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Lloyd Austin

The latest news on Lloyd Austin, civil servant and United States Secretary of Defense, including political news and updates.<br />

Born

8 Aug 1953

Industry

Politics, Military

Job Title

Politician

Razor wire and security cameras at the entrance to Area 51. Photo: Reuters

UFOs and Extraterrestrial Life

My Take | Sorry, there are no UFOs, just a vast US deep state conspiracy

Report exposes how the Pentagon propagated alien myths to distract the public from secret weapons programmes during the Cold War.

14 Jun 2025 - 4:31AM

US-China relations

Opinion | Why US defence chief’s attack on China won’t find favour in Southeast Asia

11 Jun 2025 - 8:30PMvideocam

US-China relations

US spotlights Taiwan risks as China’s 2027 defence goal nears

3 Jun 2025 - 5:11PM

US-China relations

At Shangri-La Dialogue, Pete Hegseth says China aims to alter Asia’s status quo

Pentagon chief urges US allies to step up defence spending in the face of ‘real’ and ‘imminent’ threat posed by Beijing.

31 May 2025 - 9:59PM

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth delivers his speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday. Photo: EPA-EFE

US-China relations

China’s nuclear warheads total 600 and raise ‘concerns’: Pentagon

Both the diversity and sophistication of its arsenal like precision-strike capable missiles have improved, annual US defence report finds.

19 Dec 2024 - 7:15AM

South Korea

Top US diplomat Blinken to talk to South Korea following martial law decision

No opportunity ‘to speak to his counterpart yet’ but dialogue between Pentagon officials and opposite numbers under way ‘at multiple levels’.

6 Dec 2024 - 10:40AMvideocam

United States

Torture of 9/11 suspects is the ‘original sin’ delaying a trial

The plea, aimed at sparing suspects the death penalty, was revoked by Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin following outcry from victims’ families.

10 Aug 2024 - 10:53PM

This courtroom drawing by Janet Hamlin from December 8, 2008, shows Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, center, and co-defendant Walid Bin Attash, left, attending a pre-trial session at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. Photo: AP

US-China relations

Pentagon to bolster response to China, Russia in melting Arctic

In a new report, the US defence department highlighted concern over a ‘growing alignment’ between China and Russia.

23 Jul 2024 - 1:50PMvideocam

Asean

Opinion | Why the US is suddenly going soft on Cambodia

It’s likely a goodwill gesture to Phnom Penh’s ally China, amid shared US-China concerns over the threat of Moscow and Pyongyang drawing closer.

12 Jul 2024 - 5:55AMvideocam

US-China relations

Opinion | Shangri-La Dialogue shows US-China rivalry extends far beyond Asia

The prominence of global conflicts beyond the Indo-Pacific highlights how the US and China can no longer isolate different theatres of competition.

6 Jun 2024 - 8:30PMvideocam

US-China relations

Opinion | Shangri-La Dialogue shows US-China rivalry extends far beyond Asia

This year’s Shangri-La Dialogue tackled the world’s most acute security challenges, such as Ukraine, the Israel-Gaza war and South China Sea tensions. The prominence of global conflicts beyond the Indo-Pacific highlights how the US and China can no longer isolate different theatres of competition.

5 Jun 2024 - 8:49AMvideocam

Diplomacy

US, China talk defence in Singapore

The defence chiefs of China and the US broke a two-year silence in a discussion on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. While there was little surprise in the list of grievances and little change in the positions of the two sides, the restarting of talks was regarded as progress as tensions simmer in Asia-Pacific and beyond.

4 Jun 2024 - 5:14PM

US-China relations

Shangri-La Dialogue: US defence chief pushes partnerships, pledges China talks

Washington seeks peaceful resolution of disputes, ‘not coercion’, says US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin at Singapore security forum.

1 Jun 2024 - 8:30PMvideocam

South China Sea

Shangri-La Dialogue – it’s time to talk

As the curtain is set to rise on a meeting of defence ministers in Singapore, a face-to-face meeting between US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun looks set to occur, with the two facing off on issues ranging from the Taiwan Strait to the South China Sea.

