Current Events in Asia-Pacific

From Marine Corps Times November 01, 2006 24th MEU trains in India By John Hoellwarth Staff writer A company of infantrymen from the Camp Lejeune, N.C.-based 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit is in the middle of a three-day training exercise with the Indian army in Karnataka, India, according to a release from India’s Press Information Bureau. The exercise, which ends Thursday, is intended to streamline military cooperation between the two countries during counterterrorism and urban-combat missions by requiring each to share intelligence, communications, weapons and equipment, according to the release. It was unclear whether the Camp Pendleton, Calif.-base…

From Flight International DATE:11/09/07 SOURCE:Flightglobal.com Australia's Boeing C-17 fleet passes operational milestone By Emma Kelly The Royal Australian Air Force is ready to put its first two Boeing C-17 strategic transports into operational service, after achieving initial operating capability with the type following eight months of intensive introduction to service activities. Australia received its first of four C-17s in December 2006, with its second having followed in May and the remainder to be delivered by mid-2008. The aircraft, which can carry a load almost four times that of the RAAF's current Lockheed Martin C-130s, will provide “a q…

Janes 04/08/2008 A new armed naval variant of China's Z-9 helicopter has been rolled out, fitted with a new anti-ship missile. Developed from Harbin's Z-9C shipboard helicopter, already in service with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, the latest aircraft is designated Z-9D. An image taken recently at the Harbin Aircraft Industry Group facility in the northeastern city of Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, shows what appears to be the prototype Z-9D armed with a Hongdu radar-guided TL-10B (KJ-10B) missile. This is the first time that an anti-ship missile has been seen on a Chinese naval helicopter. The image also confirms that the air-launched TL-10 pro…

China imposes restrictions on airspace over Senkaku islands (The Diplomat, Pacific Realist) Fact Sheet: China's Air Defense -Zone (DefenseNews) Here's what the ADIZ looks like on a map, the blue line being the existing Japanese ADIZ limit:

From Defence Talk Taiwan To Test Fire Cruise Missile Capable Of Hitting China AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Fri, 7 Jul 2006, 01:19 Taipei: Taiwan plans to test-fire a cruise missile capable of hitting rival China despite concerns from the United States, a report here said Thursday. The cruise missile, with a range of 600 kilometers (360 miles), will be test-fired at a ceremony in September attended by President Chen Shui-bian in the south of the island, the ettoday.com online newspaper said. "The United States has voiced concerns to Taiwanese authorities as the missile has exceeded the 300-kilometer limit" under the Missile Technology Control Regime, the Chinese-la…

From the Summer 2011 issue of US Naval War College Review: PLA Doctrine and the Employment of Sea Based Airpower (PDF)

China to build aircraft carrier to develop navy fleet: report+ TMCNet (Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)HONG KONG, March 10_(Kyodo) _ The Chinese military is currently planning to build an aircraft carrier, a pro-Beijing daily in Hong Kong reported Friday. "The Chinese army will conduct research and build an aircraft carrier and develop our own aircraft carrier fleet," People's Liberation Army Lt. Gen. Wang Zhiyuan was quoted as saying in the Chinese-language Wen Wei Po. "An aircraft carrier is a very important tool for big countries defending their interests in the sea. China is a big country with a long shoreline. An aircraft carrier is n…

Sounds like an excellent premise for a new scenario! White House May Go to U.N. Over North Korean Shipments By DAVID E. SANGER Published: April 25, 2005 New York Times ASHINGTON, April 24 - The Bush administration, facing a series of recent provocations from North Korea, is debating a plan to seek a United Nations resolution empowering all nations to intercept shipments in or out of the country that may contain nuclear materials or components, say senior administration officials and diplomats who have been briefed on the proposal. The resolution envisioned by a growing number of senior administration officials would amount to a quarantine of North Ko…

From Navy Times Kitty Hawk visits Sydney on farewell tour By Meraiah Foley - The Associated Press Posted : Thursday Jul 5, 2007 9:05:49 EDT ABOARD THE USS KITTY HAWK — The Navy’s oldest ship in full active service pulled into Sydney Harbor on Thursday for a farewell visit, following its final military exercises before being decommissioned. The carrier Kitty Hawk, based in the Japanese port city of Yokosuka, and its crew of more than 5,500 sailors, docked at the Garden Island naval base along with support ships from its battle group. Thousands of spectators lined the shores of Australia’s biggest city to catch a glimpse of the massive vessel, as a half-do…

Taiwan Mulling New Generation of Jet Fighters By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, TAIPEI Originally from DefenceNews. Taiwan said April 12 it is considering buying a new generation of jet fighters in order to prevent the balance of power shifting in rival China’s favor in the event of an EU arms embargo being lifted. Taiwan Defense Minister Lee Jye said he had ordered a study on obtaining the new fighters after reports that French company Dassault Aviation, which had sold the island Mirage jets, may provide its latest line of fighters to the mainland. In reply to questions raised in parliament, Lee said the ministry was alarmed by the reports that Dassault may sell …

