connectivity and resilience in the Indo-Pacific through cooperation with specialized agencies and international organizations. Japan intends to further extend technical cooperation to improve public information and communication technology infrastructure management capacity for an undersea cable in Nauru and Kiribati.

The United States has conducted over 1,300 capacity building trainings for telecommunication officials and executives from 25 countries in the Indo-Pacific; today the U.S. announces its intent, working with Congress, to invest an additional $3.4 million to extend and expand this training program.

Investments in cable projects by Quad partners will help support all Pacific island countries in achieving primary telecommunication cable connectivity by the end of 2025. Since the last Quad Leaders’ Summit, Quad partners have committed over $140 million to undersea cable builds in the Pacific, alongside contributions from other likeminded partners.

Complementing these investments in new undersea cables, India has commissioned a feasibility study to examine expansion of undersea cable maintenance and repair capabilities in the Indo-Pacific.

CRITICAL AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGY

The Quad is working in lockstep to stay at the forefront of technology innovation, and remains committed to harnessing emerging technologies for the benefit of people across the Indo-Pacific, and deploying these technologies to facilitate economic prosperity, openness, and connectivity.

Open Radio Access Network (RAN) and 5G

In 2023, Quad partners announced the first-ever Open RAN deployment in the Pacific, in Palau, to support a secure, resilient, and interconnected telecommunications ecosystem. Since then, the Quad has committed approximately $20 million to this effort. Building on this initiative, the Quad announces an expansion of Open RAN collaboration to deliver trusted technology solutions.

The Quad plans to expand support for ongoing Open RAN field trials and the Asia Open RAN Academy (AORA) in the Philippines, building on the initial $8 million in support that the United States and Japan pledged earlier this year.

In addition, the United States plans to invest over $7 million to support the global expansion of AORA, including through establishing a first-of-its-kind Open RAN workforce training initiative at scale in South Asia, in partnership with Indian institutions.

Quad partners also welcome the opportunity to explore additional Open RAN projects in Southeast Asia.

Quad partners will also explore collaborating with the Tuvalu Telecommunications Corporation to ensure the country’s readiness for nationwide 5G deployment.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Through the Advancing Innovations for Empowering NextGen Agriculture (AI-ENGAGE) initiative announced at the 2023 Quad Leaders’ Summit, Quad governments are deepening leading-edge collaborative research to harness artiﬁcial intelligence, robotics, and sensing, to transform agricultural approaches and empower farmers across the Indo-Pacific. The Quad announces an inaugural $7.5+ million in funding opportunities for joint research, and highlights the recent signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation among the four countries’ science agencies to connect research communities and advance shared research principles.

The Quad recognizes the importance of advancing international efforts to achieve safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence systems, including through the outcomes of the Hiroshima AI Process, GPAI New Delhi Ministerial Declaration 2023, and UN General Assembly resolution 78/625 on “Seizing the opportunities of safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence systems for sustainable development.” The Quad seeks to further deepen international cooperation on artificial intelligence systems and interoperability among artificial intelligence governance frameworks.

Quad countries, through the Standards Sub-Group, launched two Track 1.5 dialogues on AI and Advanced Communications Technologies to promote international standardization cooperation, including frameworks for AI conformity assessment.

Biotechnology

The Quad partners look forward to launching the BioExplore Initiative – a joint effort supported by an initial $2 million in funding to use AI technology to study and analyze biological ecosystems across all four countries. This initiative will help advance our ability to discover and use the diverse capabilities found in living organisms to yield new products and innovations with the potential to diagnose and treat disease, develop resilient crops, generate clean energy, and much more. The initiative will also aim to build technological capacity across the Quad nations.

This project will also be underpinned by the forthcoming Quad Principles for Research and Development Collaborations in Critical and Emerging Technologies, which advances sustainable, responsible, safe and secure collaborations in biotechnologies and other critical technologies among the Quad and across the region.

Semiconductors

Quad Leaders welcome the finalization of a Memorandum of Cooperation for the Semiconductor Supply Chains Contingency Network to facilitate collaboration in addressing semiconductor supply chain risks.

The Quad Investors Network

The Quad Investors Network (QUIN) is a nonprofit initiative launched at the 2023 Quad Leaders’ Summit. The QUIN aims to accelerate investments in critical and emerging technologies across the Indo-Pacific region, bringing together investors, entrepreneurs, technologists, and public institutions from the Quad countries to support innovation that aligns with the Quad’s shared values and promotes economic growth, resilience, and regional stability. This year, the QUIN supported ten major strategic investments and partnerships across the Quad in the critical minerals, renewable energy, cybersecurity, and aerospace sectors.

The QUIN has advanced additional frameworks to foster the development of new technologies and facilitate investment partnerships for emerging startups, including through finalizing a Memorandum of Understanding for the creation of a startup campus in Tokyo, supported by the QUIN and the Chiba Institute of Technology’s Center for Radical Transformation.

The QUIN is also working to establish a new venture accelerator in Tokyo through a collaboration between the University of Tokyo, Northeastern University, and the QUIN. These collaborations will not only fuel technological advancements but also strengthen the economic ties among the Quad nations, contributing to a more integrated and resilient Indo-Pacific region.

Finally, the QUIN developed a Quantum Center of Excellence, which produced a report this year highlighting ways each Quad country’s Quantum ecosystems can work together to collectively leverage capital and expertise.

CLIMATE AND CLEAN ENERGY

The Quad recognizes the existential threat climate change poses to the world, the Indo-Pacific, and in particular island nations in the Pacific and in the Indian Ocean region, and is taking ambitious steps to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change, promote clean energy innovation and adoption, and support sustainable development.

Climate Adaptation

The Quad intends to expand its Early Warning Systems and the Climate Information Services Initiative (CIS), announced at the 2023 Leaders’ Summit. This will help improve Pacific Island countries’ access to high-quality climate data and services, and increase partners’ capacity to prepare for and respond to climate change and its impacts.

The United States plans to provide 3D-printed automatic weather stations to the Pacific in 2025 to support local weather and climate forecasts, and also train experts in Fiji with the goal of operating a regional center to develop and deploy this technology.

Australia is also strengthening Early Warning Systems through Weather Ready Pacific, a Pacific-led initiative supported by the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders in 2021 that drives and delivers on the EWS4ALL UN initiative in the Pacific.

Japan is also enhancing cooperation with Pacific Island countries under its “Pacific Climate Resilience Initiative”, inter alia, by strengthening disaster risk reduction and preparedness through satellite technology and by promoting clean energy through capacity building and installation of renewable energies.

The Quad also plans to train experts in Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu to better monitor and forecast flash floods, for timely and accurate warnings, reducing human and economic losses from flash floods.

Clean Energy

Our countries intend to strengthen our cooperation to align policies, incentives, standards, and investments around creating high-quality, diversified clean energy supply chains that will enhance our collective energy security, create new economic opportunities across the region, and benefit local workers and communities around the world, particularly across the Indo-Pacific. We will work together, through policy and public finance, to operationalize our commitment to catalyzing complementary and high-standard private sector investment in allied and partner clean energy supply chains. We note the uniquely complementary capabilities Quad partners share across the battery supply chain, and pledge to focus near-term efforts on strengthening mineral production, recycling, and battery manufacturing across our respective industries.

Quad Leaders announced a Quad Clean Energy Supply Chain Diversification Program last year, which aims to support the development of secure and diversified clean energy supply chains in the Indo-Pacific region. Australia will open applications for the Quad Clean Energy Supply Chains Diversification Program in November, providing AUD 50 million to support projects that develop and diversify solar panel, hydrogen electrolyzer and battery supply chains. Secure and diversified clean energy supply chains are an integral part of achieving the Indo-Pacific’s collective energy security, emissions reduction goals and transition to a net zero future.

India commits to invest $2 million in new solar projects in Fiji, Comoros, Madagascar, and Seychelles.

Japan has committed to $122 million grants and loans, both public and private, in renewable energy projects in the Indo-Pacific.

The United States, through the DFC, has extended a $250 million loan to Tata Power Solar to construct a solar cell manufacturing facility and a $500 million loan to First Solar to construct and operate a solar module manufacturing facility in India, and continues to seek opportunities to mobilize private capital to solar, as well as wind, cooling, batteries, and critical minerals to expand capacity and diversify supply chains.

The Quad announces an initiative to boost energy efficiency, including the deployment and manufacturing of affordable, high-efficiency, cooling systems, to enable climate-vulnerable communities to adapt to rising temperatures while simultaneously reducing strain on the electricity grid. The United States intends to invest an initial $1.25 million of technical assistance financing to this effort.

CYBER SECURITY

The Quad is working together to build a more resilient, secure, and complementary cyber security environment for Quad countries and partners.

The Quad has [developed/released] the Quad Action Plan to Protect Commercial Undersea Telecommunications Cables, to advance the Quad’s shared vision for future digital connectivity, global commerce, and prosperity.

Quad countries are also partnering with software manufacturers, industry trade groups, and research centers to expand the Quad’s commitment to pursuing secure software development standards and certification, as endorsed in the Quad’s 2023 Secure Software Joint Principles.

