Category: 2. World

President Donald Trump recently said ‘defence is too defensive’ as the US wants ‘to be offensive too’.

United States President Donald Trump is due to rename the Department of Defense as the Department of War in a bid to rebrand the government agency with a more forceful image.

The name change is expected to be implemented in an executive order on Friday, according to The Associated Press news agency, quoting White House officials familiar with the rebranding effort.

The “Department of War” will become the secondary name for the Department of Defense until legislative action can make the name change permanent, according to an unreleased fact sheet.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote “DEPARTMENT OF WAR” in a post on social media above a news story on the reported change.

Hegseth made no other comment.

DEPARTMENT OF WAR https://t.co/uyAZGiklRi

— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) September 4, 2025

President Trump had said a name change would remind people of past US military victories in World War I and World War II, when the US was an emerging superpower.

“Everybody likes that we had an unbelievable history of victory when it was Department of War,” he told reporters late last month.

“Then we changed it to Department of Defense,” he said.

“Defense is too defensive. And we want to be defensive, but we want to be offensive too, if we have to be,” he said.

The Department of Defence was previously known as the “Department of War” from 1789 until a reorganisation of the US military at the end of World War II, which concluded in 1945.

It was then renamed the National Military Establishment following a merger with other departments in 1947, and the name was later amended to the Department of Defense.

Those name changes were made through an act of Congress.

The defence department is frequently referred to as just the “Pentagon”, after the unique shape of its headquarters near Washington, DC, or it is referred to by its initials, “DOD”.

US media reported that it is still unclear how Trump will make the name change permanent, but Defense Secretary Hegseth will be instructed to pursue legal and legislative means, according to reports.

Hegseth made remarks similar to Trump’s regarding the department’s name in an interview on the US channel Fox News, stating that his agency wants a “warrior ethos”.

“We want warriors, folks that understand how to exact lethality on the enemy,” he said.

“We don’t want endless contingencies and just playing defence. We think words and names and titles matter. So, we’re working with the White House and the president on it. Stand by,” he said.

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Published On: Fri, 05 Sep 2025

10:24:42 PKT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Governor Kathy Hochul and migrant advocacy groups said on Thursday that dozens of people were detained in parts of New York state after raids in Cato and Fulton by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement federal agents.

“I am outraged by this morning’s ICE raids in Cato and Fulton, where more than 40 adults were seized — including parents of at least a dozen children at risk of returning from school to an empty house,” Hochul said in a statement released by her office.

Under President Donald Trump, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has become the driving force of his sweeping crackdown on migrants, bolstered by record funding and new latitude to conduct raids.

Trump has said he wants to deport “the worst of the worst” criminals but ICE figures have shown a rise in non-criminals being picked up.

Migrant advocacy group Rural & Migrant Ministry said on Facebook that over 70 workers were arrested after an ICE raid at a nutrition bar factory, Nutrition Bar Confectioners, in the village of Cato.

The New York Times also put the figure of those who were detained at more than 70, citing witnesses. The newspaper said the raid at the nutrition bar factory appeared to be one of the biggest workplace raids in New York since Trump’s crackdown began after he took office.

“I’ve made it clear: New York will work with the federal government to secure our borders and deport violent criminals, but we will never stand for masked ICE agents separating families and abandoning children,” Hochul added.

Mark Schmidt, 70, the principal owner of Nutrition Bar Confectioners, was quoted as saying by the New York Times that all his workers had legal documentation to work in the United States and that the operation was “overkill.”

An ICE Homeland Security Investigations spokesperson was quoted as saying by media that the step was part of “court-authorized enforcement actions.”

“While we cannot comment further about this specific ongoing criminal investigation at this time, ICE HSI remains committed to protecting the rights of workers and upholding US laws,” the spokesperson’s statement cited in Spectrum News 1 read.

Details about the raid in Fulton that Hocul mentioned were not immediately available, but the governor said such actions will not make New York safer.

“What they did was shatter hard-working families who are simply trying to build a life here,” the New York governor added. 

