Tag Archives: arms

Grisly Mexican gang battle near U.S. border leaves 21 dead

FILE PHOTO: A logo patch is shown on the uniform of a U.S. Border Patrol agent near the international border between Mexico and the United States south of San Diego, California March 26, 2013. REUTERS/Mike Blake

By Delphine Schrank

REYNOSA, Mexico (Reuters) – The charred remains of 21 people killed in a suspected gang battle have been found in a Mexican border town, just over the river from where U.S. President Donald Trump was seeking to win support on Thursday for his plan to build a border wall.

Officials in the notoriously violent border state of Tamaulipas said they were investigating the incident, which took place in Ciudad Miguel Aleman, after discovering the bodies on Wednesday. Seventeen of the bodies were burned.

Photos shared with Reuters by a state official show the deceased scattered along a dirt track in scrubland, alongside burned-out vehicles.

Trump visited McAllen, Texas on Thursday afternoon, about 90 kilometers (56 miles) from Ciudad Miguel Aleman. He threatened to use emergency powers to bypass Congress and get billions of dollars to pay for the wall.

He has justified that demand by saying that undocumented migrants, criminals and illegal drugs have been pouring across the border. Statistics show illegal immigration has fallen to a 20-year low, while many drugs are believed to enter through legal ports of entry.

In Tamaulipas, turf wars between the local Gulf Cartel and its chief rival, the Zetas, have been a key source of bloodshed over recent years.

One body found was wearing the remains of a baseball cap bearing the letters and logo of the Gulf Cartel, while others wore the remains of bullet-proof vests with the same insignia, according to the photos.

Luis Rodriguez, a spokesman for state police, said in a statement that it appeared gunmen from the Gulf Cartel had fought with members of the Northeast Cartel, a group that split off from the Zetas.

Irving Barrios, the state’s attorney general, said in a radio interview that authorities found semi-automatic weapons and bulletproof vehicles at the site.

The area is “greatly fought over” by traffickers of arms and drugs as well as those who help undocumented migrants to cross to the United States, he said.

Another confrontation on Thursday morning between an armed group and military forces in Nueva Ciudad Guerrero, also in Tamaulipas, left five people dead and one military officer injured, said a representative from the state’s peace coordination group.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed in Mexico during years of fighting between security forces and cartels warring over drug trafficking, extortion rackets and the exploitation of migrants.

(Reporting by Delphine Schrank in Reynosa, additional reporting by Lizbeth Diaz in Tijuana and Michael O’Boyle and Daina Beth Solomon in Mexico City; editing by Rosalba O’Brien)

Kremlin rejects U.S. charge Russia in breach of arms control treaties

Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses the Federal Assembly, including the State Duma parliamentarians, members of the Federation Council, regional governors and other high-ranking officials, in Moscow, Russia March 1, 2018. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Kremlin on Friday rejected a U.S. allegation that Russia had been developing destabilizing weapons systems for over a decade in direct violations of its treaty obligations.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders made the allegation on Thursday after President Vladimir Putin announced an array of new nuclear weapons, saying they could hit almost any point in the world and evade a U.S.-built missile shield.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call on Friday that Russia categorically denied it was in breach of any international arms control pacts.

Peskov also rejected an assertion that Putin’s speech, one of his most bellicose in years, would deepen Russia’s international isolation and said it did not herald the start of a new arms race.

“Russia does not plan to get dragged into any arms race,” said Peskov.

(Reporting by Polina Nikolskaya/Polina Devitt; Editing by Andrew Osborn)

Taiwan plans to invest in advanced arms as China flexes its muscles

A Taiwanese domestically-built Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF) (also known as the AIDC F-CK-1 Ching-kuo) performs at Gangshan air force base in Kaohsiung, Taiwan August 7, 2017.

By Jess Macy Yu and Greg Torode

TAIPEI/HONG KONG (Reuters) – Taiwan’s ruling party plans to use a long-term increase in defense spending to pursue advanced weapons systems, government officials say, in what is widely seen as growing determination to forge a stronger deterrent against a Chinese attack.