Quad partners will work to harmonize these standards to not only ensure that the development, procurement, and end-use of software for government networks is more secure, but that the cyber resilience of our supply chains, digital economies, and societies are collectively improved.

Throughout this fall, each Quad country plans to host events to mark the annual Quad Cyber Challenge promoting responsible cyber ecosystems, public resources, and cybersecurity awareness. This year’s Cyber Challenge campaigns will focus on establishing career pathway programs to increase the number and diversity of global cybersecurity professionals, including increased participation by women, in this rapidly growing field. Last year’s Quad Cyber Challenge included over 85,000 participants across the Indo-Pacific region.

Capacity building projects like the Quad Cyber Bootcamp and the international conference on cyber capacity building in the Philippines are important initiatives to enhance cybersecurity and workforce development in the Indo-Pacific region.

The Quad is undertaking joint efforts to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities to national security and protection of critical infrastructure networks, and coordinate more closely including on policy responses to sharing of cyber threat information on significant cybersecurity incidents affecting shared priorities.

COUNTERING DISINFORMATION

The Quad is working together to foster a resilient information environment, including through its Countering Disinformation Working Group, by supporting media freedom and addressing foreign information manipulation and interference, including disinformation, which undermines trust and sows discord in the international community.

PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE TIES

Quad countries are building enduring ties between their peoples. Stakeholders from Quad countries have participated in International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) and other exchanges, on topics related to cyber security, workforce development for critical and emerging technologies, women in STEM, government transparency and accountability, combating disinformation, and regional maritime governance.

The Quad Fellowship

Together with the Institute of International Education, which leads implementation of the Quad Fellowship, Quad governments welcome the second cohort of Quad Fellows and the expansion of the program to include students from ASEAN countries for the first time. The Government of Japan is supporting the program to enable Quad Fellows to study in Japan. The Quad welcomes the generous support of private sector partners for the next cohort of fellows, including Google, the Pratt Foundation, and Western Digital.

The Quad looks forward to the Quad Fellowship Summit in Washington, DC, in October, organized by the Institute of International Education.

Additional People-to-People Initiatives

India announces a new initiative to award fifty Quad scholarships, worth $500,000, to students from the Indo-Pacific to pursue a 4-year undergraduate engineering program at a Government of India-funded technical institution.

SPACE

The Quad recognizes the essential contribution of space-related applications and technologies in the Indo-Pacific. The four countries plan to continue delivering Earth Observation data and other space-related applications to assist nations across the Indo-Pacific to strengthen climate early warning systems and better manage the impacts of extreme weather events.

The Quad welcomes India’s establishment of a space-based web portal for Mauritius to support the concept of open science for space-based monitoring of extreme weather events and climate impact.

Space Situational Awareness Initiative

Quad partners intend to share expertise and experience in space situational awareness (SSA), contributing to long-term sustainability of the space environment. Cooperation is intended to leverage SSA and space traffic coordination capabilities in the civil domain, including to help avoid collisions in outer space and manage debris.

COUNTERING TERRORISM

The Quad hosted its first Counter Terrorism Working Group (CTWG) in 2023 and will meet annually to discuss CT threats, Quad CT good practices, and ways the Quad can work together to mitigate acts of terrorism through information sharing, consequence management and strategic messaging. The Quad CTWG currently focuses on countering the use of unmanned aerial systems (C-UAS), chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear devices (CBRN), and the internet for terrorist purposes. The Quad CTWG discusses new CT lines of effort on which to collaborate, hosts technical workshops for establishing CT good practices, and explores ways to engage non-Quad members with Quad-established CT expertise.

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MJPS/ST/SKS

(Release ID: 2057460) Visitor Counter : 32

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: The Wilmington Declaration Joint Statement from the Leaders of Australia, India, Japan, and the United States

Source: Government of India (2)

Posted On: 22 SEP 2024 8:15AM by PIB Delhi

Today, we—Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan, and President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. of the United States—met for the fourth in-person Quad Leaders Summit, hosted by President Biden in Wilmington, Delaware.

Four years since elevating the Quad to a leader-level format, the Quad is more strategically aligned than ever before and is a force for good that delivers real, positive, and enduring impact for the Indo-Pacific. We celebrate the fact that over just four years, Quad countries have built a vital and enduring regional grouping that will buttress the Indo-Pacific for decades to come.

Anchored by shared values, we seek to uphold the international order based on the rule of law. Together we represent nearly two billion people and over one-third of global gross domestic product. We reaffirm our steadfast commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific that is inclusive and resilient. Through our cooperation, the Quad is harnessing all of our collective strengths and resources, from governments to the private sector to people-to-people relationships, to support the region’s sustainable development, stability, and prosperity by delivering tangible benefits to the people of the Indo-Pacific.

As four leading maritime democracies in the Indo-Pacific, we unequivocally stand for the maintenance of peace and stability across this dynamic region, as an indispensable element of global security and prosperity. We strongly oppose any destabilizing or unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion. We condemn recent illicit missile launches in the region that violate UN Security Council resolutions. We express serious concern over recent dangerous and aggressive actions in the maritime domain. We seek a region where no country dominates and no country is dominated—one where all countries are free from coercion, and can exercise their agency to determine their futures. We are united in our commitment to upholding a stable and open international system, with its strong support for human rights, the principle of freedom, rule of law, democratic values, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and peaceful settlement of disputes and prohibition on the threat or use of force in accordance with international law, including the UN Charter.

Reflecting the Vision Statement issued by Leaders at the 2023 Quad Summit, we are and will continue to be transparent in what we do. Respect for the leadership of regional institutions, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), and the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), is and will remain at the center of the Quad’s efforts.

A Global Force for Good

Health Security

The COVID-19 pandemic reminded the world how important health security is to our societies, our economies, and the stability of our region. In 2021 and 2022, the Quad came together to deliver more than 400 million safe and effective COVID-19 doses to Indo-Pacific countries and almost 800 million vaccines globally, and provided $5.6 billion to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment for vaccine supply to low and middle-income countries. In 2023, we announced the Quad Health Security Partnership, through which the Quad continues to deliver for partners across the region, including through the delivery of pandemic preparedness training.

In response to the current clade I mpox outbreak, as well as the ongoing clade II mpox outbreak, we plan to coordinate our efforts to promote equitable access to safe, effective, quality-assured mpox vaccines, including where appropriate expanding vaccine manufacturing in low and middle-income countries.

Today we are proud to announce the Quad Cancer Moonshot, a groundbreaking partnership to save lives in the Indo-Pacific region. Building on the Quad’s successful partnership during the COVID-19 pandemic, our collective investments to address cancer in the region, our scientific and medical capabilities, and contributions from our private and non-profit sectors, we will collaborate with partner nations to reduce the burden of cancer in the region.

The Quad Cancer Moonshot will focus initially on combatting cervical cancer—a preventable cancer that continues to claim too many lives—in the Indo-Pacific region, while laying the groundwork to address other forms of cancer as well. The United States intends to support this initiative, including through U.S. Navy medical trainings and professional exchanges around cervical cancer prevention in the region starting in 2025, and through U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) openness to finance eligible private sector-driven projects to prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer, including cervical cancer. Australia is announcing the expansion of the Elimination Partnership in the Indo-Pacific for Cervical Cancer Program (EPICC) with support of the Australian Government and the Minderoo Foundation to AUD 29.6 million, to cover up to eleven countries in the Indo-Pacific in helping advance the elimination of cervical cancer and support complementary initiatives focused on cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. India commits to providing HPV sampling kits, detection kits, and cervical cancer vaccines worth $7.5 million to the Indo-Pacific region. India, through its $10 million commitment to the WHO’s Global Initiative on Digital Health, will offer technical assistance to interested countries in the Indo-Pacific region for the adoption and deployment of its Digital Public Infrastructure that helps in cancer screening and care. Japan is providing medical equipment, including CT and MRI scanners, and other assistance worth approximately $27 million, including in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Timor-Leste, and is contributing to international organizations such as the Gavi Vaccine Alliance. Quad partners also intend to work, within respective national contexts, to collaborate in advancing research and development in the area of cancer and to increase private sector and non-governmental sector activities in support of reducing the burden of cervical cancer in the region. We welcome a number of new, ambitious commitments from non-governmental institutions, including the Serum Institute of India, in partnership with Gavi, which will support orders of up to 40 million HPV vaccine doses, subject to necessary approvals, for the Indo-Pacific region, and which may be increased consistent with demand. We also welcome a new $100 million commitment from Women’s Health and Empowerment Network to address cervical cancer in Southeast Asia.

Altogether, our scientific experts assess that the Quad Cancer Moonshot will save hundreds of thousands of lives over the coming decades.

Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR)

Twenty years since the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, when the Quad first came together to surge humanitarian assistance, we continue to respond to the vulnerabilities caused by natural disasters in the Indo-Pacific. In 2022, the Quad established the “Quad Partnership on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief in the Indo-Pacific” and signed Guidelines for the Quad Partnership on HADR in the Indo-Pacific, which enable Quad countries to rapidly coordinate in the face of natural disasters. We welcome Quad governments working to ensure readiness to rapidly respond, including through pre-positioning of essential relief supplies, in the event of a natural disaster; this effort extends from the Indian Ocean region, to Southeast Asia, to the Pacific.

