Current Events in Asia-Pacific

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

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…

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. …

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…

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 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…

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…

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

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…

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 Defense Aerospace U.S., South Korea Plan Anti-submarine Exercise (Source: U.S Department of Defense; issued September 24, 2010) YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea --- South Korean and U.S. forces will conduct an anti-submarine warfare exercise in the waters west of the Korean peninsula Sept. 27 to Oct. 1. The exercise is part of a series of combined naval training events that are defensive in nature and enhance interoperability, officials said. The exercises also are designed to send a clear message of deterrence to North Korea, they added, while improving the overall anti-submarine warfare capabilities of the U.S.-South Korean alliance. Participating uni…

From the Summer 2011 issue of US Naval War College Review: A New Carrier Race? (PDF) A lengthy discussion about the JMSDF's new DDH Hyuga.

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 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 …

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

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…

U.S. Moves to Boost Japan’s Missile Shield By REUTERS, WASHINGTON defensenews The Pentagon notified Congress June 29 of a proposed sale to Tokyo of nine more sea-based missiles and related gear valued at up to $387 million to strengthen Japan’s fledgling ballistic missile shield. The nine SM-3 Block IA Standard missiles, built by Raytheon Co., are the second batch requested by Tokyo in recent months. They would be used on Japanese ships equipped with high-technology AEGIS combat systems built by Lockheed Martin Corp. One such Aegis weapon system would be upgraded for ballistic-missile defense under the new proposed sale, the Defense Department said. …

From DefenseNews [excerpt]

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 …

From Reuters [excerpt]