Current Events in Asia-Pacific

From DefenseNews China and Russia to Hold Joint Military Exercises Aug 18-26: Report By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BEIJING China and Russia will hold rare joint military exercises involving up to 8,000 service personnel from August 18-26, a state newspaper reported July 6. ”Peace Mission 2005” will involve China’s army, navy and air force, while Russia will dispatch its navy and air force, said the Global Times, citing Russian press reports. China’s Defense Ministry has not announced the exercises. But Russian President Vladimir Putin said June 30 during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao that joint exercises would take place later this year. …

It seems that some scens are getting an even more realistic background. May the fisherman RIP.

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 Aviation Week [excerpt]

SINGAPORE — Though small in size, the city state of Singapore resides in a busy neighborhood. It’s the home of the busiest port in the world, and it’s not uncommon to see several hundred container ships stacked up in neat rows stretching out dozens of miles from the downtown skyline. The Malacca and Singapore Straits also see about 1,400 vessels pass through their narrow channels each day. For a small nation with no natural resources or agricultural industry, maritime and port security are essential to the nation’s economic well-being. And security in the straits has global implications, experts say Col. Tay Kian Seng, head of naval operations for the Royal Si…

A new RAND report: Shaking the Heavens and Splitting the Earth: Chinese Air Force Employment Concepts in the 21st Century Download the PDF file here

From DefenseNews S. Korea Fires Warning Shots at N. Korean Ships AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Published: 16 May 2010 15:16 SEOUL, - South Korea's navy fired warning shots to drive away North Korean patrol boats from the disputed inter-Korean sea border, amid tension over the sinking of a Seoul warship, officials said May 16. The warning shots were fired late May 15 when two North Korean patrol boats violated the Northern Limit Line (NLL) border and strayed into South Korean waters, the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff office said. A spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff told AFP the North's patrol boats retreated without responding to the fire. No casualties occu…

From Flight Global [except]

From DefenseNews EU Keeping China Weapons Embargo: U.S. Officials By STEPHANIE GRIFFITH, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE The European Union, at the urging of the United States, apparently will keep a 16-year-old arms embargo against China, U.S. officials said April 14, adding that talks next week will seek to sway holdout countries. “We do not now believe that the EU is close to a decision to lifting the embargo itself. But we realize that we must keep this issue at the forefront of our agenda with the EU in Brussels and with all the EU governments — and we intend to do just that,” Nicholas Burns, the U.S. State Department Under Secretary for Political Affairs, told a c…

From Defence Aerospace Singapore and Indonesian Navies Launch Sea Surveillance System (Source: Singapore Ministry of Defence; issued May 26, 2005) The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and the Indonesian Navy (TNI-AL) officially launched Project SURPIC in Batam today. This is a sea surveillance system which allows the RSN and TNI-AL to share a common real-time sea situation picture of the Singapore Strait. It will enable the two navies to better monitor this busy waterway, so that they can exchange information, and deploy their patrol vessels in the area more effectively. Project SURPIC is a significant step forward in enhancing security and the safety…

From Air Force Magazine, December 2011 issue [excerpt]

From eDefense JASSMs to Fly on Australian F/A-18s Source: Australian Department of Defense Feb. 28, 2006 Lockheed Martin's Joint Air-to-Surface Stand-off Missile (JASSM) has been selected as the new long-range air-to-surface missile to equip the Australian Defense Force's F/A-18 Hornet fleet. The acquisition of long-range missiles does not represent a change in Australia's defense posture and capability planning. Acquiring a long-range air-to-surface missile has been publicly listed in Defense Capability Plan since 2001 and specific details were announced in August 2004. The missile is planned to be operational on the aircraft by December 2009. The intro…

From Defence Aerospace Defence Statement - Super Seasprite Helicopters (Source: Australian Department of Defense; issued March 19, 2005) The [Royal Australian] Navy's Super Seasprite project has been misrepresented by claims made in today's Sydney Morning Herald newspaper. The aircraft is currently undergoing a certification process before it can become fully operational. Defence expects to receive a certified helicopter later this year. Once accepted, the Super Seasprite will fulfil all of its planned roles including search and rescue operations in poor visibility. This is a normal and proper process for Defence to follow in testing a new aircr…

China's new destroyers feature Aegis tech copied from U.S. Special to World Tribune.com EAST-ASIA-INTEL.COM Thursday, July 21, 2005 China's military put its new guided missile destroyers on display last week, disclosing its two new warships that are equipped with Aegis-type battle management systems. Two new Luyang II guided missile destroyers are part of China's naval builduup. The two Luyang II guided missile destroyers are Beijing's first Aegis-type ships. The ships are currently undergoing sea trials. U.S. intelligence officials say China stole the technology for the Aegis battle management system by setting up a front company in the United Sta…

From DefenseNews [excerpt]

Taiwan slammed on lax defense By Bill Gertz THE WASHINGTON TIMES September 20, 2005 A senior Pentagon official yesterday sharply criticized Taiwan's government for not moving ahead with an arms buildup to counter a mounting threat from China. Edward Ross, a senior Pentagon security cooperation official, also suggested in a speech that the United States might not defend Taiwan in a conflict with China unless Taipei does more to boost its defenses and national will. "As the lone superpower, our interests are plentiful and our attention short," Mr. Ross said. "We cannot help defend you if you cannot defend yourself." With U.S. troops fighting and dy…

Hmm, does this mean a China vs India scenario is no longer "realistic" ? From DefenseNews China, India Sign Military Accord By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BEIJING China and India signed an agreement May 30 to expand defense ties, the Chinese foreign ministry said, in a deal that is expected to see the neighbors conduct more military training exercises. The memorandum of understanding was signed during a visit by Indian Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee to Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told reporters. ”Military exchanges will be an important part of bilateral ties,” Liu said. ”Reinforcement of mutual trust and exchanges will be beneficial for…

Korea Herald December 22, 2005 Navy Successfully Tests Ship-To-Ship Missile By Jin Dae-woong The Navy successfully completed test-firing the first domestically-made ship-to-ship missile, the Defense Ministry said yesterday. The 150-km-range missile was developed in 2003 by a domestic defense institution, the Agency for Defense Development. Brig. Gen. An Jung-hun, a spokesman for the Defense Ministry, said the ministry and Navy together conducted the final test-firing of the indigenous missile on the East Sea before the military begins mass-production of the weapon in 2006. During the test firing, the military also successfully tested the capabilities…

Here's an excellent premise for a scenario, IMO. U.S. Detection Plane Leaves Japan Amid North Korean Nuclear Concerns By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, TOKYO DefenseNews A U.S. military plane capable of detecting radioactive particles in the air has left southern Japan Oct. 5 amid concerns North Korea could soon test a nuclear bomb, reports said. The WC-135C plane flew from the U.S. Kadena airbase in Okinawa in the direction of the Korean peninsula shortly before noon, the Japanese public network NHK reported. The Kyodo news agency also reported the departure of the plane, although neither report confirmed its mission. NHK said a midair refueling plane a…

From Flight International Indian navy set to issue maritime reconnaissance aircraft shortlist within days By Siva Govindasamy New Delhi to step up contest for new reconnaissance platforms, while interest in V-22 Osprey emerges The Indian navy is poised to announce the shortlist for its maritime reconnaissance aircraft contest "any day now", says Boeing, which is offering a P-8I variant of its 737-based P-8A Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft now in development for the US Navy. Other types in contention for the eight-aircraft programme include a special mission version of the Airbus A319/A320 from EADS, a package based on Dassault's Falcon 900 business jet al…