Current Events in Asia-Pacific

From Defence Talk Japan is considering the Eurofighter Typhoon as a replacement for some of its ageing fighter jets, in what would be a surprise move for a country that has hitherto relied on the United States for combat aircraft. The Defence Ministry is examining its options as it plans to start replacing its fleet of 60 F-4 fighters as well as training aircraft in the next couple of years, the defence ministry said. "Of course we are considering the Eurofighter among other options," a spokesman at the Defence Ministry said. The Eurofighter is built by a consortium headed by BAE Systems, Europe's largest defence firm. The Rafale fighter jet manufactur…

International Court Issues Unanimous Award in Philippines v. China Case on South China Sea (The Diplomat) Link to the court news release here Link to the full text (pdf) of the decision here CV32: The big question is what will China do next.

Report: Chinese Develop Special "Kill Weapon" to Destroy U.S. Aircraft Carriers Advanced missile poses substantial new threat for U.S. Navy U. S. Naval Institute March 31, 2009 Find USNI article here. With tensions already rising due to the Chinese navy becoming more aggressive in asserting its territorial claims in the South China Sea, the U.S. Navy seems to have yet another reason to be deeply concerned. After years of conjecture, details have begun to emerge of a "kill weapon" developed by the Chinese to target and destroy U.S. aircraft carriers. First posted on a Chinese blog viewed as credible by military analysts and then translated by th…

Excerpt from Jane's Defence Weekly Taiwan claims US Navy is sabotaging SSK plans By Wendell Minnick JDW Correspondents Taipei Taiwan (Republic of China) has accused the US Navy of intentionally sabotaging the sale of eight diesel-electric submarines that the Bush administration promised it in April 2001. A US source close to the programme has confirmed Taiwanese claims and argues that the US Navy feared a revival of a domestic diesel-electric submarine programme that would challenge its traditional use of nuclear-powered submarines. "The bottom line is that the initiation of a Taiwan submarine programme has tremendous implications for the US Navy …

Keating urges sharing maritime security info By Audrey McAvoy - The Associated Press Posted : Monday Apr 16, 2007 7:18:42 EDT KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — The top U.S. commander in the Pacific on Monday said countries lining the Malacca Strait have vastly improved the security and safety of the important trade route in the last five years. Adm. Timothy Keating also said that sharing maritime security information among military officials, diplomats and commercial shipping operators was an integral part of U.S. goals to boost regional stability. “It’s of critical importance to us,” said Keating told a joint news conference with Gen. Abdul Aziz Zainal, the chief…

Full Story (h/t Alert 5)

From Aviation Week [excerpt]

China confirms hypersonic vehicle test (Jane's)

Global Security

DefenseNews RIA Novosti

China's Most Important South China Sea Military Base (The Diplomat) With imagery.

Reuters.com February 27, 2006 US, Japan To Help Malaysia Boost Strait Security KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - The United States is ready to help Malaysia boost security in the vital Malacca Strait once it concludes a pact on joint air patrols with other littoral states, a U.S. defense commander said on Monday. Separately, Malaysia's defense chief said Japan, a major user of the busy sea lane, would provide a ship next month to Malaysia's coast guard to help patrol the strait, which carries roughly a quarter of global trade. Admiral William Fallon, commander-in-chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, said the United States was also looking to provide defense equi…

Long march ahead for Chinese naval airpower (Flight Global)

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-06/adf-helicopter-evasive-action-chinese-military/106426388?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=other

From Defense Aerospace Preferred Designer Chosen for AWD Contract (Source: Australian Department of Defence; issued Aug. 16, 2005) The Federal Government has chosen Gibbs & Cox as the preferred designer for Navy’s Air Warfare Destroyers (AWDs) - one of Australia’s largest and most complex Defence projects worth up to $6 billion. Defence Minister Robert Hill said Gibbs & Cox now joins a team made up of ASC Shipbuilder Pty Ltd, who has been selected to build the AWDs, and Raytheon Australia, selected as the Combat System-System Engineer. Senator Hill said Gibbs & Cox, a United States based company, was chosen through a competitive tender eva…

From Jane's [excerpt]

China Reclaimed Land for South China Sea Anti-Submarine Helicopter Base Near Vietnam (USNI News)

From RIA Novosti 03:50 02/06/2010 Russia will transfer its Nerpa nuclear-powered attack submarine for a 10 year-lease to India in the autumn, the head of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation has said. "The training of the crew has been concluded, most of the tests have been carried out — everything is almost at the finish line," Mikhail Dmitriyev told journalists in New Delhi after a meeting of the Russian-Indian high-level supervisory committee on military and technical cooperation on Tuesday. He said India would receive the K-152 Nerpa submarine in October or November 2010. The lease follows an agreement inked between N…

From Aviation Week [excerpt] CV32: Anyone hold Dassault stock?

From Carnegie Endowment (pdf) [excerpt]