Current Events in Asia-Pacific

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…

Malaysia Summons Indonesia Envoy over Sea Dispute By REUTERS, KUALA LUMPUR From DefenceNews. Malaysia has summoned Indonesia’s ambassador and sent a protest note after ships from the neighbors’ navies confronted each other in disputed waters, Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said April 14. Malaysia would continue to patrol potentially oil-rich waters off Indonesia’s East Kalimantan province, despite Jakarta’s objections, Syed Hamid said, and added Indonesia already has protested the encounter. “Indonesia’s note said it is their area and they disagreed with Malaysia’s presence there,” he told reporters. “We also sent a protest note after the incident.” …

North Korea’s Submarine Ballistic Missile Program Moves Ahead: Indications of Shipbuilding and Missile Ejection Testing (38 North)

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…

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 Navy Times Sources: Navy was tracking Chinese sub By Andrew Scutro - Staff writer Posted : Friday Jun 19, 2009 12:10:00 EDT Two defense officials have confirmed that the crew aboard the destroyer John S. McCain was tracking the submarine that struck its towed sonar array June 10 in the South China Sea off the Philippines. The officials, who are familiar with the incident but were not authorized to speak on the subject, confirmed the array, which trailed up to a mile behind the ship, was hit by a Chinese navy submarine, although it was not sighted on the surface. Days after the incident, Chinese officials acknowledged that the submarine was theirs. T…

Navy keeps very quiet while it waits for the last laugh August 4, 2007 Sydney Morning Herald WHEN Brendan Nelson announced last month a $3 billion order for two giant amphibious landing ships, it was widely seen as a victory for the "expeditionary force" school of strategy, emphasising overseas punch for the Australian Army. The Defence Minister himself went on to proclaim the "final nail in the coffin" for the "Defence of Australia" strategy adopted under Bob Hawke's Labor government in the 1980s, which stressed navy and air capability to fight off threats in the country's approaches and resulted in the army contracting to a niche force. Now the army wou…

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

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…

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…

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

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?

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. …

Reading the recent news report about the finding of the japanese submarines I-201 (advanced faster than Type XXI) and the seaplane-carrying I-14 (both and others sunked by the USN after the war in 1946, near Hawaii): http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/...rai+subs++found http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/13/science/13wreck.html?_r=2 Some basic facts in the Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-201_class_submarine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_submarine_I-14 I've find in the Wikipedia references about this strange and intriguing film: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell_and_High_Water_(film) May be somebody can imagine a scenario based in the film

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…

Indian Sub Explodes With 18 On Board (DefenseNews)

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

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From Defense Aerospace [excerpt]

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