The admiral in charge of US Navy intelligence has not been allowed to see military secrets for years

For more than two years, the Navy's intelligence chief has been stuck with a major handicap: He's not allowed to know any secrets.

Vice Adm. Ted "Twig" Branch has been barred from reading, seeing or hearing classified information since November 2013, when the Navy learned from the Justice Department that his name had surfaced in a giant corruption investigation involving a foreign defense contractor and scores of Navy personnel.

Worried that Branch was on the verge of being indicted, Navy leaders suspended his access to classified materials. They did the same to one of his deputies, Rear Adm. Bruce F. Loveless, the Navy's director of intelligence operations.

China restructures army aimed at efficiency

China has introduced major changes to the structure of its military as part of efforts to reinforce its armed forces and maximize their efficiency vis-à-vis potential threats.

President Xi Jinping said three new units were created “to realize the Chinese dream of a strong military, and a strategic step to establish a modern military system with Chinese characteristics.”

He said the Chinese army needs to optimize its structure and composition, expedite its transformation from a regional defense force to an international combat one.

Amid maritime disputes, China confirms building second carrier

BEIJING (Dec 31): After months of speculation, China confirmed on Thursday that it is building a second aircraft carrier to go with an existing one bought second-hand, as neighbours worry about Beijing's new assertiveness to claims in the South China Sea.

Defence Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said the carrier had been designed in China and was being built in the port of Dalian. Foreign military analysts and Chinese media have for months published satellite images, photographs and news stories purporting to show the second carrier's development.