The left-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), led by President Tsai Ing-wen, is working on detailed spending plans through 2025, two officials with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

Tsai and her team have met repeatedly with military leaders in a push for new investment in training and equipment, one of the officials said. Immediate priorities include new missiles, drones and electronic warfare systems, fighter aircraft and ballistic missile defenses, according to a separate statement from the Ministry of National Defence sent to Reuters.

Although some arms would be domestically produced, such as an existing plan to locally build eight submarines, they say a longer-term Taiwanese drive for improved capabilities could mean fresh U.S. deals. Those requests could deepen tensions between Beijing and Washington.

China considers democratic Taiwan to be a wayward province and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control.

The United States, Taiwan’s sole foreign supplier of arms, has for years called on Taipei to address a worsening military imbalance across the Taiwan Strait, which has recently seen heightened tensions amid military assertiveness by China. In the first week of 2018, China sailed an aircraft carrier and other military ships through the strait on a training mission.

“If there are three weapons systems that China’s high command really wants to keep out of Taiwan’s hands, it is submarines, fighter jets and ballistic missile defenses. Taipei is smartly investing in all three,” said Ian Easton, a U.S.-based research fellow at the Project 2049 Institute, which studies Asia security issues.

In October, Tsai signaled that defense spending would increase by at least 2 percent each year, with more possible based on the need for significant purchases.

By 2025, Taiwan’s annual defense spending is projected to increase by at least 20 percent – or NT$62.4 billion ($2.08 billion) – to NT$381.7 billion, the officials said, if the legislature approves the future budgets.

With economic growth “on track” for this year, Taiwan’s defense spending will “likely” exceed the baseline that the president has announced, one of the officials said.

“The Tsai administration is seeking to undo years of defense spending cuts,” the two officials said in a separate written statement to Reuters.

“The additional funds will target enhancements in asymmetrical defense strategies in the short-term, and advanced weapons and equipment either domestically produced or through defense procurements in the long-term,” one of them added.

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence confirmed to Reuters that electronic warfare, information security and improved drones were among the priorities for this year, along with existing programs, including upgrades of its Raytheon Co Patriot missile defenses, Lockheed Martin Corp F-16A/B jet fighters and indigenously built training planes.

The ministry also confirmed plans to improve mobile missile launchers, but has yet to detail whether that would mean reviving an earlier ballistic missile program or improving the cruise missiles Taiwan already has. Both are likely to face intense Chinese scrutiny.

The planned increases mark a change in commitment from the previous China-friendly Kuomintang government under President Ma Ying-jeou, under whom defense spending from 2009 to 2016 slid from 3 percent to 2.1 percent of GDP, according to government data.

Regional diplomats are watching developments closely. Although few nations have formal diplomatic or military ties with the island, any boost in Taiwan’s military could complicate China’s strategic domain.

“The military balance is rapidly shifting in China’s favor, but the new Taiwanese government is more prepared to stand up to China’s behavior,” said Singapore-based security analyst Tim Huxley. “I think some countries, particularly Japan, will see that as a net benefit by making life more difficult for China.”

In recent months, China has ramped up its long-range air force drills, particularly around Taiwan. In March, it said its defense spending would increase 7 percent for 2017, or 1.044 trillion yuan ($158.70 billion).

After taking office in 2016, Tsai has promoted Taiwan’s domestic defense industry as one of several pillars under a so-called “5 plus 2” program that seeks to foster important business sectors in Taiwan.

Analysts have said Taiwan would need to improve both asymmetric warfare and high-end capabilities like aircraft and missile defense after years of budgetary neglect.

Asymmetric warfare means using limited resources to inflict unacceptable damage to a more powerful opponent. Taiwan is betting it can make an attack on it too painful for China to consider, according to Collin Koh, a research fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

“The Taiwanese may not be able to overturn the balance of power now, but they can improve their abilities to raise the costs on China,” he said.