US President Donald Trump is once again moving ahead with a rebranding push — this time targeting the Pentagon, the country’s defence headquarters based in Virginia. The US president is set to sign an executive order on Friday that will allow the Pentagon to be referred to as the “Department of War.“The order permits the title to be used as a secondary designation for the US government’s largest organization.

According to Sky News, it will also allow defence secretary Pete Hegseth to identify himself as the “secretary of war” in official documents and ceremonies.

Hegseth appeared to endorse the move on Thursday night, posting the words “DEPARTMENT OF WAR” on X.Trump had hinted at the change last week during an Oval Office exchange with reporters. “We call it the Department of Defense, but between us, I think we’re gonna change the name,” he said on August 25. He added: “We won the World War 1, World War 2 – it was called the Department of War, and to me, that’s really what it is. Defense is a part of that, but I have a feeling we’re gonna be changing.”The Department of War was originally established by the first US President George Washington to oversee the Army. It retained the name until 1949, when President Harry Truman reorganized the military. Truman had earlier signed the National Security Act of 1947, merging the Department of the Navy, the newly created Department of the Air Force, and the Department of the Army — then known as the Department of War — into the National Military Establishment under a civilian secretary of defense. In August 1949, the establishment was renamed the Department of Defense.The Pentagon renaming effort comes after a series of moves by Hegseth to reverse earlier policies. Among them was the restoration of Confederate-era names like Fort Bragg and Fort Hood, which had been changed under the Biden administration. Hegseth kept the names but reattributed them to other historical figures with the same titles.

Thailand’s influential former prime miniser Thaksin Shinawatra flew out of the country on Thursday, police said, a day before a parliamentary vote for the next prime minister and ahead of a court ruling that could see him jailed.

Many in Thailand spent Thursday evening glued to flight tracking websites, avidly following the path of Thaksin’s private jet.

News that he was at Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport broke early on Thursday evening, with local media reporting he had been stopped by immigration. He planned to visit Singapore for two days for a medical appointment, Thai outlets reported.

His plane took off after authorities confirmed that he did not have any court order prohibiting him from leaving the country, police said in a statement.

As he left Thailand, social media was flooded with speculation. Many wondered if Thaksin might instead head to Dubai, where he previously lived in self-imposed exile to avoid legal charges for abuse of power and conflicts of interest.

His trip abroad comes just days before a court is due to rule in a legal case that could result in him being sent to jail – and the night before parliament was set to decide who should replace his ousted daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra as prime minister.

Tens of thousands tracked his plane online, as it flew from Bangkok down through the Gulf of Thailand, then crossing through Malaysia. But rather than stopping in Singapore, the plane suddenly turned west, and looped in two circles.

Thai media interviewed aviation experts on air, analysing the flight path, the amount of fuel carried and its possible destination, as the story led the news bulletins.

“Dear Passenger, your captain is flying in circles to entertain Flightradar viewers, please wave your hands,” joked one social media user. Then the plane began to fly in the direction of India.

Thaksin previously spent more than 15 years in exile to avoid legal charges, and returned to Thailand only in 2023, after striking an uneasy deal with his old enemies in the military royalist establishment. The deal was mutually beneficial, with the two sides forming a government to keep a popular, youthful pro-reform party out of power.

Thaksin was sentenced to eight years in prison upon his return to Thailand, which was commuted to one year by the king. He spent less than 24 hours in prison after citing health problems, instead staying six months in a VIP hospital wing, before being released on parole.

That arrangement is now the subject of a court case, due to be decided next week. It’s possible he could be returned to prison, if judges deem that he has not yet adequately served out his sentence.

Early on Friday morning, Thaksin wrote on social media that he would return to Thailand no later than Monday, and that he would attend court in person on Tuesday to hear the judgment handed down.

Thaksin responded to online speculation by saying he had intended to travel to Singapore for a medical checkup with a doctor he had seen previously while living abroad. “Thai immigration delayed me for nearly two hours,” he said, adding this happened despite him having the right to travel.

The delay prevented him from landing at Singapore’s Seletar Airport, which is used for private jets, as the airport only operates until 10pm, he said.