In May 2024, following a tragic landslide in Papua New Guinea, Quad partners collectively contributed over $5 million in humanitarian assistance. Quad partners are working together to provide over $4 million in humanitarian assistance to support the people of Vietnam in light of the devastating consequences of Typhoon Yagi. The Quad continues to support partners in the region in their longer-term resiliency efforts.

Maritime Security

In 2022, we announced the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) to offer near-real-time, integrated, and cost-effective maritime domain awareness information to partners in the region. Since then, in consultation with partners, we have successfully scaled the program across the Indo-Pacific region—through the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency, with partners in Southeast Asia, to the Information Fusion Center—Indian Ocean Region, Gurugram. In doing so, the Quad has helped well over two dozen countries access dark vessel maritime domain awareness data, so they can better monitor the activities in their exclusive economic zones—including unlawful activity. Australia commits to boosting its cooperation with the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency to enhance regional maritime domain awareness in the Pacific through satellite data, training, and capacity building.

Today we are announcing a new regional Maritime Initiative for Training in the Indo-Pacific (MAITRI), to enable our partners in the region to maximize tools provided through IPMDA and other Quad partner initiatives, to monitor and secure their waters, enforce their laws, and deter unlawful behavior. We look forward to India hosting the inaugural MAITRI workshop in 2025. Furthermore, we welcome the launch of a Quad maritime legal dialogue to support efforts to uphold the rules-based maritime order in the Indo-Pacific. In addition, Quad partners intend to layer new technology and data into IPMDA over the coming year, to continue to deliver cutting edge capability and information to the region.

We are also announcing today that the U.S. Coast Guard, Japan Coast Guard, Australian Border Force, and Indian Coast Guard, plan to launch a first-ever Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission in 2025, to improve interoperability and advance maritime safety, and continuing with further missions in future years across the Indo-Pacific.

We also announce today the launch of a Quad Indo-Pacific Logistics Network pilot project, to pursue shared airlift capacity among our nations and leverage our collective logistics strengths, in order to support civilian response to natural disasters more rapidly and efficiently across the Indo-Pacific region.

Quality Infrastructure

The Quad remains committed to improving the region’s connectivity through the development of quality, resilient infrastructure.

We are pleased to announce the Quad Ports of the Future Partnership, which will harness the Quad’s expertise to support sustainable and resilient port infrastructure development across the Indo-Pacific, in collaboration with regional partners. In 2025, we intend to hold a Quad Regional Ports and Transportation Conference, hosted by India in Mumbai. Through this new partnership, Quad partners intend to coordinate, exchange information, share best practices with partners in the region, and leverage resources to mobilize government and private sector investments in quality port infrastructure across the Indo-Pacific region.

We applaud the expansion of the Quad Infrastructure Fellowships to more than 2,200 experts, and note that Quad partners have already provided well over 1,300 fellowships since the initiative was announced at last year’s Summit. We also appreciate the workshop organized by the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure in India, working to empower partners across the Indo-Pacific to strengthen power sector resilience.

Through the Quad Partnership for Cable Connectivity and Resilience, we continue to support and strengthen quality undersea cable networks in the Indo-Pacific, the capacity, durability, and reliability of which are inextricably linked to the security and prosperity of the region and the world. In support of these efforts, Australia launched the Cable Connectivity and Resilience Centre in July, which is delivering workshops and policy and regulatory assistance in response to requests from across the region. Japan will extend technical cooperation to improve public ICT infrastructure management capacity for an undersea cable in Nauru and Kiribati. The United States has conducted over 1,300 capacity building trainings for telecommunication officials and executives from 25 countries in the Indo-Pacific; today the U.S. announces its intent, working with Congress, to invest an additional $3.4 million to extend and expand this training program.

Investments in cable projects by Quad partners will help support all Pacific island countries in achieving primary telecommunication cable connectivity by the end of 2025. Since the last Quad Leaders’ Summit, Quad partners have committed over $140 million to undersea cable builds in the Pacific, alongside contributions from other likeminded partners. Complementing these investments in new undersea cables, India has commissioned a feasibility study to examine expansion of undersea cable maintenance and repair capabilities in the Indo-Pacific.

We reaffirm our support for the Pacific Quality Infrastructure Principles, which are an expression of Pacific voices on infrastructure.

We underscore our commitment to an inclusive, open, sustainable, fair, safe, reliable and secure digital future to advance our shared prosperity and sustainable development across the Indo-Pacific. In this context, we welcome the Quad Principles for Development and Deployment of Digital Public Infrastructure.

Critical and Emerging Technologies

Today, we are proud to announce an ambitious expansion of our partnership to deliver trusted technology solutions to the broader Indo-Pacific region.

Last year, Quad partners launched a landmark initiative to deploy the first Open Radio Access Network (RAN) in the Pacific, in Palau, to support a secure, resilient, and interconnected telecommunications ecosystem. Since then, the Quad has pledged approximately $20 million to this effort.

Quad partners also welcome the opportunity to explore additional Open RAN projects in Southeast Asia. We plan to expand support for ongoing Open RAN field trials and the Asia Open RAN Academy (AORA) in the Philippines, building on the initial $8 million in support that the United States and Japan pledged earlier this year. The United States also plans to invest over $7 million to support the global expansion of AORA, including through establishing a first-of-its-kind Open RAN workforce training initiative at scale in South Asia, in partnership with Indian institutions.

Quad partners will also explore collaborating with the Tuvalu Telecommunications Corporation to ensure the country’s readiness for nationwide 5G deployment.

We remain committed to advancing our cooperation on semiconductors through better leveraging of our complementary strengths to realize a diversified and competitive market and enhance resilience of Quad’s semiconductor supply chains. We welcome a Memorandum of Cooperation between Quad countries for the Semiconductor Supply Chains Contingency Network.

Through the Advancing Innovations for Empowering NextGen Agriculture (AI-ENGAGE) initiative announced at last year’s Summit, our governments are deepening leading-edge collaborative research to harness artiﬁcial intelligence, robotics, and sensing to transform agricultural approaches and empower farmers across the Indo-Pacific. We are pleased to announce an inaugural $7.5+ million in funding opportunities for joint research, and welcome the recent signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation between our science agencies to connect our research communities and advance shared research principles.

The United States, Australia, India, and Japan look forward to launching the Quad BioExplore Initiative—a funded mechanism that will support joint AI-driven exploration of diverse non-human biological data across all four countries.

This project will also be underpinned by the forthcoming Quad Principles for Research and Development Collaborations in Critical and Emerging Technologies.

Climate and Clean Energy

As we underscore the severe economic, social, and environmental consequences posed by the climate crisis, we continue to work together with Indo-Pacific partners, including through Quad Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Package (Q-CHAMP), to enhance climate and clean energy cooperation as well as promote adaptation and resilience. We emphasize the significant benefits of transitioning to a clean energy economy for our people, our planet, and our shared prosperity. Our countries intend to strengthen our cooperation to align policies, incentives, standards, and investments around creating high-quality, diversified clean energy supply chains that will enhance our collective energy security, create new economic opportunities across the region, and benefit local workers and communities around the world, particularly across the Indo-Pacific.

We will work together, through policy and public finance, to operationalize our commitment to catalyzing complementary and high-standard private sector investment in allied and partner clean energy supply chains. To this end, Australia will open applications for the Quad Clean Energy Supply Chains Diversification Program in November, providing AUD 50 million to support projects that develop and diversify solar panel, hydrogen electrolyzer and battery supply chains in the Indo-Pacific. India commits to invest $2 million in new solar projects in Fiji, Comoros, Madagascar, and Seychelles. Japan has committed to $122 million grants and loans in renewable energy projects in Indo-Pacific countries. The United States, through DFC, will continue to seek opportunities to mobilize private capital to solar, as well as wind, cooling, batteries, and critical minerals to expand and diversify supply chains.

We are pleased to announce a focused Quad effort to boost energy efficiency, including the deployment and manufacturing of high-efficiency affordable, cooling systems to enable climate-vulnerable communities to adapt to rising temperatures while simultaneously reducing strain on the electricity grid.

We jointly affirm our commitment to addressing the challenges posed by climate change and ensure the resilience and sustainability of port infrastructure. Quad partners will leverage our learning and expertise to forge a path towards sustainable and resilient port infrastructure, including through the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).

Cyber

In the face of a deteriorating security environment in the cyber domain, Quad countries intend to enhance our cybersecurity partnership to address common threats posed by state-sponsored actors, cybercriminals, and other non-state malicious actors. Our countries commit to taking concrete steps to increase our collective network defense and advance technical capabilities through greater threat information sharing and capacity building. We plan to coordinate joint efforts to identify vulnerabilities, protect national security networks and critical infrastructure networks, and coordinate more closely including on policy responses to significant cybersecurity incidents affecting the Quad’s shared priorities.

