Current Events in Asia-Pacific

China warns U.S. it will not allow violations of its waters (Reuters) The USN needs to go ahead and call China's bluff on this. To fail to do so (or, rather, to continue to fail to do so) will be a tacit (and dangerous) acknowledgement of China's ridiculous claims as legitimate.

China’s Claim That Its Fractional Orbital Bombardment System Was A Spaceplane Test Doesn’t Add Up (The War Zone)

From Jane's Defence Weekly China develops anti-ship missile By Ted Parsons JDW Correspondent Virginia, US The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) is in the advanced stages of developing a revolutionary anti-ship ballistic missile to supplement its well known Ying-Ji family of anti-ship cruise missiles. The development programme has been confirmed by both US government and Asian military sources, with the latter estimating that the PLA may be able to deploy the space targeting systems needed to make its anti-ship ballistic missile operational by 2009. PLA efforts to provide terminal guidance capabilities to both its 600 km-range DF-15 (CSS-6) short-ran…

War and Conflict Flying Tigers strike Jaffna military base Apr 24, 2007 Separatist Tamil Tiger rebels flying light aircraft bombed a military airbase on Sri Lanka's northern peninsula of Jaffna on Tuesday, killing at least six people, officials and the guerrillas said. If confirmed it would be the second air attack in two months by the Tigers, although it was denied by the defence ministry who said the rebels only fired artillery. Guerrilla spokesman Rasiah Ilanthiriyan said two light aircraft from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) headed toward the Palaly military air field in the Jaffna peninsula just after midnight. "We have carried out o…

Timeline: A Brief History of North Korea’s Nuclear Weapon Development (USNI News)

Sri Lanka rebel naval HQ destroyed: defence ministry 1 hour, 53 minutes ago Sri Lankan warplanes "bombed and completely destroyed" a key Tamil Tiger naval base Wednesday, the defence ministry said, drawing an immediate denial from the rebels. Israeli-built Kfir jets pounded what the defence ministry said was the "Sea Tiger headquarters" of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at Puthukkudiyiruppu, some 15 kilometres (nine miles) from the coast, in the northeast of the country. The LTTE said there were no casualties from the bombing, which they said took place near the "White Pigeon" charity, which helps victims of landmines. "The bombs fell about 60…

International Court Issues Unanimous Award in Philippines v. China Case on South China Sea (The Diplomat) Link to the court news release here Link to the full text (pdf) of the decision here CV32: The big question is what will China do next.

From Defence Talk US offers advanced missile system to India IANS | Jan 30, 2007 NEW DELHI: The US is offering India one of the world's most formidable shipboard missile systems that has the potential of being integrated with the country's indigenous missiles. There was "some interest" in the Indian defence establishment in the Aegis system but neither has the US made an offer nor has India made any formal request for it, says Royce Caplinger, managing director of Lockheed Martin India, whose US parent manufactures the system. "I am sure though that if you ask for it, you will get it," India Strategic defence magazine quotes him as saying. The feelers…

Australia to Pursue Nuclear Attack Subs in New Agreement with U.S., U.K. (USNI News) Huge news for the Aussies.

China’s Expanding Ability to Conduct Conventional Missile Strikes on Guam (US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, pdf)

Satellite Imagery: China Staging Mock Invasion of Taiwan? (The Diplomat)

Russia Delivers 1st S-400 Missile Defense Regiment to China (The Diplomat)

From DefenseNews Taiwan Finalizes Long Awaited P-3 Deal By wendell minnick Published: 23 Feb 07:25 EST (12:25 GMT) TAIPEI – Taiwan, the U.S. Navy and Lockheed Martin have finally settled issues over price and offset options, and are expected to soon sign a contract for 12 P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft for $1.3 billion, said sources in Taiwan. The signing will mark the end of two decades of struggle by Taiwan to replace its decrepit Northrop Grumman S-2T anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft. In April 2001, former U.S. President George W. Bush authorized the sale of a major arms package to Taiwan that included 12 P-3s, eight diesel submarines and fo…

From The Diplomat [excerpt]

How North Korea evades UN sanctions (South China Morning Post)

Full Story (h/t Alert 5)

From Aviation Week China Asat Test Called Worst Single Debris Event Ever By Frank Morring, Jr. Chinese delegates will have some explaining to do in Vienna later this month, when they sit down with representatives of other spacefaring nations to adopt international guidelines designed to mitigate the growing problem of man-made space debris in Earth orbit. The document drafted by a technical subcommittee of the U.N. Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space is aimed at preventing the sort of accidental events that have gradually engulfed Earth in a cloud of potentially destructive high-speed debris since the flight of Sputnik 1 kicked off orbital spaceflig…

http://defence-blog.com/news/new-stealth-bomber-spotted-in-china.html

Recent Changes in Kim Jong Un’s High Command (38 North) Great info here.

Maybe interesting? Until last week, when the billionaire Paul Allen began tweeting images of deep-sea wreckage — a coral-encrusted anchor, a green valve hairy with algae — the annals of vanished ships contained no entry more mysterious than that of the Musashi, a massive Japanese battleship sunk off the Philippines toward the end of World War II. To call Musashi massive, actually, doesn’t begin to do it justice. It was, and remains, one of the largest battleships ever launched — 70,000 tons of water displaced, with a crew of more than two thousand. Its nine 18.1-inch guns, the largest caliber ever mounted on a ship, were designed to fire 3,000-pound shells at a rang…