“Since I couldn’t land in Singapore, I decided to have the pilot change my plans to Dubai. I have long-time orthopedic and pulmonary doctors in Dubai, and I also had the opportunity to visit friends in Dubai whom I hadn’t seen in over two years,” Thaksin wrote, saying his pilot had circled in the sky while waiting for permission from the airport in Dubai.

On social media, speculation about his family’s broader prospects continued. On Friday, Thailand’s parliament is due to vote in a new prime minister, with the royalist conservative politician Anutin Charnvirakul expected to win in a race again Chaikasem Nitisiri, a candidate from Thaksin’s Pheu Thai party.

Donald Trump is to rebrand the US Department of Defense as the Department of War, according to the White House.

The president will today sign an executive order allowing it to be used as a secondary title for the US government’s biggest organisation.

It also means defence secretary Pete Hegseth will be able to refer to himself as the “secretary of war” in official communications and ceremonies.

Mr Hegseth posted the words “DEPARTMENT OF WAR” on X on Thursday night.

Permanently renaming the department would need congressional approval, but the White House said the executive order will instruct Mr Hegseth to begin the process.

The Department of Defense – often referred to colloquially as the Pentagon due to the shape of its Washington HQ – was called the War Department until 1949.

Historians say the name was changed to show the US was focused on preventing conflict following the Second World War and the dawning of the nuclear age.

Mr Trump raised the possibility of a change in June, when he suggested it was originally renamed to be “politically correct”.

His reversion to the more combative title could cost tens of millions, with letterheads and building signs in the US and at military bases around the world potentially needing a refresh.

Joe Biden’s effort to rename nine army bases honouring the Confederacy and Confederate leaders, set to cost $39m (£29m), was reversed by Mr Hegseth earlier this year.

Read more from Sky News:
The proxy war that will redefine US public health
Judge says Trump’s National Guard deployment was illegal

Opponents have already criticised Mr Trump’s move.

“Why not put this money toward supporting military families or toward employing diplomats that help prevent conflicts from starting in the first place?” said Democratic senator Tammy Duckworth, a member of the armed services committee.

Mr Trump’s other federal renaming orders include controversially labelling the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf Of America” and reverting North America’s tallest mountain, Denali in Alaska, to its former name of Mount McKinley.

The Mexican government and Alaska’s Republican senators both rejected the changes.

SYNOPSIS

China and India are easing tensions, but the sensitive terrain of territorial disagreements and overlapping regional ambitions remains in the way.

COMMENTARY

“It should be the right choice for China and India to be good-neighbourly friends and partners that help each other succeed, and have the dragon and the elephant dance together,” said Chinese President Xi Jinping at his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Tianjin on Sunday (Aug 31).

The dragon and elephant metaphor is often used to describe the geopolitical and economic ties between China and India. At times, they fight. At times, they co-exist. And at times, they dance.

Xi invoked the imagery at his meeting with Mr Modi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit, at a time when both countries are trying to stabilise a historically uneasy relationship. The visit marked the first trip to China by Modi in seven years.

The two Asian giants have great potential for collaboration. They are among the ten biggest economies of the world, and together boast a market of 2.8 billion people. As emerging powers, they have shared interests in global economic stability, common development and multilateralism.

These shared interests prompted recent advances in the Sino-Indian relationship. After a five-year hiatus incited by security tensions on their disputed border, they recently agreed to continue the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra pilgrimage, resume direct flights, recommence the issuing of Indian tourist visas to Chinese nationals, and are planning to reinstate border trade. At a recent meeting between their foreign ministers, the two economies committed to facilitating trade and investment ties via concrete measures.

Actions by third actors have catalysed the recent thaw between China and India. In its quest to weaken Russia’s war effort in Ukraine, the European Union sanctioned multiple Chinese and Indian entities for their purported support of Moscow. At the same time, the United States imposed hefty import tariffs on Chinese and Indian products and unleashed further levies for Indian oil purchases from Russia.

New Delhi and Beijing found common ground on this issue, pushing back against Brussels and Washington, charging them with discrimination and double standards against Chinese and Indian companies.