(Editing by Anne Marie Roantree and Gerry Doyle)

U.S. hikes ‘combat power’ in Syria, with eye on Iran-backed militia

A copy of leaflets, with English-language translation, that were dropped by the U.S. military in southern Syria in recent days to advise Iran-backed forces to depart an area near a garrison used by U.S. and U.S.-backed forces as tensions mount are shown in this handout provided June 1, 2017. Courtesy U.S. Defense Department/Handout via REUTERS

By Phil Stewart

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. military said on Thursday it had bolstered its “combat power” in southern Syria, warning that it viewed Iran-backed fighters in the area as a threat to nearby coalition troops fighting Islamic State.

The remarks by a Baghdad-based spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition battling Islamic State was the latest sign of tension in the region, where the United States has forces at the base around the Syrian town of At Tanf supporting local fighters.

“We have increased our presence and our footprint and prepared for any threat that is presented by the pro-regime forces,” said the spokesman, U.S. Army Colonel Ryan Dillon, referring to Iran-backed forces supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Dillon estimated that a small number of Iran-backed forces had remained inside a so-called “deconfliction” zone meant to ensure the safety of U.S.-led coalition forces since a May 18 U.S. strike on their advancing formation.

Meanwhile, a larger number had been massing directly outside the zone, which was agreed between the United States and Russia, which is supporting Assad.

“We see that as a threat,” Dillon said.

The U.S. military has also dropped about 90,000 leaflets this week warning the fighters inside the zone to depart, one U.S. official said. Reuters had previously reported on the leaflet drop, citing Hammurabi Justice, a website linked to U.S.-backed Syrian rebel forces known as the Maghawir al Thwra group.

A copy of the leaflets provided to Reuters by the Pentagon told the Iran-backed fighters that any movement toward the At Tanf garrison “will be seen as hostile intent and we will defend our forces.”

“You are within an established deconfliction zone, leave the area immediately,” another read.

This southeastern area of the Syrian desert, known as the Badia, has become an important front in Syria’s civil war between Assad, backed by Iran and Shi’ite militias, and rebels seeking to oust him.

They are competing to capture land held by Islamic State, which is retreating as it comes under intense attack in Iraq and along Syria’s Euphrates basin.

Western-backed Syrian rebels said on Wednesday that Russian jets attacked them as they tried to advance against Iran-backed militias.

U.S.-backed rebels took Tanf from Islamic State last year, and regional intelligence sources say they mean to use it as a launchpad to capture Bukamal, a town on Syria’s border with Iraq and an important jihadist supply route.

The coalition’s presence in Tanf, on the Damascus-Baghdad highway, was also meant to stop Iran-backed groups from opening an overland route between Iraq and Syria, the sources say.

Damascus has declared the Badia and Deir al-Zor priorities in its campaign to re-establish control over Syria, which has been shattered by six years of a war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)

China says weapons won’t stop unification with Taiwan

Taiwan navy fast attack boats take part in a military drill in Kaohsiung port, southern Taiwan. REUTERS/Pichi Chuang

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s Defence Ministry said on Thursday it was futile for Taiwan to think it could use arms to prevent unification, as the self-ruled democratic island looks to fresh arms sales by the United States amid what it sees as a growing Chinese threat.

China has never renounced the use of force to bring under its control what it deems a wayward province, and Taiwan’s defense ministry says China has more than 1,000 missiles directed at the island.

The Trump administration is crafting a big new arms package for Taiwan that could include advanced rocket systems and anti-ship missiles to defend against China, U.S. officials said earlier this month, a deal sure to anger Beijing.

China is deeply suspicious of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, believing she wants to push the island toward formal independence, a red line for China. She says she wants to maintain peace with China.

“Separatist Taiwan independence forces and their activities are the greatest threat to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Wu Qian told a monthly news briefing.

“It is futile to ‘use weapons to refuse unification’, and is doomed to have no way out,” he added, without elaborating.

Defeated Nationalist forces fled to Taiwan after losing a civil war to the Communists in 1949.

Proudly democratic Taiwan has shown no interest in being ruled by autocratic China.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

Russia may be helping supply Taliban insurgents: U.S. general

Commander of U.S. Forces in Europe, General Curtis Scaparrotti speaks during a news conference in Tallinn, Estonia, March 14, 2017. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins

By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The top U.S. general in Europe said on Thursday that he had seen Russian influence on Afghan Taliban insurgents growing and raised the possibility that Moscow was helping supply the militants, whose reach is expanding in southern Afghanistan.

