Current Events in Asia-Pacific

From DefenseNews [excerpt]

China imposes restrictions on airspace over Senkaku islands (The Diplomat, Pacific Realist) Fact Sheet: China's Air Defense -Zone (DefenseNews) Here's what the ADIZ looks like on a map, the blue line being the existing Japanese ADIZ limit:

From DefenseNews Slated U.S. Carrier Visit to Yellow Sea Irks China By WENDELL MINNICK Published: 13 Aug 2010 10:17 TAIPEI - Chinese government and state-run media outlets are angrily protesting the Pentagon's Aug. 5 announcement to send the aircraft carrier George Washington into the Yellow Sea (West Sea) in upcoming exercises with South Korea. The exact date the aircraft carrier would enter the Yellow Sea was not released. The George Washington did not enter the Yellow Sea during exercises last month, supposedly after Chinese objections, but plans to do so in upcoming exercises have once again enraged Beijing. China "won't stand for U.S. naval provocat…

From Defense Aerospace Op-Ed: Japan & F-22: Why Not Reward a Reliable Ally? (Source: Lexington Institute; issued June 9, 2009) If there's one concept that the Obama Administration's national-security team really likes, it's partnering. Obama stressed global partnering when he was running for President, the security agenda posted on the White House web-site cites it as a key goal, and it is one of five "strategic principles" underpinning the quadrennial defense review. There's even a deputy secretary in the Pentagon's reorganized policy shop assigned to "partnership strategy." Of course, the Obama team didn't discover partnering. The Bush Administration's …

From DefenseNews RAND Study Suggests U.S. Loses War With China By wendell minnick Published: 16 Oct 11:45 EDT (15:45 GMT) TAIPEI - A new RAND study suggests U.S. air power in the Pacific would be inadequate to thwart a Chinese attack on Taiwan in 2020. The study, entitled "Air Combat Past, Present and Future," by John Stillion and Scott Perdue, says China's anti-access arms and strategy could deny the U.S. the "ability to operate efficiently from nearby bases or seas." According to the study, U.S. aircraft carriers and air bases would be threatened by Chinese development of anti-ship ballistic missiles, the fielding of diesel and nuclear submarines equipped …

From Defense Aerospace [excerpt] Link to Parliamentary Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade - 07/02/2012 - Department of Defence annual report 2010-11 (PDF) CV32: Note that AGSI's Harpoon 3 (H3) MilSim was the simulation used!

By MARK THOMPSON / WASHINGTON Mark Thompson / Washington – 24 mins ago If China's satellites and spies were working properly, there would have been a flood of unsettling intelligence flowing into the Beijing headquarters of the Chinese navy last week. A new class of U.S. superweapon had suddenly surfaced nearby. It was an Ohio-class submarine, which for decades carried only nuclear missiles targeted against the Soviet Union, and then Russia. But this one was different: for nearly three years, the U.S. Navy has been dispatching modified "boomers" to who knows where (they do travel underwater, after all). Four of the 18 ballistic-missile subs no longer carry nuclear-tip…

From Aviation Week [excerpt]

Japan has ordened two big CVH, in his previous line of building aircraft carrier ships. Named 22DDH, they're 248 meters long and 30.000-40.000 tons displacement (I suppose capables for 20-30 aircraft, including F-35B). The infophotos in the article send a good perception of proportion between the old and new classes (in French): http://www.meretmarine.com/article.cfm?id=112007

N. Korea ditches nonaggression pact with S. Korea By JAE-SOON CHANG, Associated Press Writer Jae-soon Chang, Associated Press Writer Fri Jan 30, 4:02 am ET SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea said Friday it is ditching a nonaggression pact and all other peace agreements with South Korea, in an apparent attempt to use the threat of an armed clash to press Seoul to give up its "confrontational" stance. The communist nation also said it will no longer respect a disputed sea border with the South, raising the prospect for an armed clash along the Yellow Sea boundary — the scene of deadly skirmishes between the two navies in 1999 and 2002. South Korea said it regretted…

Kinda scary . . . this would definitely be the main nightmare for US planners in the event of any US/Chinese confrontation over Taiwan I think. Wonder what really happened, really good Chinese skipper? US pickets asleep at the wheel? Equipment breakdowns? Really lucky Chinese Skipper? Really good Chinese diesel sub tech? Probably combination off all these things.