Against this backdrop, the leaders struck a positive tone at their meeting. They expressed appreciation for the constructive momentum and consistent advancement in bilateral ties. They reiterated that the two nations view each other as development partners rather than competitors and doubled down on their commitment to growth and multipolarity.

While current geopolitical trends facilitate the thaw in China-India relations, there are deep-rooted issues between them that can set back or even derail the process.

Sticky Issues Related to the Border and River Flows

China and India share a disputed border spanning thousands of kilometres. In 2020, after decades of bloodless militarised interaction in the contested regions, a deadly conflict erupted, claiming the lives of at least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers.

While the 2024 border patrol agreement brought back stability on the border, a long list of sensitive issues between China and India remains.

According to recent reports, China plans to construct a rail link between Xinjiang and Tibet, which will reportedly run close to disputed areas. On the other side of the Himalayas, India has been upgrading its infrastructure in the disputed region.

Furthermore, China recently started the construction of the largest hydropower project in the world, the Motuo Hydropower Station. The dam’s location on the transboundary Yarlung Tsangpo river may enable China to divert or control the river’s water flows and potentially harm the interests of downstream states, such as India. New Delhi formally articulated concerns over the dam’s potential impact on regional stability and water flows.

While these developments have not derailed the Sino-Indian rapprochement, they can spur protracted discontent between the two sides and become flashpoints in the future. The example of the 2020 Galwan conflict shows that border-related issues can escalate and freeze ties for years.

Overlapping Regional Ambitions

The boundary problem and river flows are far from being the only friction points between China and India. The two countries are both key regional players in each other’s backyards, and their overlapping regional activities tend to frustrate one another.

China’s close ties with Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Bangladesh and Pakistan have long been viewed as a threat to India’s strategic interests. These ties, based on Chinese investments, loans and arms supplies, have triggered concerns of encirclement in New Delhi.

On the other side of the equation, some of India’s strategic activities in Southeast Asia draw concern from China. In early August, India and the Philippines conducted their first joint maritime exercise in the South China Sea. Beijing is wary of non-regional states’ strategic presence in the area, and after the joint maritime drill, warned third parties not to interfere in the South China Sea dispute.

Southeast Asia and China-India Ties

In sum, the China-India thaw is underway, but New Delhi and Beijing have to navigate the sensitive terrain of territorial disagreements and overlapping regional ambitions.

This nuanced geopolitical setting brings opportunities and challenges to Southeast Asian states.

The positive direction of ties between China and India enhances stability in the Asia-Pacific. The lower likelihood of a military conflict benefits Southeast Asian states as they can focus on deepening ties with China and India. Closer interaction with Beijing and New Delhi can mitigate the fallout of US tariff policies and strategic retrenchment.

With the opportunity comes challenges. First, as long as the border dispute is not resolved, the ties between China and India can turn volatile at any moment. This requires agile policymaking that is prepared for worst-case scenarios, such as a spike in tensions on the Sino-Indian border followed by a downturn in their bilateral ties.

Second, as China and India vie for influence in Southeast Asia, regional states have to balance their strategic engagements carefully to maintain equidistance between them for the sake of preserving strategic flexibility.

Third, US tariffs already triggered a flow of cheap Chinese goods to Southeast Asia. The situation could turn for the worse if the US and China fail to reach an agreement and Washington maintains hefty tariffs on Beijing.

Now that India is also among the states heavily hit by US tariffs, Indian firms might follow the Chinese playbook and double down on sales to Southeast Asian markets. Therefore, regional states must monitor trade rerouting patterns to protect local businesses from being undercut by cheap imports from China and India.

Ultimately, the trajectory of China-India relations will play a key role in shaping Southeast Asia’s security landscape, geoeconomic outlook, and its capacity to manoeuvre within an increasingly complex, multipolar order.

About the Author

Daniel Balazs is a Research Fellow in the China Programme of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. The views expressed are his own and do not represent the views of his affiliated institutions. This commentary was published on CNA on 3 September 2025. It is republished here with permission.