“I’ve seen the influence of Russia of late – increased influence in terms of association and perhaps even supply to the Taliban,” Army General Curtis Scaparrotti, who is also NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.

He did not elaborate on what kinds of supplies might be headed to the Taliban or how direct Russia’s role might be.

Moscow has been critical of the United States over its handling of the war in Afghanistan, where the Soviet Union fought a bloody and disastrous war of its own in the 1980s.

But Russian officials have denied they provide aid to the insurgents, who are contesting large swaths of territory and inflicting heavy casualties, and say their limited contacts are aimed at bringing the Taliban to the negotiating table.

According to U.S. estimates, government forces control less than 60 percent of Afghanistan, with almost half the country either contested or under control of the insurgents, who are seeking to reimpose Islamic law after their 2001 ouster.

Underlying the insurgents’ growing strength, Taliban fighters have captured the strategic district of Sangin in the southern Afghan province of Helmand, officials said on Thursday.

The top U.S. commander in the country, General John Nicholson, said last month that Afghanistan was in a “stalemate” and that thousands more international troops would be needed to boost the existing NATO-led training and advisory mission.

Scaparrotti said the stakes were high. More than 1,800 American troops have been killed in fighting since the war began in 2001.

“NATO and the United States, in my view, must win in Afghanistan,” he said.

Taliban officials have told Reuters that the group has had significant contacts with Moscow since at least 2007, adding that Russian involvement did not extend beyond “moral and political support.”

(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)

Russia offers Philippines arms and close friendship

Russian Ambassador to the Philippines Igor Khovaev (L) and Rear Admiral Eduard Mikhailov (C), the deputy commander of Flotilla of Pacific Fleet of Russia, answer questions from the members of the media onboard the Russian Navy vessel, Admiral Tributs, a large anti-submarine ship, docked at the south harbor port area in metro Manila, Philippines

By Karen Lema

MANILA (Reuters) – Russia is ready to supply the Philippines with sophisticated weapons including aircraft and submarines and aims to become a close friend of the traditional U.S. ally as it diversifies its foreign ties, Russia’s ambassador said on Wednesday.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has thrown the future of Philippine-U.S. relations into question with angry outbursts against the former colonial power and some scaling back of military ties while taking steps to boost ties with China and Russia.

Illustrating the transformation of Philippine foreign relations since Duterte took office in June, two Russian warships are on four-day visit to Manila this week, the first official navy-to-navy contact between the two countries.

Russian Ambassador Igor Anatolyevich Khovaev took the opportunity to hold a news conference on board the anti-submarine vessel Admiral Tributs.

He said he understood that the Philippines was intent on diversifying its foreign partners.

“It’s not a choice between these partners and those ones. Diversification means preserving and keeping old traditional partners and getting new ones. So Russia is ready to become a new reliable partner and close friend of the Philippines,” he said.

“We don’t interfere with your relations with your traditional partners and your traditional partners should respect the interest of the Philippines and Russia.”

The Russian navy visit comes less than a month after Duterte sent his foreign and defence ministers to Moscow to discuss arms deals after a U.S. senator said he would block the sale of 26,000 assault rifles to the Philippines due to concern about a rising death toll in a war on drugs launched by Duterte.

Khovaev said Russia had a range of weapons to offer.

“We are ready to supply small arms and light weapons, some aeroplanes, helicopters, submarines and many, many other weapons. Sophisticated weapons. Not the second-hand ones,” Khovaev said.

“Russia has a lot to offer but everything will be done in full compliance with international law.” .

He said it was too early to talk about the scope of military cooperation but, in a clear reference to the United States, said old allies should not worry.

“Your traditional partners should not be concerned about the military ties … If they are concerned, it means they need to get rid of clichés,” he said.

Rear Admiral Eduard Mikhailov, head of the Flotilla of the Russian Navy Pacific Fleet, said on Tuesday Russia wanted to  hold maritime exercises with the Philippines to help combat terrorism and piracy.