BBC News The underwear thing is grossly unprofessional behaviour.

From Reuters [excerpt] CV32: One wonders where the Shi Lang and her "air wing" will head on their maiden voyage?

China makes military strides as Iraq fight rages By Eric Talmadge - The Associated Press Posted : Saturday Sep 29, 2007 9:04:46 EDT KADENA AIR BASE, Japan — While the U.S. has been tied up in Iraq, China is modernizing its military and its air defenses are now nearly impenetrable to all but the newest of American fighters, the senior U.S. military official in Japan said. Lt. Gen. Bruce Wright, commander of the roughly 50,000 U.S. forces in Japan, Washington’s biggest ally in Asia, said in an interview with The Associated Press this week that the Iraq war is reducing the availability of U.S. troops and equipment to meet other contingencies. It’s also eatin…

Source: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/natio...es/2438160.aspx Teaser: American nuclear submarines could call Australia home if a proposal by two of Australia's leading Defence experts is included in the 2014 Defence White Paper. This WP should be an interesting read. This could provide an interesting twist for A-P area scenario design.

From DefenseNews Taiwan Plans To Buy Mini-Submarines from United Arab Emirates: MP By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, TAIPEI Taiwan plans to buy up to 12 mini-submarines from the United Arab Emirates for 1.6 billion Taiwan dollars ($50.96 million US), an opposition legislator said May 10. Lin Yu-fang from the Kuomintang party said Deputy Defense Minister Chu Kai-sheng confirmed the plan to buy the twin-seat subs for the Marines during a closed meeting of parliament’s national defense committee. The United Evening News said the deal was part of Taiwan’s efforts to secure approval for President Chen Shui-bian’s stopover in Abu Dhabi last week on his way to Latin America. …

From Flight International DATE: 31/10/08 SOURCE: Flight International India rejects Russian aircraft carrier price demand By Radhakrishna Rao India's finance ministry has for the second time rejected a proposal from the nation's defence ministry to approve an additional $1.2 billion in funds to complete a retrofit project to the decommissioned Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov. Moscow had originally agreed to deliver the modernised vessel for $1.5 billion, but demanded the additional payment after citing factors including an underestimation of the level of work required at its Sevmash shipbuilding yard. India, which has already paid Russia tw…

From DefenseNews Russia Wants $1.2B Boost to Refit Carrier By vivek raghuvanshi Published: 30 Apr 11:37 EDT (07:37 GMT) NEW DELHI - Russia has asked India to increase the price of refitting the aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov by as much as $1.2 billion above the contracted amount. Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony officially provided the escalated figure for the first time April 30 in replying to a question in Parliament. "The price escalation proposed by the Russian side is $1,202 million," Antony said. "The process of examination of the scope and necessity for additional work projected by the Russian side has been initiated." Under a contract worth…

From ARES Canadian Def. Minister Slams NATO Posted by Paul McLeary at 2/17/2009 10:54 AM CST It looks like the United States isn’t the only NATO member getting frustrated with the way its allies are conducting themselves in Afghanistan. Canadian Defence Minister Peter MacKay—whose troops are in the thick of the fight in Kandahar, having lost 108 troops in the war thus far—recently called out the rest of the alliance, giving voice to his frustrations in a speech in London: "Afghanistan tests the ability of the alliance to execute its most basic mission in the 21st century and in a global context…If NATO cannot deter or defeat the real physical threat facin…

German Freighter Nordlake sinks Indian Frigate Vindhyagiri source "Times of India" .....