Quad countries are also partnering with software manufacturers, industry trade groups, and research centers to expand our commitmentto pursuing secure software development standards and certification, as endorsed in the Quad’s 2023 Secure Software Joint Principles. We will work to harmonize these standards to not only ensure that the development, procurement, and end-use of software for government networks is more secure, but that the cyber resilience of our supply chains, digital economies, and societies are collectively improved. Throughout this fall, Quad countries each plan to host campaigns to mark the annual Quad Cyber Challenge promoting responsible cyber ecosystems, public resources, and cybersecurity awareness. We are constructively engaging on the Quad Action Plan to Protect Commercial Undersea Telecommunications Cables, developed by the Quad Senior Cyber Group, as a complementary effort to the Quad Partnership for Cable Connectivity and Resilience. Our coordinated actions to protect global telecommunications infrastructure as guided by the Action Plan will advance our shared vision for future digital connectivity, global commerce, and prosperity.

Space

We recognize the essential contribution of space-related applications and technologies in the Indo-Pacific. Our four countries intend to continue delivering Earth Observation data and other space-related applications to assist nations across the Indo-Pacific to strengthen climate early warning systems and better manage the impacts of extreme weather events. In this context, we welcome India’s establishment of a space-based web portal for Mauritius, to support the concept of open science for space-based monitoring of extreme weather events and climate impact.

Quad Investors Network (QUIN)

We welcome private sector initiatives—including the Quad Investors Network (QUIN), which facilitates investments in strategic technologies, including clean energy, semiconductors, critical minerals, and quantum. The QUIN is mobilizing a number of investments to promote supply chain resilience, advance joint research and development, commercialize new technologies, and invest in our future workforce.

People-to-People Initiatives

The Quad is committed to strengthening the deep and enduring ties between our people, and among our partners. Through the Quad Fellowship, we are building a network of the next generation of science, technology, and policy leaders. Together with the Institute of International Education, which leads implementation of the Quad Fellowship, Quad governments welcome the second cohort of Quad Fellows and the expansion of the program to include students from ASEAN countries for the first time. The Government of Japan is supporting the program to enable Quad Fellows to study in Japan. The Quad welcomes the generous support of private sector partners for the next cohort of fellows, including Google, the Pratt Foundation, and Western Digital.

India is pleased to announce a new initiative to award fifty Quad scholarships, worth $500,000, to students from the Indo-Pacific to pursue a 4-year undergraduate engineering program at a Government of India-funded technical institution.

Working Together to Address Regional and Global Issues

Today we reaffirm our consistent and unwavering support for ASEAN centrality and unity. We continue to support implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and are committed to ensuring the Quad’s work is aligned with ASEAN’s principles and priorities.

We underscore ASEAN’s regional leadership role, including in the East Asia Summit, the region’s premier leader-led forum for strategic dialogue, and the ASEAN Regional Forum. As comprehensive strategic partners of ASEAN, our four countries intend to continue to strengthen our respective relationships with ASEAN and seek opportunities for greater Quad collaboration in support of the AOIP.

We recommit to working in partnership with Pacific island countries to achieve shared aspirations and address shared challenges. We reaffirm our support for Pacific regional institutions that have served the region well over many years, with the PIF as the region’s premier political and economic policy organization, and warmly welcome Tonga’s leadership as the current PIF Chair in 2024-2025. We continue to support the objectives of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent. We and our governments will continue to listen to and be guided at every step by Pacific priorities, including climate action, ocean health, resilient infrastructure, maritime security and financial integrity. In particular, we acknowledge climate change remains the single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security and wellbeing of the peoples of the Pacific and applaud Pacific island countries’ global leadership on climate action.

We remain committed to strengthening cooperation in the Indian Ocean region. We strongly support IORA as the Indian Ocean region’s premier forum for addressing the region’s challenges. We recognize India’s leadership in finalizing the IORA Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (IOIP) and express our support for its implementation. We thank Sri Lanka for its continued leadership as IORA Chair through this year and look forward to India’s assuming the IORA Chair in 2025.

As Leaders, we are steadfast in our conviction that international law, including respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the maintenance of peace, safety, security and stability in the maritime domain, underpin the sustainable development, and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific. We emphasize the importance of adherence to international law, particularly as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to address challenges to the global maritime rules-based order, including with respect to maritime claims. We are seriously concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas. We continue to express our serious concern about the militarization of disputed features, and coercive and intimidating maneuvers in the South China Sea. We condemn the dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels, including increasing use of dangerous maneuvers. We also oppose efforts to disrupt other countries’ offshore resource exploitation activities.We reaffirm that maritime disputes must be resolved peacefully and in accordance with international law, as reflected in UNCLOS. We re-emphasize the importance of maintaining and upholding freedom of navigation and overflight, other lawful uses of the sea, and unimpeded commerce consistent with international law. We re-emphasize the universal and unified character of UNCLOS and reaffirm that UNCLOS sets out the legal framework within which all activities in the oceans and the seas must be carried out. We underscore that the 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea is a significant milestone and the basis for peacefully resolving disputes between the parties.

Together, with our global and regional partners, we continue to support international institutions and initiatives that underpin global peace, prosperity and sustainable development. We reiterate our unwavering support for the UN Charter and the three pillars of the UN system. In consultation with our partners, we will work collectively to address attempts to unilaterally undermine the integrity of the UN, its Charter, and its agencies. We will reform the UN Security Council, recognizing the urgent need to make it more representative, inclusive, transparent, efficient, effective, democratic and accountable through expansion in permanent and non-permanent categories of membership of the UN Security Council. This expansion of permanent seats should include representation for Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean in a reformed Security Council.

We stand for adherence to international law and respect for principles of the UN Charter, including territorial integrity, sovereignty of all states, and peaceful resolution of disputes. We express our deepest concern over the war raging in Ukraine including the terrible and tragic humanitarian consequences. Each of us has visited Ukraine since the war began, and seen this first-hand; we reiterate the need for a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in line with international law, consistent with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, including respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity. We also note the negative impacts of the war in Ukraine with regard to global food and energy security, especially for developing and least developed countries. In the context of this war, we share the view that the use, or threat of use, of nuclear weapons is unacceptable. We underscore the importance of upholding international law, and in line with the UN Charter, reiterate that all states must refrain from the threat of or use of force against the territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence of any state.

We condemn North Korea’s destabilizing ballistic missile launches and its continued pursuit of nuclear weapons in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs). These launches pose a grave threat to international peace and stability. We urge North Korea to abide by all its obligations under the UNSCRs, refrain from further provocations and engage in substantive dialogue. We reaffirm our commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula consistent with relevant UNSCRs and call on all countries to fully implement these UNSCRs. We stress the need to prevent any proliferation of nuclear and missile technologies related to North Korea in the region and beyond. We express our grave concern over North Korea’s use of proliferation networks, malicious cyber activity and workers abroad to fund its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs. In that context, we urge all UN Member States to abide by the relevant UNSCRs including the prohibition on the transfer to North Korea or procurement from North Korea of all arms and related materiel. We express deep concern about countries that are deepening military cooperation with North Korea, which directly undermines the global nonproliferation regime. As the mandate of the UN Panel of Experts tasked with monitoring violations of North Korea-related UNSCR sanctions was not renewed, we reiterate our commitment to continued implementation of the relevant UNSCRs which remain in full force. We reconfirm the necessity of immediate resolution of the abductions issue.

We remain deeply concerned by the worsening political, security and humanitarian situation in Myanmar, including in Rakhine State, and again call for an immediate cessation of violence, the release of all those unjustly and arbitrarily detained, safe and unhindered humanitarian access, resolution of the crisis through constructive and inclusive dialogue among all stakeholders, and a return to the path of inclusive democracy. We reaffirm our strong support for ASEAN-led efforts, including the work of the ASEAN Chair and the Special Envoy of the ASEAN Chair on Myanmar. We call for full implementation of all commitments under the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus. The ongoing conflict and instability have serious implications for the region, including increases in transnational crime such as cybercrime, the illegal drug trade, and human trafficking. We restate our appeal to all States to prevent the flow of arms and dual-use material, including jet fuel. We remain resolute in our support for the people of Myanmar and commit to continuing to work with all stakeholders in a pragmatic and constructive way, to find a sustainable solution to the crisis in a process which is led by the people of Myanmar and returns Myanmar to the path of democracy.

We call upon all States to contribute to the safe, peaceful, responsible, and sustainable use of outer space. We remain committed to fostering international cooperation and transparency, as well as confidence-building measures with the goal of improving the security of outer space for all States. We reaffirm the importance of upholding the existing international legal framework for outer space activities, including the Outer Space Treaty, and the obligation of all States Parties to the Treaty not to place in orbit around the Earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction, install such weapons on celestial bodies, or station such weapons in outer space in any other manner.

The Quad reaffirms its commitment to fostering a resilient information environment including through its Countering Disinformation Working Group by supporting media freedom and addressing foreign information manipulation and interference, including disinformation, which undermines trust and sows discord in the international community. We recognize these tactics are intended to interfere with domestic and international interests, and we are committed, together with our regional partners, to leverage our collective expertise and capacity to respond. We reaffirm our commitment to respect international human rights law, strengthen civil society, support media freedom, address online harassment and abuse, including technology-facilitated gender-based violence, and counter unethical practices.

