Current Events in Asia-Pacific

Indian Sub Explodes With 18 On Board (DefenseNews)

From DefenseNews Posted 05/25/07 08:11 S. Korea Launches Aegis Destroyer AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, SEOUL South Korea on May 25 launched its first Aegis destroyer equipped with advanced air and sea weaponry, on the same day that North Korea test-fired several missiles. President Roh Moo-Hyun, speaking at the launch of the billion-dollar 7,600-ton KDX-III destroyer, said South Korea must be mindful of what he called a regional arms race. "The ship, armed with [a] state-of-the-art defense system and combat capability, is one of the world’s best destroyers," Roh said at a ceremony at the Ulsan dockyard of Hyundai Heavy Industries, which built the ship. "We have to se…

From Defense Aerospace India Likely to Buy More Carrier Borne Mig-29K Fighters (Source: ddi Indian government news; issued Sept. 25, 2008) India is to buy 30 more carrier borne Mig-29K (Fulcrum-D) fighters for the Indian navy and an agreement to this effect would be firmed up during the upcoming visit of Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov's to India next week. Serdyukov's tour here at the head of a high level officials and industry delegation is also likely to pave the way for signing of the new contract for acquisition and delivery of the carrier Admiral Gorshkov, according to top officials in Moscow. Russians have demanded a price escalation of …

Fascinating read on the Wikipedia entry, if true (range stated as 400 Km/216+ nm of Type 346 (CV Liaoning and DDG Type 052C), more on Type 346A (DDG Type 052D), no equivalent entry in other languages: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_346_Radar

Wall Street Journal April 9, 2007 Pg. 4 A Thaw For China And Japan? As Economies Become Intertwined, Nations Soften Stances By Sebastian Moffett and Jason Leow The complex and rocky relations between China and Japan these past few years have been neatly summed up in both countries by four Chinese characters: "politics -- cold; economy -- hot." Bilateral trade has doubled over the past four years, and exports of machinery and chemicals to China helped drag Japan's economy out of a slump. But there was little love lost between the governments and people. Japan's last prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, insisted on visiting Yasukuni, a shrine to Jap…

Fourth Stealth Destroyer for Korean Navy English.Chosun.com The Navy will launch another Korean Destroyer Experimental (KDX) II class destroyer armed with the latest anti-ship and anti-air missiles on Wednesday, when the "Wang-geon" steams out of the Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard in Ulsan. The 4,200 ton stealth destroyer, the fourth KDX-II class destroyer after the Chungmugong Yi Soon-shin, Munmudaewang and Daejoyeong, takes its name from the founder of the ancient Korean kingdom of Goryeo. It's 150 meters long with a beam of 17 meters and height of 9.5 meters and has a top speed of 30 knots. The Wang-geon packs a powerful punch with its Harpoon anti-ship mis…

From Jane's Oil and debt underpin Russian submarine sales to Vietnam By Jon Grevatt 29 April 2009 An expected deal between Vietnam and Russia over the former's procurement of six Kilo-class submarines - which was announced on 27 April by Russia's state news agency - is likely to be founded on debt, oil and a Moscow commitment to help modernise Vietnam's shipbuilding industries, Jane's understands. Carl Thayer, a specialist in the Vietnamese military and a professor of politics at the University of New South Wales' Australian Defence Force Academy, added that the deal - reportedly worth USD1.8 billion - had been under negotiation for many years. "Vietnam …

From DefenseNews [excerpt]

A Glimpse Into China's Military Presence in the South China Sea (Stratfor)

From Defense Aerospace China's Defense Budget to Increase 17.8% in 2007 (Source: Voice of America News; issued March 4, 2007) BEIJING --- China's military spending will grow by 17.8 percent to nearly $45 billion this year. China has steadily increased its defense budget by double digits over the past few years, raising concerns about its military intentions. China will increase its military spending by 17.8 percent this year, to improve salaries and living conditions for military personnel and to upgrade equipment and technology. Jiang Enzhu, the Deputy Secretary General and spokesman for the National People's Congress, announced the jump in military …

