Current Events in Asia-Pacific

Reporting name "Musudan", looks like a SS-N-6 conversion.

India to launch BrahMos from Russian sub By VIVEK RAGHUVANSHI - Staff writer Posted : Sunday Sep 9, 2007 9:36:17 EDT NEW DELHI — India’s supersonic cruise missile BrahMos, built jointly with Russia, is ready to be launched from a submarine, Defence Minister A.K. Anthony reportedly told the Indian Parliament on Sept. 5. Currently, the Indian navy’s submarines do not have the capability to launch BrahMos missiles. Sources in the Indian Defence Ministry said the BrahMos will be tested on an unspecified Russian submarine later this year. Versions of the BrahMos have been developed for the Indian army, navy and air force. The air version will be integrated on …

From Air Force Times F-22 fighters headed home from Okinawa By Eric Talmadge - The Associated Press Posted : Wednesday May 9, 2007 8:24:25 EDT TOKYO — A dozen F-22 stealth fighters are heading back to the U.S. after completing their first overseas mission, a four-month deployment to Okinawa aimed at showcasing the fighter’s capabilities and giving pilots a chance to train in a new setting. The fighters, which arrived on the southern Japan island of Okinawa in February, will fly out of Kadena Air Base early Thursday, the Air Force and Japan’s Foreign Ministry said in separate statements. The fighters are based at Langley Air Force Base, Va. The deployment…

Gleaned from recce by Information Dissemination, here's a thoughtful article on Chinese anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) development, in its entirety: From Chinese ASBM Development: Knowns and Unknowns Chinese ASBM Development: Knowns and Unknowns Publication: China Brief Volume: 9 Issue: 13 June 24, 2009 By: Andrew S. Erickson China wants to achieve the ability, or at minimum the appearance of the ability, to prevent a U.S. carrier strike group (CSG) from intervening in the event of a future Taiwan Strait crisis. China may be closer than ever to achieving this capability with land-based anti-ship homing ballistic missiles. There have been many Western re…

From http://www.defensenews.com China To Increase Military Spending in 2005 By ROBERT J. SAIGET, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BEIJING China is expected to increase its military expenditure by 12.6 percent this year, while boosting its capability of using force to reunify rival Taiwan, sources said March 3. The rise in spending comes with Washington voicing concern that China’s military build-up could tilt the strategic balance with Taiwan and also threaten U.S. forces in Asia. In his budget report to the upcoming annual session of the National People’s Congress, Finance Minister Jin Renqing is expected to propose raising military spending in 2005 to 244.65 billion …

From DefenseNews N. Korea Declares 'No Sail' Zone Off West Coast AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Published: 25 Jun 2010 09:55 SEOUL - North Korea has announced a ban on shipping off part of its west coast and South Korea is watching for any signs of missile tests, the defense ministry in Seoul said June 25. "The move is seen as part of a routine exercise by North Korean troops, but we are closely monitoring their activities," a spokesman told AFP. The ministry declined to confirm a report by Yonhap news agency that the no-sail zone was declared from June 19-27 near the western port city of Nampo, north of the disputed inter-Korean sea border. It is unclear whet…

Leader Vows To Modernize Military Cites global ‘trends’ in need for able army By Scott McDonald, Associated Press BEIJING — China’s sprawling military will speed up its modernization during the next five years, increasingly adopting high-tech battle systems and upgrading training, President Hu Jintao said yesterday. In his keynote speech at the opening of the Communist Party Congress, held every five years, Mr. Hu said he was committed to making China’s military more modern. “In keeping with the new trends in world military affairs and the new requirements of China’s development, we must promote innovation in military theory, technology, organization a…

From Defense Aerospace [excerpt]

U.S. May Sell Weapons To Taiwan WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 (Reuters) — The Pentagon announced tentative plans on Wednesday to sell surplus P-3C Orion submarine-hunting aircraft and air-defense missiles to Taiwan in deals potentially worth more than $2.23 billion, including related gear and services. Taiwan is seeking to buy 12 surplus P-3C maritime patrol aircraft with T-56 turboprop engines, data terminals and a mobile operation command center in a deal that could be worth $1.96 billion, the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a notice to Congress. In a separate notice, the agency said it was also tentatively planning to sell Taiwan 144 SM-2 B…