We unequivocally condemn terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism. We are committed to international cooperation and will work with our regional partners in a comprehensive and sustained manner to strengthen their capability to prevent, detect and respond to threats posed by terrorism and violent extremism, including threats posed by the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes, consistent with international law. We are committed to working together to promote accountability for the perpetrators of such terrorist attacks. We reiterate our condemnation of terrorist attacks including the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai and in Pathankot, and our commitment to pursuing designations, as appropriate, by the UN Security Council 1267 Sanctions Committee. We welcome the constructive discussions held at the first Quad Working Group on Counter-Terrorism and the fourth tabletop exercise in Honolulu last year, and look forward to Japan hosting the next meeting and tabletop exercise in November 2024.

We share great interest in achieving peace and stability in the Middle East. We unequivocally condemn the terror attacks on October 7, 2023. The large-scale loss of civilian lives and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is unacceptable. We affirm the imperative of securing the release of all hostages held by Hamas, and emphasize that the deal to release hostages would bring an immediate and prolonged ceasefire in Gaza. We underscore the urgent need to significantly increase deliveries of life-saving humanitarian assistance throughout Gaza as well as the crucial need to prevent regional escalation. We urge all parties to comply with international law, including international humanitarian law, as applicable. We welcome UNSCR S/RES/2735 (2024), and strongly urge all parties concerned to work immediately and steadily toward the release of all hostages and an immediate ceasefire. We call on all parties to take every feasible step to protect the lives of civilians including aid workers, and facilitate the rapid, safe and unimpeded humanitarian relief to civilians. We also encourage other countries, including those in the Indo-Pacific, to increase their support in order to address the dire humanitarian need on the ground. We underscore that the future recovery and reconstruction of Gaza should be supported by the international community. We remain committed to a sovereign, viable and independent Palestinian state taking into account Israel’s legitimate security concerns as part of a two-state solution that enables both Israelis and Palestinians to live in a just, lasting, and secure peace. Any unilateral actions that undermine the prospect of a two-state solution, including Israeli expansion of settlements and violent extremism on all sides, must end. We underscore the need to prevent the conflict from escalating and spilling over in the region.

We condemn the ongoing attacks perpetrated by the Houthis and their supporters against international and commercial vessels transiting through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, which are destabilizing the region and impeding navigational rights and freedoms and trade flows, and jeopardize the safety of vessels and people on board including sailors.

We reaffirm our commitment to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the achievement of its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We underscore the importance of achieving the SDGs in a comprehensive manner without selectively prioritizing a narrow set of such goals, and reaffirm that the UN has a central role in supporting countries in their implementation. With six years left, we remain steadfast in our commitment to the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and accelerating progress toward all the SDGs in a comprehensive manner that is balanced across three dimensions – economic, social and environmental. From global health to sustainable development and climate change, the global community benefits when all stakeholders have the opportunity to contribute to addressing these challenges. We affirm our commitment to contributing to and implementing the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda and to achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. We underscore our commitment to strongly engaging constructively in the discussion on advancing sustainable development, including at the Summit of the Future. The Quad continues to realize a safe and secure world where human rights and human dignity are protected, based on the central premise of the SDGs: “Leave no one behind.”

We, the Quad Leaders, remain dedicated to working in partnership with Indo-Pacific countries in deciding our future and shaping the region we all want to live in.

Enduring Partners for the Indo-Pacific

Over the past four years, Quad Leaders have met together six times, including twice virtually, and Quad Foreign Ministers have met eight times in the last five years. Quad country representatives meet together on a regular basis, at all levels, including among ambassadors across the four countries’ extensive diplomatic networks, to consult one another, exchange ideas to advance shared priorities, and deliver benefits with and for partners across the Indo-Pacific region. We welcome our Commerce and Industry ministers preparing to meet for the first time in the coming months. We also welcome the leaders of our Development Finance Institutions and Agencies deciding to meet to explore future investments by the four countries in the Indo-Pacific. Altogether, our four countries are cooperating at an unprecedented pace and scale.

Each of our governments has committed to working through our respective budgetary processes to secure robust funding for Quad priorities in the Indo-Pacific region to ensure an enduring impact. We intend to work with our legislatures to deepen interparliamentary exchanges, and encourage other stakeholders to deepen engagement with Quad counterparts.

We look forward to the next Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting hosted by the United States in 2025, and the next Quad Leaders’ Summit hosted by India in 2025. The Quad is here to stay.

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MJPS/ST

(Release ID: 2057454) Visitor Counter : 48

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Security: NECC Promotes Reserve Opportunities With New Recruiter

Source: United States Navy Pacific Fleet 1

by Navy Expeditionary Combat Command

20 September 2024
For Navy Reserve Lt. Sarah Hanzes, from Clanton, Alabama, the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) offers one of the most thrilling and rewarding paths a Sailor can take, especially within the Reserve. “Who wouldn’t want to get paid to go on small boats and fire machine guns as training?” she says with a laugh. But beyond the excitement of operating on the water, what truly motivates her is the ability to perform vital missions that have a direct impact on global maritime security—missions that showcase the unique strengths of NECC’s Sailors, especially in the Reserve.
Hanzes knows firsthand the value of serving within the NECC enterprise. After five years as an active duty Surface Warfare Officer (SWO), she transitioned to the Navy Reserve in 2020 and found herself drawn to the NECC’s Maritime Expeditionary Security Squadrons (MSRON). “Being back on the water, doing real ‘Navy’ things—it gave me my fix,” she recalls. As part of an MSRON unit, she participated in high-stakes missions that few Reservists get to experience, providing security for U.S. Navy destroyers in the U.S. 5th Fleet Area of Operations and working alongside the U.S. Army and Air Force and the Djiboutian Coast Guard in joint and combined exercises. “As Reservists, we were at the tip of the spear. Everyone in my unit wanted to be there and was motivated, and that made a huge difference in the success of our deployment.”

Her passion for NECC and the opportunities it offers now drives her work as a Navy Reserve officer recruiter, where she focuses on placing highly motivated active duty officers in NECC Reserve billets. “This is where the action is. NECC Reservists get to do some of the coolest jobs the Navy has to offer, and I want to show active duty Sailors how they can be a part of it.”

Hanzes didn’t always envision a Navy career. Before joining, she was a high school physical education teacher and coach. But after hearing her father’s stories about his 30 years as a naval aviator and being encouraged by her husband, an active duty Army officer, she decided to serve her country. In 2015, at the age of 29, she entered Officer Candidate School (OCS) in Newport, Rhode Island, and soon became a Surface Warfare Officer stationed in Hawaii.

Her time on active duty was full of both adventure and challenges. She completed two division officer-tours on the USS Chafee (DDG 90) as Repair Officer and Anti-Terrorism Officer, working long hours and facing the unique obstacles of being part of a dual-military family. “It was challenging when my husband received orders to a different location, and we were geographically separated a few times,” she explains. These experiences eventually led her to seek a more flexible lifestyle, so she could continue serving while pursuing her love of teaching.

When she transitioned to the Navy Reserve, NECC offered exactly the balance she was looking for. “I missed teaching, but I loved being a SWO. The Reserve gave me the best of both worlds,” she says. Joining MSRON 10 allowed her to stay connected to the operational side of the Navy, offering opportunities for real-world impact while fitting into her civilian life.

In her current role as an officer recruiter, Hanzes is on a mission to educate active duty officers about the exciting opportunities the Reserve can offer, particularly within the NECC. “There’s a misconception that the Reserve does not conduct relevant ‘Navy’ training. But with the NECC, you’re out there doing the real thing—on the boats, firing weapons, supporting vital missions.”

Her initiative focuses on placing the right officers with the right background, in NECC billets, especially those with prior security forces or SWO experience. She works closely with units to host prospective recruits during drill weekends and events, giving them firsthand exposure to NECC’s operational culture. “I want officers to see NECC is where they can thrive, doing the work they signed up for.”
Her passion for recruiting comes from her own transition experience, which lacked the guidance she now provides. “There was no transition officer when I came off active duty, and I had so many light bulb moments that I wish I’d known sooner. I’m here to make sure others don’t face the same challenges.” In an effort to help future recruits, she created a SharePoint page to capture vital Reserve information, covering everything from how to search for billets to medical benefits and retirement options. “I love helping these officers map out their futures, showing them how the Reserve can offer flexibility, job stability, and exciting opportunities like NECC.”

In addition to her work as a recruiter, Hanzes continues to teach elementary physical education at her daughter’s school, balancing her dual careers with a deep sense of pride. Her students have embraced her Navy role, sending care packages and staying connected during her deployments. “They’re the most awesome little patriots,” she says fondly.

Looking back, her proudest moment as a Navy officer came during her last deployment with MSRON 10. “My Sailors were incredible. They worked hard, trained hard, and were always ready to say ‘yes’ when asked to go above and beyond. I’m so proud to have served with them.”

As she looks toward the future, Hanzes is determined to continue changing the mindset of active duty Sailors about the Reserve. “The NECC is where you can do the most exciting and meaningful Navy missions, even as a Reservist. It’s where the action is, and I want to help others see that.”