The United States and the Philippines have been holding naval exercises annually but Duterte has decided to reduce the number of exercises and to move naval drills away from the disputed South China Sea, to reassure China, which is suspicious of U.S. military movements in the disputed waters.

(Reporting by Karen Lema; Editing by Robert Birsel)

CIA weapons for Syrian rebels sold to arms black market

A rebel fighter sits near a weapon in Al-Lataminah village, northern Hama countryside, Syria

(Reuters) – Weapons shipped into Jordan for Syrian rebels by the Central Intelligence Agency and Saudi Arabia were stolen by Jordanian intelligence operatives and sold to arms merchants on the black market, the New York Times reported, citing American and Jordanian officials.

Some of the stolen weapons were used in a shooting in November that killed two Americans and three others at a police training facility in Amman, according to a joint investigation by the New York Times and Al Jazeera. (http://nyti.ms/292MmdH)

A Jordanian officer shot dead two U.S. government security contractors, a South African trainer and two Jordanians at a U.S.-funded police training facility near Amman before being killed in a shootout, Jordanian authorities had said in November.

The training facility was set up on the outskirts of the capital, Amman, after the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq to help rebuild the shattered country’s postwar security forces and to train Palestinian Authority police officers.

The weapons used in the shooting had originally arrived in Jordan for the Syrian rebel training program, the paper reported, citing American and Jordanian officials.

Theft of the weapons, which ended months ago after complaints by the American and Saudi governments, has led to a flood of new weapons available on the arms black market, the New York Times said.

Jordanian officers who were part of the plan “reaped a windfall” from sale of weapons, using the money to buy iPhones, SUVs and other luxury items, according to the paper, which cited Jordanian officials.

The CIA could not be immediately reached for comment.

(Reporting by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru; Editing by Chris Reese)

End to embargo on sales of arms to Vietnam

Vietnamese soldiers of a commando unit march during a parade marking their 70th National Day at Ba Dinh square in Hanoi,

By Matt Spetalnick

HANOI (Reuters) – The United States announced an end to its embargo on sales of lethal arms to Vietnam on Monday, an historic step that draws a line under the two countries’ old enmity and underscores their shared concerns about Beijing’s growing military clout.

The move came during President Barack Obama’s first visit to Hanoi, which his welcoming hosts described as the arrival of a warm spring and a new chapter in relations between two countries that were at war four decades ago.

Obama, the third U.S. president to visit Vietnam since diplomatic relations were restored in 1995, has made a strategic ‘rebalance’ toward Asia a centerpiece of his foreign policy.

Vietnam, a neighbor of China, is a key part of that strategy amid worries about Beijing’s assertiveness and sovereignty claims to 80 percent of the South China Sea.

The decision to lift the arms trade ban, which followed intense debate within the Obama administration, suggested such concerns outweighed arguments that Vietnam had not done enough to improve its human rights record and Washington would lose leverage for reforms.

Obama told a joint news conference with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang that disputes in the South China Sea should be resolved peacefully and not by whoever “throws their weight around”. But he insisted the arms embargo move was not linked to China.

“The decision to lift the ban was not based on China or any other considerations. It was based on our desire to complete what has been a lengthy process of moving towards normalization with Vietnam,” he said. Obama later added his visit to a former foe showed “hearts can change and peace is possible”.

The sale of arms, Obama said, would depend on Vietnam’s human rights commitments, and would be made on a case-by-case basis.

HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP OUTRAGED

Human Rights Watch reacted with dismay to Washington’s decision to toss away a critical lever it might have had to spur political reform in the Communist party-ruled state.

Phil Robertson, the watchdog’s Asia director, said in a statement that even as Obama was lifting the arms embargo Vietnamese authorities were arresting a journalist, human rights activists and bloggers on the street and in their houses.

“In one fell swoop, President Obama has jettisoned what remained of U.S. leverage to improve human rights in Vietnam – and basically gotten nothing for it,” he said.

Obama told the news conference with President Quang Washington would continue to speak out for human rights, including citizens’ right to organize through civil society.