31 May 2024 - 10:00AM

China’s Defence Minister Dong Jun visits Singapore to attend the Shangri-La Dialogue, where he is expected to meet his American counterpart Lloyd Austin. Photo: Bloomberg

Ukraine war

US has no plan to send military trainers into Ukraine, top general says

US general gives briefing on US commitments to Ukraine after France opened the door to sending troops to train Kyiv’s forces.

21 May 2024 - 3:13PMvideocam

General Charles Q Brown, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff. Photo: AFP

US-Russia relations

Kremlin dismisses report Russia is behind Havana Syndrome affecting US spies

Latvia-based media group reported that members of a Russian intelligence unit had been placed at scene of reported health incidents involving US staff. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said report was baseless.

2 Apr 2024 - 3:59AM

United States

Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin admitted to critical care, transfers powers

US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin, who is fighting prostate cancer, transferred his duties to his deputy hours after he was taken to hospital for ‘an emergent bladder issue’.

12 Feb 2024 - 2:49PM

United States

Pentagon chief apologises for concealing cancer hospitalisation

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin says the diagnosis was a ‘gut punch’, but admits he should have told Biden and senior staff instead of keeping it a secret.

2 Feb 2024 - 1:58AM

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin takes questions during a press conference at the Pentagon on Thursday. Photo: AFP

Middle East

US defence chief Lloyd Austin vows ‘all necessary actions’ after US troop deaths

Austin, who returned to work after nearly a month’s absence because of prostate cancer complications, said: ‘The president and I will not tolerate attacks on US forces.’

30 Jan 2024 - 2:44AMvideocam

United States

US defence chief Lloyd Austin released from hospital

‘I’m eager to fully recover and return as quickly as possible to the Pentagon,’ Austin said. He had initially concealed his prostate cancer diagnosis from Joe Biden.

16 Jan 2024 - 2:17AM

United States

Lloyd Austin’s doctors think he may need additional care: White House

US National Security spokesman John Kirby said ‘there is routine regular communication’ between President Joe Biden and the defence secretary and that Austin remains ‘actively involved’ from the hospital.

15 Jan 2024 - 2:04AM

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin. Photo: AP

United States

US defence chief has prostate cancer – and Biden just found out

The White House is mounting a policy review, after the US president and other key officials were not told for days about Pentagon head Lloyd Austin’s condition and hospitalisation.

10 Jan 2024 - 5:11AM

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin testifies during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense hearing in May 2023. Photo: AFP

Donald Trump

Trump calls for removal of Pentagon chief Austin, Biden has no plans to fire him

‘He has been missing for one week, and nobody, including his boss, Crooked Joe Biden, had a clue as to where he was, or might be,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social.

9 Jan 2024 - 2:07AM

United States

Why was US defence chief’s hospital stay kept secret for days?

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin’s hospitalisation was kept far more secret than previously known, officials disclosed on Sunday.

8 Jan 2024 - 9:54AM

United States

US defence chief Lloyd Austin hospitalised over ‘medical complications’

The Pentagon said Austin was admitted to hospital on January 1 ‘for complications following a recent elective medical procedure’ but did not provide details.

6 Jan 2024 - 7:39AM

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin. Photo: AFP via Getty Images / TNS

Israel-Gaza war

To beat Hamas, Israel must shield Gaza civilians, US defence chief says

Driving non-combatants into the arms of the enemy will turn a ‘tactical victory’ into ‘strategic defeat’, Pentagon head Lloyd Austin said, drawing on his experience battling Isis.

3 Dec 2023 - 5:20AM

A Palestinian carries a child hurt in an Israeli strike in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on Friday. Photo: Reuters

Ukraine war

Pentagon chief pledges US$100 million to support Kyiv’s fight against Russia

In a surprise trip to Kyiv, Austin said the US would be sending an additional US$100 million in weapons to Ukraine from US existing stockpiles. To date, Ukraine has received more than US$44 billion from the US.

21 Nov 2023 - 7:55AMvideocam

US-China relations

US defence secretary to meet Chinese counterpart ‘when that person is named’

Beijing has not had a defence minister since Li Shangfu was removed from the post in October for unknown reasons.

17 Nov 2023 - 7:15AMvideocam

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