For Hanzes, professionalism boils down to communication and respect. “In both the Navy and civilian life, those are the keys to success. Rank doesn’t matter—it’s about how you treat people and how you handle your responsibilities.” Her hope is that, through her work, more Sailors will see the value and excitement of staying in the Navy through the NECC Reserve.

If you are an active duty or reserve Sailor interested in applying to NECC, please contact COMNECC_LTLC_PAO@navy.mil for a link to our Reserve recruiting SharePoint page.

MIL Security OSI –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: Transcript of Senior Defense Official and a Senior Administration Official Background Briefing on Operation Inherent Resolve and the US-Iraq Bilateral Security Relationship Update

Source: United States Department of Defense

MAJ GEN PAT RYDER: All right, well good morning, everyone. This is Major General Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary. Thanks very much for joining us today for today’s backgrounder on and update on Operation Inherent Resolve and the US-Iraq bilateral security relationship. As a reminder, today’s call is on background, attributable to a senior defense official and a senior administration official.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Hi, everybody. Thanks for joining here on a Friday. What we thought we’d do today, we don’t have any real news to make, but we want to kind of just put some context into some issues that have been out there related to the global coalition against ISIS. And particularly the mission in Iraq. So — and heading into the UNGA next week, and then a Counter-ISIS — the Counter-ISIS ministerial of the Global Coalition a week from Monday.

So, this month marks the 10th anniversary of the formation of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. And after a decade of that coalition, and particularly the defeat of the territorial caliphate in Iraq and Syria, there have been discussions going on really over the last year about the evolution of the coalition and the mission.

There is broad consensus with every member of the coalition that the coalition will continue. We do extraordinary work in terms of counter terrorist financing, counter foreign fighter flow and everything else, sharing information, sharing intelligence — with 10 years on so there will be evolutions in the overall mission.

It’s a way to deepen and enhance the coalition and the cooperation and also kind of deepen and enhance our relationship with Iraq. I think it’s fair to say we’ve had great success in territorially defeating ISIS in the core regions of Iraq and Syria. However, we are all very mindful that ISIS, you can say is down, but they’re never quite out.

We have done a number of very effective operations against ISIS just over the last few weeks in Iraq and Syria. We remain fully committed to the defeat of ISIS. The core threat, that is what we’re working on in Iraq and northeast Syria, something that is ongoing every day and that will very much continue into the future. And we have a good consensus with the Iraqis and our partners in Syria as well on that.

So, what we’ve been talking about, and this really came out of the — when Prime Minister Sudani was here and visited the president in April. If you go back to the joint statement that we released there, we talked about the ultimate end of the coalition military mission in Iraq. And again, 10 years on, and a number of coalition partners who are interacting — who’ve been there for a decade, some of which are looking to move on from that mission. But of course, the United States is the core and we very much intend to continue to prosecute this mission against ISIS over the coming years.

And so — but we will be transitioning away from the coalition military mission in Iraq more to enduring bilateral security partnerships. Again, that’s what the president and the prime minister discussed back in April. And since then, we’ve kind of been working with the Iraqis and importantly with all of our coalition partners to kind of determine when and how — what that might look like.

And so, we haven’t reached any final conclusions. I think this will kind of unfold over the course of next week. We look forward to having very constructive discussions with Prime Minister Sudani and other prominent leaders, including those who have been central to this coalition. And then of course, the ministerial a week from Monday.

I think it’s important though to emphasize that what we’re talking about is an evolution of the coalition mission, ultimately the ending of the coalition military mission in Iraq. This is not about any specific posture decisions or anything like that. So, I think those issues kind of tend to get conflated. And we just wanted to make clear really what this is.

This is kind of coming out of the success after a decade of extraordinary international cooperation, of extraordinary cooperation between coalition partners, the Iraqi security forces, the US military in particular, just an unbelievable job they’ve done and kind of an evolution of this after a decade. It’s kind of the appropriate mark to do that and we’ll have more to discuss about it next week. And with that, I’ll turn it over to my colleague.

SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Thanks. Good morning. This is the Senior Defense Official. So, just to underscore a couple of the comments that have been made — we’ve had all this year, really — starting in April really, outstanding discussions with our Iraqi colleagues in what we call the Higher Military Commission. This is a military-to-military dialog, obviously coordinated and informed by policymakers as well, to help determine exactly how this transition should take place, timing and then how it should transition into the bilateral security partnership.

And we’ve had some agreed criteria that we’ve spoken about, looking at what is the threat of ISIS. As was mentioned, ISIS has definitely been severely defeated, certainly territorially defeated, and we want to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS, but the threat does remain, so we have to assess exactly the nature of that threat.

The second criteria, the capability of the Iraqi security forces, which has significantly increased. We still do things in partnership with them, but we’ve seen that evolution of their capability. And then the broader operating environment, what includes the challenge of ISIS in Syria, which is a related threat in a neighboring country, and how we have to scope our transition to make sure we can still get after that threat as well.

But those conversations have been very successful. They really flowed out of that meeting when Prime Minister Sudani was in Washington. As was mentioned all through this period and certainly even in recent weeks, we’ve continued to conduct very effective counter ISIS operations in Iraq and in Syria, with our Iraqi and with our Syrian Democratic Forces partners.

ISIS is under real pressure as a result of those operations. And so, now as we get ready to make the announcement on the transition of the global coalition’s military mission in Iraq, we’ll be deepening the conversation with our Iraqi colleagues on the nature of that bilateral security partnership.

We believe it will be quite deep and quite intense because that’s what both sides want. The Iraqi partners have made very clear to us that they are committed to continuing to work together to shape the future US Iraq bilateral security relationship to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS. We already have gotten fairly advanced into those discussions about what that looks like in terms of the kinds of training, the kinds of presence, the kinds of support for their capabilities.

But this is an iterative conversation that will continue through and beyond the announcement that we hope we’ll be in a position to make at the end of next week. I think with that, I’ll take — I’ll pause.

MAJ GEN PAT RYDER: Thank you, gentlemen. The first question will go to Associated Press Tara Copp. Tara, are you there? Okay, we’ll come back to Tara. Let’s go to Nancy Youssef, Wall Street Journal.

Q:    Hi, I’m having a hard time understanding because the Iraqis said last month that this deal had been finalized, they outlined the timeline in which US forces would withdraw from Baghdad and then from the north. And you’re saying you can’t announce it yet, maybe next week. Can you help me understand why there’s not an agreement on how to announce it? And does this suggest there are disagreements about the specifics of the deal?

And in light of the news out of Lebanon, can you speak at all about these potential strikes in Southern Beirut that have killed Ibrahim Akil, the number two in Hezbollah, what your assessment is? And what your you’re read is of Israel’s understanding and intelligence on Hezbollah operations given the sophistication of the strikes we’ve seen this week? Thank you.

MAJ GEN PAT RYDER: Why don’t we start with our Senior Administration Official and then Senior Defense Official.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Yeah, so I’ll keep the topic to the topic of the call. So, look, there’s a lot of discussions here because it shows it’s bilateral with us and Iraq. Those have been very constructive and successful, I think as Senior Defense Official mentioned, but also the number of coalition partners. So, we’re working to get this — we want to get this right and before we roll anything out formally.

So, I would not say that everything is fully concluded. I think we made an awful lot of progress. I think heading into next week we’re in very good shape. But we’re not going to do anything that is not known to all of our coalition partners and that this is a broad — kind of a broad area of diplomatic engagement which is ongoing in multiple capitals.

And so, it takes time to put everything together, dot every I, cross the T. But again, it’s a kind of a broad evolution of the mission and it does not speak to kind of more of the specifics of future posture which are discussions that will continue even beyond next week and the Counter-ISIS Ministerial on Monday.

SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Just to add, the announcement we anticipate will be about the transition of the coalition, but many of those details of the mechanics of the transition and the next phases of the future US bilateral security partnership will take shape in discussions that will go beyond that announcement. Again, we made a lot of progress in the HMC discussions, also in the Joint Security Cooperation dialog we hosted when the Iraqi defense minister came here in July, but many of those conversations are going to continue beyond the announcement next week.

MAJ GEN PAT RYDER: Thank you both. Let’s go to Washington Post, Missy Ryan.

Q:    Hi there. I’m hoping — I know you don’t want to address the details of the plan, but it’s sort of already out there and the Iraqis have outlined it in pretty clear detail. But presuming that that all is correct, what they have said, could you talk about — either of you, [SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL or SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL] — could you talk about how you see this evolution in Iraq fitting into what’s going on in the rest of the region in terms of the conflict in Gaza, the episodic escalation that we’re seeing between Israel and Hezbollah, the sort of broader instability in the region, and the efforts that the administration has been making to bring about some sort of larger diplomatic resolution there? Thanks.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I would say, I mean, our presence and relationship and partnership with Iraq is important for overall regional stability. We think our — what we’ve done in Eastern Syria is important for stability in that part of Syria, given the vacuum that can easily open up where we would simply withdraw without a plan for what that might look like. So, I think we’ve been very deliberate, very careful about this.