Obama is scheduled to meet with a group of activists on Tuesday.

Quang, who actually announced the lifting of the U.S. embargo before Obama could do so, was until recently minister of public security, which activists say harasses and arrests dissidents.

Dissent was once the domain of just a few in Vietnam, but while the party has allowed more open criticism in recent years, it is quick to slap down challenges to its monopoly on power.

LEVERAGE ON ARMS DEALS

Though the communist parties that run China and Vietnam officially have brotherly ties, China’s brinkmanship over the South China Sea – where it has been turning remote outcrops into islands with runways and harbors – has forced Vietnam to recalibrate its defense strategy.

Security analysts and regional military attaches expect Vietnam’s initial wish list of equipment to cover the latest in surveillance radar, intelligence and communications technology, allowing them better coverage of the South China Sea as well as improved integration of its growing forces.

Washington has allowed sales of defensive maritime equipment since 2014. Hanoi’s military strategists are expected to now seek drones, radar, coastal patrol boats and possibly P-3 Orion surveillance aircraft from the United States.

Carl Thayer, an expert on Vietnam’s military at Australia’s Defence Force Academy, said the steep costs of U.S. arms would remain a factor for Hanoi, pushing it toward its traditional suppliers of missiles and planes, particularly long-time security patron, Russia. On the other hand, the lifting of the embargo will provide Vietnam with leverage in future arms deals with those suppliers.

China sees U.S. support for rival South China Sea claimants Vietnam and the Philippines as interference and an attempt to establish hegemony in the region. Washington insists its priority is ensuring freedom of navigation and flight.

However, China’s response to the announcement in Hanoi was muted. The foreign ministry said it hoped the development in relations between the United States and Vietnam would be conducive to regional peace and stability.

Underlining the burgeoning commercial relationship between the United States and Vietnam, one of the first deals signed on Obama’s trip was an $11.3 billion order for 100 Boeing planes by low-cost airline VietJet.

China is Vietnam’s biggest trade partner and source of imports. But trade with the United States has swelled 10-fold over the past two decades to about $45 billion. Vietnam is now Southeast Asia’s biggest exporter to America.

In the commercial hub, Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, Obama will on Tuesday meet entrepreneurs and tout a Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal he has championed.

Obama said at the news conference he was confident the trade pact would be approved by U.S. legislators, even though it is an election year. He said he had not seen a credible argument that the deal, which will group 12 economies, would hurt U.S. business.

(Additional reporting by Mai Nguyen, Ho Binh Minh, My Pham and Martin Petty in HANOI and by Greg Torode in HONG KONG; Writing by John Chalmers)

Germany to increase military for cybersecurity and fight against Islamic State

German Bundeswehr army demonstrate their skills at Kaserne Hochstaufen in Bad Reichenhall

BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany plans to add 7,000 military jobs and 4,400 civilians to its armed forces over the next seven years to help tackle demands such as cybersecurity and the fight against Islamic State, its defense minister said on Tuesday.

Ursula von der Leyen said the move marked the first increase in the size of the German military since the end of the Cold War and was part of a broader campaign that has revamped the way the military buys equipment and prepares its budgets.

“A quarter century of a shrinking military is over. It is time for the German armed forces to grow,” she told reporters.

Germany’s armed forces totaled 800,000 military and civilian personnel at the time of German unification in 1990, but since have shrunk to a target of 185,000 troops and 56,000 civilians, according to German government officials.

They said the goal now was to get away from the strict ceilings used in the past and move toward a more dynamic annual review of personnel needs.

Officials said a recent comprehensive review had shown that the German military needed 14,300 additional troops to cope with new missions. These include the at-sea rescue of refugees, operations in support of a U.S.-led air strike campaign against Islamic State insurgents in Iraq and Syria, and backing operations against other Islamist militants in Mali.

Of those, 5,000 would be filled through changes in existing personnel, with 7,000 to be added in new posts and the extension of existing contracts.

Current plans would leave about 2,300 of the required military positions vacant, although that estimate could be adjusted next year, officials said.

(Reporting by Berlin Newsroom; Editing by Mark Heinrich)