Current Events in Asia-Pacific

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19861583 (rmks: This is in violation of the admittedly voluntary Missile Technology Control Regime. In addition, were the US to deploy these missiles in their own service, it would violate the 1987 INF Treaty signed with the USSR and continuing in force with the Russian Federation)

China’s Big Three Near Completion (AMTI) ... with imagery.

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…

More Westpac scenario fodder ... From DefenseNews Posted 03/20/06 10:08 S. Koreans See China as Long-Term, Threat, Not North: Poll By REUTERS, SEOUL South Koreans view China rather than North Korea as the biggest threat to their security 10 years from now, according to a survey. The two Koreas are technically still at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. North and South Korea have hundreds of thousands of troops stationed near the heavily fortified border that divides the peninsula. In the survey by the state-funded Korea Institute for Defence Analyses (KIDA), 37.7 percent of respondents listed leading trading partner C…

From Air Force Magazine August 2007, Vol. 90, No. 8 It’s time to stop wondering if China is a military danger. Its buildup answers that question for anyone who had an honest doubt. China Stands Up By Richard Halloran Sun Tzu would be pleased. Some 2,500 years ago, the great Chinese strategist wrote: “The art of war is of vital importance to the state.” Today, communist China, with a rapidly if unevenly expanding economy, has turned to building a world-class military force and mastering the art of modern war, all part of its quest to become the predominant power in Asia. The country’s very name—“Chung Kuo”—means the “Middle Kingdom,” a concept holding th…

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…

From NYT News Service, printed in the SD Union Tribune on 24 December BEIJING - In the clearest indication yet that China could soon begin building its first aircraft carrier, a Defense Ministry spokesman said yesterday that the country was seriously considering "relevant issues" in making its decision about whether to move ahead with the project, according to Xinhua, the state news agency. If China decides to build the carrier, it will no doubt increase tensions with the United States, Taiwan and Japan, among other governments. Buddha

China's first ARM breaks cover (Jane's)

China raises stakes in Japan oil row By Hamish McDonald China Correspondent Beijing October 4, 2005 TheAge A CHINESE warship trained its guns on a low-flying Japanese military patrol aircraft last month in the intensifying confrontation between the two Asian powers over disputed seabed oil and gas reserves. According to Japan's Kyodo news agency, the incident occurred on September 9 when the Japanese navy sent a P-3C aircraft to look at five Chinese warships that had sailed close to a contested boundary between economic zones claimed by both countries. One of the ships trained its guns on the aircraft, Kyodo quoted Japan Self-Defence Agency officials as s…

From Defence Talk NKorea sparks international alarm with plans for nuclear test AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE October 4th, 2006, 12:31 North Korea announced it would carry out its first nuclear test in response to what it called a United States "threat of nuclear war and sanctions", raising tensions worldwide. No date was given for the test, but the shock announcement drew immediate and strongly worded condemnation from Japan, which warned that the reclusive communist state may make good on its threat. Washington said a test "would pose an unacceptable threat to peace and stability in Asia and the world." "A provocative action of this nature would only furthe…

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…

From DefenseNews Saab: Gripen Still in Race for Indian Contract By GERARD O'DWYER Published: 8 Jul 2009 18:21 HELSINKI - Saab has rejected a July 5 report by the Jerusalem Post that the Sweden-based company has been eliminated from India's multibillion-dollar combat jet competition. The newspaper reported that the United States refused to allow Israel to supply an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar for Saab's Gripen fighter jet, prompting the elimination. "Our AESA focus is on our partnership with Selex Galileo, which we reached in March," a Saab spokesman said. "Together, we will jointly develop a new radar based on Selex's AESA Vixen and …

DPRK Resumes Construction at Tonghae Missile Site (The Diplomat, Flashpoints)

Submerged Deterrence: China’s Struggle to Field an SSBN Fleet (CSIS)

How Might North Korea Test an ICBM? (38 North)

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…

From Flight International DATE: 25/06/10 SOURCE: Flight International Boeing applies to export F-15SE to South Korea By Stephen Trimble Boeing has applied for an export licence to brief South Korea on sensitive details of a stealthier version of the F-15E that is within a few months of its first flight. The US government approved an export policy in the second quarter for the F-15SE Silent Eagle after Boeing submitted details of its radar cross-section about six months earlier, says Brad Jones, Boeing programme director for F-15 development programmes. The export policy allows Boeing to request an export licence for specific customers, with South Kor…

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 ABC (Australia) news service: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-08/heritage-honour-for-ships-sunk-in-battle-of-the-coral-sea/105386230?utm_source=abc_news_web&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_web&utm_content=link

From Flight International DATE: 21/03/08 SOURCE: Flightglobal.com Russia flies first production MiG-29 for Indian navy By Graham Warwick RSK MiG has flown the first production MiG-29K/KUB carrier-based multi-role combat aircraft for the Indian navy. The two-seat MiG-29KUB flew on 18 March from the company's Lukhovitsky test centre near Moscow. MiG is producing 12 single-seat MiG-29Ks and four tandem-seat MiG-29KUBs under a contract signed in January 2004. The aircraft are to equip the former Soviet navy aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, which is being refitted in Russia for delivery to the Indian navy as the INS Vikramaditya. The first of two pre-pr…