I think throughout the crisis that began on October 7 with Hamas’s attack into Israel, we have used diplomacy, we’ve used backchannel diplomacy, and we’ve used the direct and targeted application of military force and deterrence and maneuvers and deployments to deter and signal. And when necessary, the president, as I mentioned, has ordered the application of military force.

I think we’ve done that not only to protect our people but also to deter and contain this overall conflict to the theater primarily in Gaza. We know that Iran and many of its proxy networks, including those who are in Iraq, had designs early in this crisis to significantly broaden the conflict into a regional conflict. They have not succeeded in doing that and we intend very much to continue.

And I’ll turn it over to my Senior Defense Official colleague to speak more to this, but we very much will maintain that deterrent posture, because we are still in the crisis. There’s a lot of diplomacy going on behind the scenes and above board. But we — and of course obviously our relationship with Iraq, our presence in Iraq is fundamental to that. So, I would not — the Counter-ISIS mission has been ongoing throughout this crisis, I think doesn’t get as much attention. But we’ve done extremely effective Counter-ISIS operations and strikes even in the last two months.

And that’s something that is going to continue even while this crisis is ongoing. And hopefully we will find diplomatic solutions to some of the issues obviously in Gaza and Lebanon. The question that was just asked we’re working at extremely hard, but there is a military dimension to this and we’re mindful of that. And I think we used that tool of national power effectively, deliberately. And we work with the president every day on this and Secretary of Defense and others. So, I’ll turn it over to [SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL].

SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Yeah, look, I would just say that during this crisis, our partners across the region have looked to the United States to be present, to indicate that we are remaining present and active, to use our force posture and our other capabilities to defend our friends, to defend our own forces and to deter our adversaries. And in the case of the Counter-ISIS mission, to continue to prosecute that mission to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS.

And what our friends have seen during this crisis is part of what we’re discussing here today. That presence is going to continue. Our partnerships are going to deepen — they may take different forms. They may evolve based on evolving conditions, based on evolving threats. But we will continue to remain present and to use our presence and our capabilities and our partnerships to address those common threats. So, this discussion is very much in keeping with that theme.

Q:    Just to clarify, you’re not worried that this will give Iran some sort of greater positioning in the region at a moment of intense tension with Iran sort of like running through everything that you’re doing?

SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: We are not.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: No, not at all.

SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: We are remaining present and active in partnership with our allies and partners. Again, sometimes these things take different forms, but we’re not concerned about that. But [SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL] should speak to it as well.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: No, not at all. If anything, I think deepening our cooperation with Iraq in multiple areas, which we’re doing, is something that the Iranians clearly don’t want. The Iraqis have been enhancing their relations with Saudi Arabia in the Gulf and the broader Arab world. Obviously remains a very dynamic situation.

But that’s something that’s also quite important. You look at the energy infrastructure buildouts from Southern Iraq into the Gulf, stuff that had just been talked about for a decade. Iraq actually capturing its flared gas working with Total and Western energy companies to do that, which ultimately weans themself off dependency of Iranian gas. This is all kind of part of a broader picture.

So no, I would not draw an evolution of a coalition military mission after 10 years. Again, it’s important to — there’s a 10-year mark, very natural point. You have an inflection point and kind of an evolution of a mission into anything that would give any benefit to the Iranians. I think if anything, it’s quite the opposite.

MAJ GEN PAT RYDER: Thank you. Let’s go to Al Hurra, Wafaa, Wafaa, are you there? Okay, we’ll come back. Next al-Arabiya, Joseph Haboush.

Q:    Thanks. Can you guys hear me?

MAJ GEN PAT RYDER: You’re very faint. If you can speak up a bit?

Q:    How about now?

MAJ GEN PAT RYDER: Still kind of quiet, but a little bit better.

Q:    All right. Thanks for doing this. I just wanted to ask, on the heels of the CENTCOM announcements earlier this summer about ISIS on track to doubling the number of attacks this year as opposed to last year. And then these massive — or these pretty significant raids that we’ve seen, joint raids — joint raids between the Iraqis and us, and then the SDF and the US earlier this week.

I mean how — can you just kind of clarify how this makes — the timing of it at least makes sense when we’re seeing these large-scale operations that have taken place previously but we haven’t always publicized in detail. So, is there any split between the policymakers and CENTCOM, SOCOM or the folks in the military. In terms of timing, can you just explain how that, at least publicly, would make sense to people here? Thank you.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Yeah, I think the timing mainly is — it’s just — it’s a 10-year mark of a coalition and an evolution. But it’s also very consistent with the intelligence we’re seeing and what we’re doing and will continue to do, I want to emphasize that, against ISIS. So, I think it’s pretty much aligned to both of those things. But I’ll turn it over to my colleague.

SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Yeah, it is the 10-year mark, but it’s also a significantly different operating environment than when the coalition first undertook its mission. As I mentioned, ISIS has been territorially defeated. It doesn’t control those swaths of territory in Syria and Iraq that it once did. Millions of people who used to live under its genocidal rule, do not any longer. So, they’re kind of isolated in their desert encampments.

And we have been able to, under the current coalition arrangement in the way you describe, continue to conduct operations that further weaken them, further prevent them — prevent them from conducting external operations and disrupt their command and control and their leadership, cadres.

That ability is going to continue. It will continue during the course of this transition, which, by the way, even when it’s announced next week, takes some time to actually be implemented. So, many of these capabilities, even as we are doing them now in partnership with our Iraqi and our Syrian democratic Forces colleagues, will be able to continue.

And then as the bilateral security relationship becomes the basis for our cooperation with Iraq in the course of the transition, again, which isn’t instantaneous, we will find that we’ll still be able to cooperate as we need to ensure that that mission can continue to be carried out — may be carried out differently, again, we talked about the evaluation of the threat, the evaluation of the Iraqi security force’s capability and the evaluation of the operating environment.

All of that is scoped to ensure that there will be no lessening of pressure on ISIS as the transition from coalition to bilateral security partnership takes place.

MAJ GEN PAT RYDER: Thank you. Let me try Associated Press again. Tara, are you on the line?

Q:    Yes, I am. Thanks for doing this. I’m sorry if this has been asked before. I had to drop off at the very beginning. But have you seen any indication that ISIS has tried to exploit the October 7 instability? And especially right now with increased tensions being — have you seen them try to launch any additional operations?

SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: We do see that there are continued attacks and attack planning by ISIS. I’m not sure I would attribute it specifically to October 7 or the crisis that’s followed October 7. They have their ideology; they have their ambitions. So, we definitely have seen a continued ISIS capability to try to conduct attacks, certainly to do some planning for attacks.

But we’ve also during the same period, and without any distraction from our mission of the coalition and of our partners during the period of this crisis, we’ve been able to prosecute the defeat ISIS mission very, very successfully.

MAJ GEN PAT RYDER: And for our last question, we’ll try Al Hurra one more time. Wafaa, are you on the line? All right, she may have had to drop. All right, well, thank you very much for joining us again today. As a reminder, this discussion was on background attributable to a Senior Defense Official and a Senior Administration Official. Thanks very much for joining us. This concludes the backgrounder.

MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: Specially Designated Global Terrorist Mohammad Bazzi Pleads Guilty to Sanctions Evasion
Source: US State of North Dakota

Lebanese national Mohammad Ibrahim Bazzi, 60, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to conduct and to cause U.S. persons to conduct unlawful transactions with a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.

In May 2018, the Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Bazzi as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist for assisting in, sponsoring and providing financial, material and technological support and financial services to Hizballah. Hizballah is a foreign terrorist organization that, since the 1980s, engaged in numerous terrorist activities, including attacks against American military members, government employees and civilians abroad.

According to the OFAC designation, Bazzi is a key Hizballah financier who has provided millions of dollars to Hizballah over the years, generated from his business activities in Belgium, Lebanon, Iraq and throughout West Africa. As a result of the designation, Bazzi’s interest in any property in the United States were blocked, and all U.S. persons were generally prohibited from transacting business with, or for the benefit of, Bazzi.

Following Bazzi’s designation and according to the court documents, Bazzi and his co-defendant, Talal Chanine, who remains at large in Lebanon, conspired to force or induce an individual located in the United States (U.S. Person) to liquidate their interests in certain real estate assets located in Michigan and covertly transfer hundreds of thousands of dollars in proceeds of the liquidation out of the United States to Bazzi and Chahine in Lebanon without the required OFAC licenses, in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

During recorded communications, Bazzi and Chahine proposed numerous methods to conceal from OFAC and law enforcement officials that Bazzi was both the source and destination of the proceeds of the sale and to create the false appearance that the U.S. Person was conducting legitimate arms-length transactions unrelated to Bazzi and Chahine. For example, Bazzi and Chahine proposed that the funds be transferred through:
- A third party in China as part of a fictitious purchase of restaurant equipment from a Chinese manufacturer;
- A third party in Lebanon as part of a fictitious real estate purchase;
- Chahine’s family members in Kuwait as part of fictitious intra-family loans; and
- As part of a fictitious franchising agreement as payment for the rights to operate a Lebanese-based restaurant chain throughout the United States.
Bazzi was arrested in February 2023 by Romanian law enforcement authorities and subsequently extradited to the Eastern District of New York. The Justice Department thanks the Romanian authorities for their assistance in this matter.