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

New destroyers too expensive June 8, 2005 - 1:34PM TheAge Australia is running the risk of buying expensive navy destroyers it doesn't need, forcing cuts to other key defence programs, a top defence analyst warns. Former defence official Hugh White said the most likely tradeoff for commissioning the $6 billion air warfare destroyers (AWDs) would be cuts to an RAAF plan to buy 100 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters (JSFs). Such a cut would have serious strategic costs, he said. Mr White said the navy maintained it needed the AWDs to defend amphibious landing forces against air attack. However, there were few credible scenarios where such defence would be requ…

From DefenseNews Japanese Fighter Scrambles Jump in Past Year By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, TOKYO Japan scrambled its military fighters 13 times due to China in the past year, compared with once or twice in each of the previous five years, showing the deteriorating ties between the neighbors, official figures showed April 20. The rise in scrambles caused by China was in sharp contrast to an overall 11-percent decline in such aircraft moves to 141 times in the year to March 2005, the Defense Agency said. “We cannot tell what was behind the gain, but we can at least tell the gain was remarkable,” an agency spokesman said. Jiji Press said the sharp increa…

From DefenseNews U.S. Presses China To Install Military Crisis Hotline By JIM MANNION, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE The United States pressed China to set up a crisis hotline between their military establishments in high-level defense talks held here April 28, amid U.S. concerns over North Korea and a Chinese military buildup that has raised tensions with Taiwan, U.S. defense officials said. A senior defense official said the Chinese in the past have set aside the idea of a direct, permanently manned telephone link between the U.S. and Chinese defense ministers, but appeared to be giving it close consideration now. “It seemed to us given our experiences with t…

Apparently a no news case, as its presence was were previously referenced in "Stennis Compromise" and "Reagan Against China" scenarios. KJ-500H is the naval variant of KJ-500 (based in the transport Y-9), with three AESA radar faces in a fixed rotodome: http://www.defensenews.com/articles/satellite-image-shows-chinese-deployment-of-new-aircraft-to-south-china-sea?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=EBB%2005.15.2017&utm_term=Editorial%20-%20Early%20Bird%20Brief

GLOBAL INSECURITY Private navies combat Malacca Strait pirates Waterway now so dangerous for shipping, Lloyd's classifies major seaway as warzone © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com Ship captains navigating the Malacca Strait no longer have to depend on the slow response of government – or sheer luck – to safely pass through the pirate- and terrorist-infested waters since private navies have begun providing escort services for ships through the strategic seaway. The Strait, passageway to a third of the world's crude oil, has long been treacherous, with gangs armed with machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and other modern weapons ready to board, kill crews, stea…

From Flight International DATE: 03/04/09 SOURCE: Air Transport Intelligence news Japanese carriers change flightpaths to avoid North Korea missile By Leithen Francis Japanese carriers are changing flightpaths to Europe and Hawaii in response to North Korea's planned missile launch later this month. All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines (JAL) have announced that all flights to Europe and Hawaii will operate on a different flightpath for the period 4-8 April. This is in response to the planned launch by North Korea, the carriers say. ANA operates to London, Paris and Frankfurt; while JAL operates to Amsterdam, Rome, Paris, Milan and London. Nor…

From Reuters [excerpt]

From Flight Global [excerpt] Contenders are Super Hornet, JSF and Eurofighter Typhoon.

With details of the DPRK's missile launches over the weekend ... From Aviation Week Japan Considering THAAD Missile Defense Jul 6, 2009 By Bradley Perrett Beijing Japan is considering adding the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system as a third layer to its ballistic-missile defenses, according to an official leak evidently prompted by North Korea’s July 4 tests of R-17 and Rodong rockets. Three or four installations of the Lockheed Martin THAAD system could cover all of Japan, says the Mainichi newspaper in an unattributed report presumed to be based on government-leaked information. THAAD’s range is secret, but the Mainichi’s sour…