China, Japan Set Naval Port Calls At Defense Talks By Associated Press TOKYO -- Chinese military growth isn't aimed at threatening any state, China's defense chief said in Tokyo on Thursday, as he stressed that Beijing was working to become more transparent about defense matters. Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan's assertions came as the two sides agreed on reciprocal port calls by navy ships, with a Chinese warship to visit Japan as early as November, for the first time since World War II, Japanese defense officials said. Mr. Cao met with senior Japanese officials and made a speech as part of his five-day visit to Japan, which began Wednesday and is …

From Navy Times Group: Pirate attacks up 10 percent in 2007 The Associated Press Posted : Wednesday Jan 9, 2008 7:17:27 EST KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Global pirate attacks rose by 10 percent in 2007, marking the first increase in three years as sea robbers made a strong comeback in Nigeria and Somalia, an international maritime watchdog said Wednesday. Last year, there were 269 attacks on ships, up from 239 in 2006 and reversing a downtrend seen since 2003, the International Maritime Bureau said in its annual report released by its piracy reporting center in Malaysia. “The significant increase in the [2007] numbers can be directly attributed to the increa…

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

From DefenseNews Posted 10/09/06 10:35 Defiant North Korea Conducts Nuclear Test By JACK KIM, REUTERS, SEOUL North Korea said it conducted an underground nuclear test on Oct. 9, defying a warning from the U.N. Security Council and opening its crippled economy to the risk of fresh sanctions. South Korea put its troops on heightened alert after the announcement, which came just minutes before Japanese Prime Minister Shinto Abe landed in Seoul for a visit. The move could heighten regional tension and deal a fresh foreign policy blow to U.S. President George W. Bush ahead of mid-term elections. The White House branded the act "provocative" and said it expected the…

Ares story Seems to have been a navigational error; the pilot would have survived had he not hit a house on landing. Could have been a defection attempt; might not have been.

From Defence Talk China to begin projecting military around the world: analysts Agence France-Presse | Jan 28, 2009 London: China is likely to begin deploying its military increasingly further from its borders, analysts at a top thinktank said on Tuesday. The Asian power was also unlikely to constrain its defence budget because of an economic downturn that has left the World Bank forecasting the slowest pace of growth in China since 1990, the analysts at the International Institute for Strategic Studies said. Noting that China began using a naval convoy in the Gulf of Aden to protect the country's shipping from Somali pirates, IISS director of transnation…

From Air Force Times Hickam to get warfighting headquarters By Nicole Gaudiano Times staff writer A new warfighting headquarters will activate at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, in May, and 13th Air Force, currently assigned to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, will relocate to form its core. The moves are part of the Air Force’s plan to establish a continuously operating network of 10 warfighting headquarters to support geographic and functional combatant commanders. The new Hickam-based headquarters will include functional experts and an Air and Space Operations Center capable of command and control operations 24-hours a day, year round. Officials said tha…

From DefenseNews Posted 08/14/07 20:17 U.S. Sees Looming China Threat to Satellites By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE China may be just three years away from being able to disrupt U.S. military satellites in a regional conflict, a senior U.S. military leader said Aug. 14, citing a recent antisatellite test and other advances. The warning came amid calls at a conference in Alabama for intensified efforts to ensure U.S. “space superiority” in the wake of China’s shootdown Jan. 11 of one of its own satellites with a ballistic missile. “It is not inconceivable that within about three years we can be challenged at a near peer level in a region,” said Lt. Gen. Kevin Campbell,…

Australia, U.S. launch joint exercises By Meraiah Foley - The Associated Press Posted : Monday Jun 18, 2007 7:32:59 EDT SYDNEY, Australia — Australia and the U.S. launched their biggest joint war games Monday, with 27,500 troops backed by a U.S. aircraft carrier engaging in exercises aimed at consolidating the allies’ military dominance in the Asia Pacific region. The biennial Talisman Sabre exercise pits 20,000 U.S. troops and 7,500 Australian forces against two fictional enemies — the Kamarians and Musorians — in a variety of land and sea-based scenarios designed to test their skills in combat, peacekeeping and humanitarian relief efforts. The exercise,…

From Defense Aerospace New Torpedoes and Combat System for Collins Class Submarines (Source: Australian Department of Defence; issued Nov. 14, 2005) Australia’s Collins-Class Submarines are undergoing a major capability boost with work about to start fitting out the first submarine with a new tactical combat system and upgraded state-of-the-art Heavyweight Torpedoes. Defence Minister Robert Hill said the design and installation of the Replacement Combat System and Heavyweight Torpedo System are on schedule and on cost. Senator Hill said the $857 million capability investment will significantly boost the combat effectiveness of the Collins Class making…