Current Events in Asia-Pacific

From Jane's [excerpt]

From DefenseNews Germany Stands Firm on Lifting China Arms Embargo By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BERLIN German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said in an interview released March 30 that he has no plans to drop his support for the lifting of a European Union arms embargo on China. “I have no intention of changing” my position, he said, as quoted in Die Zeit weekly. Schroeder’s ruling Social Democrats and their junior coalition partners, the Greens, disagree over whether the ban should be lifted on China, which is one of Germany’s major trading partners. Most of parliament opposes his stance and the conservative opposition has also urged him to change tack. …

From DefenseNews Japan Plans First Spy Plane to Watch North Korea By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, TOKYO Japan plans to introduce unmanned spy aircraft to watch military bases in North Korea or other countries, letting Tokyo gather such intelligence on its own for the first time, a report said July 26. The Defense Agency will tighten its watch on North Korea, which fired a missile over Japan in 1998, regardless of the outcome of multilateral talks that began July 26 in China to end Pyongyang’s nuclear drive, the Tokyo Shimbun said. The agency will seek funds on the project for the fiscal year beginning in April 2006, the newspaper said, without citing sources. …

From Jane's Chinese naval J-11s spotted in the open By Ted Parsons 10 May 2010 In early May Chinese military websites featured images outside the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation factory indicating that new single- and twin-seat J-11 fighters are probably being produced for the People's Liberation Army Navy Air Force (PLANAF). The images showed J-11s in a very light grey livery consistent with the PLANAF's Sukhoi Su-30MKK2 fighters, 24 (one regiment) of which were delivered in 2004. The single-seat fighters reportedly have the designation J-11BH, a new variant of the J-11B, which in turn is Shenyang's significantly modified version of Sukhoi's Su-27SK that Shen…

Submarines A Top Priority In China By Richard Halloran An American military intelligence officer, asked some years ago how far the Chinese could project their military power, answered only half-jokingly: "About as far as their army can walk." That is changing rapidly today as China's leaders fuel the budgets of the People's Liberation Army, which comprises all of their armed forces. Says a new report from the Council on Foreign Relations, the think-tank in New York, China is driven both by "a clear operational objective," which is to take Taiwan, the island Beijing claims, and "a clear strategic objective," which is to be a modern power. China's military p…

The very impressive missile strike (starting around 1:10) appears to have been an SS-N-12 from the cruiser Varyag (the first hit) and possibly an SS-N-22 from the destroyer Bystryy (approaching almost directly astern). Thoughts?

Posted on: Sunday, May 8, 2005 Study lists pros, cons of basing carrier at Hawai'i By Dennis Camire Gannett News Service Honolulu Advertiser A preliminary report by a federal commission concludes it makes strategic sense to shift another Navy aircraft carrier group to the Pacific, and Hawai'i is the likely location. However, the report by the Overseas Basing Commission also warns it would be expensive to place a carrier group in Pearl Harbor because of land prices and the high cost of living. The panel does not specifically recommend a Hawai'i-based carrier, but members of the state's congressional delegation said they found the document encourag…

Pacific Armadas Growing Far East Navies Mean New Challenges For U.S. By Arthur Herman SOMETHING new and menacing has entered the blue waters of the Pacific Ocean, and it's not the great white shark. On Aug. 23, Japan launched its first aircraft carrier since World War Two. The Hyuga only displaces 13,500 tons, compared to the 100,000 tons of an American Nimitz-class behemoth, and it will only carry 11 or so SH-60 anti-submarine helicopters instead of the 90 aircraft and choppers on the USS Nimitz or Eisenhower - at least for now. But as Richard Dorn, naval analyst at the U.S.-based AMI International, notes, "it cannot be denied that the launch of Hyuga is …

From DefenseNews Posted 11/24/06 13:25 Pakistan, China Agree To Jointly Develop AWACS By REUTERS, ISLAMABAD Pakistan and China on Nov. 24 signed a memorandum of understanding for a long-term collaboration in defense production including development of an airborne early warning surveillance system. The announcement came during the visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao to Pakistan. China has been the main supplier of military hardware to Pakistan for decades. A statement from Pakistan’s air force said the two countries agreed on collaboration and co-development of aircraft manufacturing and related fields. Pakistan, concerned over rival India’s growing defense c…

From DefenseNews Singapore Mulling Purchase of Swedish Submarines By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, SINGAPORE Singapore’s Defense Ministry said Sept. 29 it is considering whether to buy second-hand Vastergotland-class submarines from Sweden to replace some units in its fleet. “The Swedish Navy is planning to stand down two of its submarines of the Vastergotland class,” the Ministry of Defense (Mindef) said in a statement. “Mindef is now considering whether this might provide the Republic of Singapore Navy an opportunity to enhance its submarine capabilities by replacing some of its Challenger-class submarines with the Vastergotland-class submarines.” Singapore…

From Jane's Defence Weekly Eurofighter Typhoon takes a nosedive in Singapore By ROBERT HEWSON Editor of Jane's Air-Launched Weapons London A shock decision by Singapore to drop the Eurofighter Typhoon from a shortlist of contenders vying to be the Republic's next-generation fighter has thrown the aircraft's manufacturing consortium, comprising BAE Systems, EADS and Alenia, into disarray. JDW understands that Singapore¹s Defence Science and Technology Agency, an arm of the Ministry of Defence (MinDef), has delivered a letter to the Eurofighter team formally discounting the Typhoon from the NFRP competition. While no official statement has been made by Sin…

From Defense Aerospace [excerpt]

The Philippines Is About to Give Up the South China Sea to China (Defense One) Depressing. Did China buy this guy?

Indian Sub Explodes With 18 On Board (DefenseNews)

Why China’s Air Force Needs Russia's Su-35 (The Diplomat)

In Asia-Pacific, A New Alliance Of 4 By Richard Halloran NEW DELHI — By coincidence, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan and Adm. Timothy J. Keating, commander of U.S. forces in Asia and the Pacific, were in India at the same time last month and for the same reason — to entice India into closer security relations with their respective nations. Then President Bush, in Australia last week for an Asia-Pacific summit gathering, conferred at length with Prime Minister John Howard on Iraq and on wider issues of security in Asia. And even as they spoke, warships from Australia, India, Japan, and the U.S., plus Singapore, were training together in the Indian Ocean. …

War with China: Thinking through the Unthinkable (RAND, pdf)

From DefenseNews Chinese Delegates At Shangri-La Express Frustration With N. Korea By WENDELL MINNICK Published: 6 Jun 2010 15:45 SINGAPORE - Members of a Chinese delegation attending the 9th Asia Security Summit earlier this month indicated Beijing officials are flustered by North Korean hijinks. Also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue the summit, held annually in Singapore, is run by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). North Korean issues shared the spotlight at Shangri-La with difficulties over China's refusal to continue military exchanges with the U.S. A Chinese government official at Shangri-La said he "was puzz…

Submarine Corp to be sold off August 16, 2006 THE former Australian Submarine Corporation (ASC Pty Ltd) will be sold by the Federal Government. Finance Minister Nick Minchin announced today that following a scoping study into the possible sale of the company, the Government had decided to put it up for a competitive tender sale. He said the tender would most likely begin in late 2007, with a sale completed by the second half of 2008. The sale decision had been expected. Senator Minchin said a tender sale would protect the company's long term interests. "It is vital that ASC continue to have access to essential technical assistance from international …

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…