Current Events in Asia-Pacific

Diesel-electric subs can pressurize China: official (updated AM 00:15) 2005/3/25 The China Post staff In a bid to drum up further support for a controversial billion dollar U.S. arms deal, a defense ministry official yesterday said eight diesel-electric submarines in the U.S. weapons package would be able to attack crucial Chinese supply lines if a war broke out. The official's comments came as the Legislature prepares to deliberate a special NT$480 billion budget for purchasing the diesel electric submarines along with anti-submarine aircraft and patriot anti-missile systems from America. U.S. officials say the purchase is vital for Taiwan's friendship with…

Does China’s J-20 rival other stealth fighters? (CSIS)

From AOL Defense [excerpt]

A report on the Indian Air Force's MMRCA fighter competition from the Carnegie Endowment dogfight! (PDF format)

From DefenseNews Posted 03/21/07 08:40 South Korean Air Force Chief Resigns REUTERS, SEOUL, South Korea South Korea’s air force commander resigned March 21, becoming the latest leader in the country brought down in part by a golfing scandal. President Roh Moo-hyun accepted the resignation of Air Force Chief of Staff Kim Seong-il, a presidential spokesman said. In an abrupt announcement, Kim said he was offering to resign to take responsibility for air crashes that occurred during his tenure, an Air Force spokesman said. But he was also facing intense criticism for reportedly playing golf while the nation mourned the death of the first South Korean soldier kil…

From DefenseNews Posted 02/13/07 08:14 N. Korea Agrees to Shut Key Nuclear Facilities By JUN KWANWOO and SHIGEMI SATO, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BEIJING North Korea agreed Tuesday to shut down key nuclear facilities within two months in exchange for badly needed fuel, part of a broad agreement aimed at ending the regime’s controversial nuclear program. In return, the U.S. would hold direct talks on diplomatic relations with North Korea — a member of President Bush’s "axis of evil” — and begin looking at removing it from the U.S. list of terrorist nations. The deal came after nearly a week of grueling six-nation talks in Beijing aimed at convincing the secretive St…

From ARES Another North Korea Alert Drill for GMD? Posted by Michael Bruno at 2/24/2009 4:38 AM CST There doesn't seem to be any official word from U.S. defense officials online yet, but if North Korea is preparing for another missile launch, then the Ground-based Midcourse Defense System of ballistic interceptors based in Alaska and California probably is on alert. The New York Times is reporting that North Korea said today it was preparing to send a satellite into orbit in what U.S. and South Korean officials believe will be a provocative test of a long-range missile capable of reaching parts of North America. CNN is reporting it too. A statement from P…

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…

A Dog And Pony Show: North Korea’s New ICBM by Markus Schiller and Robert H. Schmucker Dog and Pony Show (PDF)

North Korea has Begun Dismantlement of the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site (38 North)

No need to link to a report on this- it's making many front pages. What were those short-range missiles they were testing?

DPRK Resumes Construction at Tonghae Missile Site (The Diplomat, Flashpoints)

N. Korea Says Nuclear Weapons Can Reach U.S. (DefenseNews)

From Jane's North Korea threatens to test an ICBM By Doug Richardson 06 May 2009 North Korea has threatened to test intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and to conduct further nuclear-weapon tests unless the UN Sanctions Committee apologises for decisions that Pyongyang sees as a violation of its sovereignty. On 24 April, the committee banned transactions with three North Korean organisations - the Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation, the Korea Ryonbong General Corporation and the Tanchon Commercial Bank - and called on UN member states to freeze the assets of the two companies. This move followed the launch by North Korea on 5 April of what …

From Defence Talk North Korea Threatens To Wipe Out US Forces In South Korea AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Mon, 19 Jun 2006, 00:32 Seoul: North Korea on Sunday threatened to "mercilessly wipe out" US forces in case of war during a national meeting to mark leader Kim Jong-Il's 42 years' work at the ruling party. The threat, in a ruling party report carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), came as North Korea was reportedly preparing to test-fire a long-range missile despite strong protests from the United States and its allies. Choe Thae Bok, a ranking Workers Party official, said Washington was "hell-bent on provocations of war of aggression" in the repo…

From Defence Talk NKorea sparks international alarm with plans for nuclear test AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE October 4th, 2006, 12:31 North Korea announced it would carry out its first nuclear test in response to what it called a United States "threat of nuclear war and sanctions", raising tensions worldwide. No date was given for the test, but the shock announcement drew immediate and strongly worded condemnation from Japan, which warned that the reclusive communist state may make good on its threat. Washington said a test "would pose an unacceptable threat to peace and stability in Asia and the world." "A provocative action of this nature would only furthe…

Excellent and informative article on China's missile forces: http://geimint.blogspot.com/2009/04/dragon...lery-corps.html

Drills put U.S. Navy on notice By RICHARD HALLORAN Special to The Japan Times HONOLULU -- Soon after Adm. Gary Roughhead took the helm as the new commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, the Chinese and Russian armed forces gave him something to think about. Those two forces in the western Pacific have just completed eight days of joint maneuvers centered on the Shandong Peninsula, across the Yellow Sea from the Korean Peninsula. The drills were conducted with 10,000 military people on land, at sea, and in the air, about 8,500 of them Chinese. That's not large as those things go, but it was the first such exercise done together since the breakup of the Soviet …

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'…

Eight New Points on the Porcupine: More Ukrainian Lessons for Taiwan (War on the Rocks)