A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later date. Bazzi faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. He has also agreed to forfeit the nearly $830,000 that was involved in the illegal transaction, and to be removed from the United States upon completion of his sentence. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York and Executive Assistant Director Robert Wells of the FBI’s National Security Branch made the announcement.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Francisco J. Navarro, Jonathan P. Lax, Nomi D. Berenson, Claire Kedeshian and Robert M. Pollack for the Eastern District of New York are prosecuting the case with assistance provided by Trial Attorney Charles Kovats of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section and Scott Claffee of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Section. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs assisted with the extradition in this case.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

MIL OSI USA News –
September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: Legislation considered under suspension of the Rules of the House of Representatives during the week of September 23, 2024
Source: US Congressional Budget Office

The Majority Leader of the House of Representatives announces bills that will be considered under suspension of the rules in that chamber. Under suspension, floor debate is limited, all floor amendments are prohibited, points of order against the bill are waived, and final passage requires a two-thirds majority vote.

At the request of the Majority Leader and the House Committee on the Budget, CBO estimates the effects of those bills on direct spending and revenues. CBO has limited time to review the legislation before consideration. Although it is possible in most cases to determine whether the legislation would affect direct spending or revenues, time may be insufficient to estimate the magnitude of those effects. If CBO has prepared estimates for similar or identical legislation, a more detailed assessment of budgetary effects, including effects on spending subject to appropriation, may be included.

CBO’s estimates of the bills that have been posted for possible consideration under suspension of the rules during the week of September 23, 2024, include:
- H.R. 522, Deliver for Veterans Act, as amended
- H.R. 618, Improving Access to Workers’ Compensation for Injured Federal Workers Act, as amended
- H.R. 1657, Lake Winnibigoshish Land Exchange Act of 2023, as amended
- H.R. 1726, Continued Rapid Ohia Death Response Act of 2023, as amended
- H.R. 1735, Mathematical and Statistical Modeling Education Act, as amended
- H.R. 2468, Mountain View Corridor Completion Act, as amended
- H.R. 2706, Charlotte Woodward Organ Transplant Discrimination Prevention Act, as amended
- H.R. 2950, Coastal Habitat Conservation Act of 2023, as amended
- H.R. 3208, DHS Cybersecurity On-the-Job Training Program Act
- H.R. 3433, Give Kids a Chance Act of 2023
- H.R. 3884, Sickle Cell Disease and Other Heritable Blood Disorders Research, Surveillance, Prevention, and Treatment Act of 2023
- H.R. 4094, Great Salt Lake Stewardship Act
- H.R. 4259, Think Differently about Education Act of 2023, as amended
- H.R. 4527, Health DATA Act, as amended
- H.R. 4596, Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins Endangered Fish Recovery Programs Reauthorization Act of 2023, as amended
- H.R. 5302, Michel O. Maceda Memorial Act
- H.R. 5490, Bolstering Ecosystems Against Coastal Harm Act, as amended
- H.R. 5509, Electronic Permitting Modernization Act, as amended
- H.R. 5526, Seniors’ Access to Critical Medications Act, as amended
- H.R. 5646, Stop Campus Hazing Act, as amended
- H.R. 5867, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 109 Live Oaks Boulevard in Casselberry, Florida, as the “Colonel Joseph William Kittinger II Post Office Building”
- H.R. 6125, Online Dating Safety Act of 2023, as amended
- H.R. 6219, ASCEND Act, as amended
- H.R. 6231, Department of Homeland Security Policy Issuance Review act
- H.R. 6474, To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to expedite geothermal exploration and development in previously studied or developed areas
- H.R. 6633, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 9355 113th Street in Seminole, Florida, as the “Army SSG Ryan Christian Knauss Memorial Post Office Building”
- H.R. 6656, Stuck on Hold Act, as amended
- H.R. 6829, HEARTS Act of 2024, as amended
- H.R. 6852, Holcombe Rucker Park Landmark Act, as amended
- H.R. 7073, Next Generation Pipelines Research and Development Act, as amended
- H.R. 7189, Congenital Heart Futures Reauthorization Act of 2024, as amended
- H.R. 7323, Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserves Tuition Fairness Act of 2024, as amended
- H.R. 7370, Geothermal Energy Opportunity Act, as amended
- H.R. 7422, Geothermal Cost-Recovery Authority Act of 2024, as amended
- H.R. 7630, ANCHOR Act, as amended
- H.R. 7685, IMPACT Act, as amended
- H.R. 7764, Commission to Study the Potential Transfer of the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History to the Smithsonian Institution Act, as amended
- H.R. 7832, Emerging Innovative Border Technologies Act
- H.R. 8108, To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to add a Medicaid State plan requirement with respect to determination of residency of certain individuals serving in Armed Forces
- H.R. 8419, American Victims of Terrorism Compensation Act
- H.R. 8674, Milestones for Advanced Nuclear Fuels Act, as amended
- H.R. 8958, To reauthorize the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and for other purposes, as amended
- H.R. 9459, PATHS Act
- H.R. 9460, DHS Joint Task Forces Reauthorization Act of 2024
- H.R. 9488, SHIELD Act, as amended
- S. 133, NAPA Reauthorization Act
- S. 134, Alzheimer’s Accountability and Investment Act
- S. 150, Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act of 2023
- S. 376, A bill to designate the area between the intersections of 16th Street, Northwest and Fuller Street, Northwest and 16th Street, Northwest and Euclid Street, Northwest in Washington, District of Columbia, as “Oswaldo Paya Way”
- S. 612, Lake Tahoe Restoration Reauthorization Act
- S. 656, Veteran Improvement Commercial Driver License Act of 2023
- S. 670, IMPACTT Human Trafficking Act
- S. 679, GAO Database Modernization Act of 2024
- S. 794, CTPAT Pilot Program Act
- S. 1549, CBO Data Access Act
- S. 2087, Congressional Award Program Reauthorization Act of 2023
- S. 2685, Reuse Excess Property Act
- S. 3639, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2075 West Stadium Boulevard in Ann Arbor, Michigan, as the “Robert Hayden Post Office”
- S. 3640, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 155 South Main Street in Mount Clemens, Michigan, as the “Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Jefferson Post Office”
- S. 3764, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Reauthorization Act of 2024
- S. 3851, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 90 McCamly Street South in Battle Creek, Michigan, as the “Sojourner Truth Post Office”
MIL OSI USA News –
September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Counter Cyber and Physical Terrorism Joint Exercise 2024 successfully concludes

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Counter Cyber and Physical Terrorism Joint Exercise 2024 successfully concludes
Counter Cyber and Physical Terrorism Joint Exercise 2024 successfully concludes
*******************************************************************************

The Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau (CSTCB) of the Hong Kong Police Force held the Counter Cyber and Physical Terrorism Joint Exercise 2024 codenamed BATTLEAIR in collaboration with the INTERPOL and the Macao Judiciary Police today (September 21) to enhance participants’ capabilities in responding to cyber attacks and physical counter terrorism. This was Phase II of the exercise, which built on the successful completion of Phase I tabletop exercise conducted last month (August 14) and put in place its outcome in this physical exercise today. More than 230 local, Macao and overseas members from the INTERPOL, the Macao Judiciary Police, CSTCB, Airport District (APTDIST), Emergency Unit of New Territories South (EU NTS), Explosive Ordnance Disposal Bureau, Police Tactical Unit, Airport Authority Hong Kong and Aviation Security Company Limited participated in the physical exercise. The exercise simulated a scenario in which four terrorists launched cyber attacks against Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) and Companhia de Electricidade de Macau with the aim to paralyse public services and cause public panic. During the exercise, terrorists not only placed suspicious items and operated drones to create chaos but also attempted to carry out armed attacks on members of the public. In response to the terrorist plot, APTDIST and EU NTS acted quickly to stop and apprehend the three terrorists. Regarding cyber security, CSTCB officers conducted incident response, digital forensics works and system recovery to address the hacking into the computer systems of HKIA. They also shared intelligence with the INTERPOL and the Macao Judiciary Police, which ultimately led to the successful arrest of other fleeing terrorists in Macao by the Macao Judiciary Police. Representatives of KPMG Advisory (Hong Kong) Limited were invited for the first time to provide valuable insights and participate in the exercise as a member of the Cyber Security Action Task Force, fostering collaboration between public and private organisations. The Commissioner of Police, Mr Siu Chak-yee, and the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations), Mr Chow Yat-ming also attended and monitored the exercise. The Force hoped that this exercise could strengthen the capabilities of participants in responding to cyber attacks and physical counter terrorism, as well as foster the communication between management agencies of critical infrastructures and the Force and enhance the efficiency of the workflow when handling terrorist attacks, in order to prevent incidents before they occur and to respond swiftly together when necessary.

Ends/Saturday, September 21, 2024Issued at HKT 17:02

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MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

September 29, 2024

Category: terrorism

DLE News Release: Hawai‘i awarded $800,000 targeted violence prevention grant

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Canadian measures

The failed search for fast victory

Russian tactical actions

Ukrainian morale

Long-term vision

Bipartisan legislation would improve the State Department’s crisis response in US-involved conflicts abroad

Curriculum vitae

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