From http://www.defensenews.com N. Korea Slams U.S., Threatens To Hold Missile Tests By JON HERSKOVITZ, REUTERS, SEOUL North Korea threatened to resume long-range missile testing and demanded the United States apologize for calling the country "an outpost of tyranny", official media reported late March 2. The Korean-language version of a Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) report quoted a Foreign Ministry statement as saying Pyongyang threatened to test-fire a long-range missile. The statement said North Korea did not feel bound by a 1999 moratorium on missile testing, reached when Pyongyang was in non-proliferation talks with the administration of then-U.S. P…

From Aviation Week [excerpt]

Navy crew crisis hits warships Article from: Herald Sun Ian McPhedran August 23, 2007 12:00am THE navy's warships are under threat because of a chronic shortage of qualified engineers and warfare officers. Insiders say the situation is so dire the number of principal warfare officers on the navy's five guided missile frigates has been cut from four to just one or two. On the eight Anzac class frigates, PWO numbers have fallen in some cases from three to one. And on some ships the shortage of engineers is so acute they are under way for only 12 out of every 24 hours. Similar shortfalls are occurring with weapons electrical engineering officers.…

From Navy Times 3 Virginia-class subs to be based at Pearl By Jaymes Song - The Associated Press Posted : Friday Aug 10, 2007 8:11:44 EDT HONOLULU — Two of the newest attack submarines will join the USS Hawaii in being home-ported at Pearl Harbor as the Navy shifts its focus to the Pacific, Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, said Thursday. Inouye said the relocation of the USS North Carolina and the USS Texas from the East Coast was a policy decision made several months ago in recognition of the “strategic nature of the Pacific as compared to the Atlantic.” “I think it’s obvious the next area of concern is the Pacific region,” he said. The vessels are now…

Dud frigates are an inherited nightmare: Fitzgibbon By Alexandra Kirk and staff Posted Wed Jan 2, 2008 4:31pm AEDT ABC News A Navy whistleblower says the frigates' anti-missile and anti-torpedo systems could not be integrated. (Department of Defence) Australia's front line guided missile frigates are still not able to be sent into battle, despite a $1.5 billion upgrade. The project to modernise the 1970's ships is running four years late, and according to News Limited papers this morning, sailors are quitting because their ships can not be deployed in the Middle East or any other conflict zone. In the report a Navy whistleblower says the frigates'…

From BBC News Pirates have attacked a gas tanker in the Malacca Strait, kidnapping its captain and chief engineer for ransom, a watchdog said. The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said about 35 pirates with rocket launchers stormed the Indonesian-owned MT Tri Samudra late on Saturday. They diverted the Belawan-bound vessel to a different part of Sumatra, before disappearing with the hostages. The shipowners are trying to negotiate the hostages' release, the IMB says. The narrow Malacca Strait between Indonesia and Malaysia is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes and has long been a haunt of pirates. Some 37 acts of piracy were recorded ther…

I am thinking that Avatar must have been filmed in Indonesia, because apparently the defense ministry there has struck upon a large deposit of unobtainium. Indonesia plans to buy 180 Flankers

Japan mulls F-15MJ upgrade (Jane's)

From Jane's Ma's victory eases tension across Taiwan Strait 01 April 2008 When Ma Ying-jeou is asked how his China-friendly attitude will play out in practice, he flinches. Although Ma just won Taiwan's presidential election in a landslide on an agenda of closer links with the island's economically attractive but politically hostile neighbour, he is very cautious. Welcome to political reality in Taiwan. While Ma has pledged not to move towards independence during his term in office, he has also committed himself not to negotiate unification. This sets a tight framework for what Ma can achieve. He has made clear that he will not try to resolve the conflict onc…

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

From Defence Aerospace Chinese Military Buildup Causes US Concern (Source: Voice of America news; issued March 23, 2005) WASHINGTON --- Two developments are focusing renewed attention and concern in Washington toward China's military buildup. Earlier this month, China's legislature passed a law authorizing military action to take control of Taiwan, if it moves toward independence or if all other efforts at reunification fail. And at the same time, the European Union wants to lift its arms embargo against China, which was imposed after the Tiananmen massacre in 1989. A recent report prepared for the U.S. Defense Department says China is proceeding with a su…