Current Events in Asia-Pacific

Manfred Meyer (edited by Larry Bond and Chris Carlson), Modern Chinese Maritime Forces, Second Edition (Admiralty Trilogy Group, 1 July 2024).

From aussie ABC news service https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-02/australian-army-apache-helicopters-arrive-in-townsville/105833650?utm_campaign=abc_news_web&utm_content=link&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_source=abc_news_web

Australia, U.S. launch joint exercises By Meraiah Foley - The Associated Press Posted : Monday Jun 18, 2007 7:32:59 EDT SYDNEY, Australia — Australia and the U.S. launched their biggest joint war games Monday, with 27,500 troops backed by a U.S. aircraft carrier engaging in exercises aimed at consolidating the allies’ military dominance in the Asia Pacific region. The biennial Talisman Sabre exercise pits 20,000 U.S. troops and 7,500 Australian forces against two fictional enemies — the Kamarians and Musorians — in a variety of land and sea-based scenarios designed to test their skills in combat, peacekeeping and humanitarian relief efforts. The exercise,…

From Aviation Week [excerpt]

From Reuters [excerpt] CV32: This one might be especially relevant to your scenario ideas/plans, Greg.

From Flight Global [excerpt]

News from BBC, 18 February 2005 Defence to top Japan, US talks Japan's defence and foreign ministers are in Washington for key security talks with US counterparts. There is speculation that one topic on the agenda is the Taiwan Strait, an important flashpoint in the region. ... More here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4275963.stm

From Defence Talk North Korea Threatens To Wipe Out US Forces In South Korea AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Mon, 19 Jun 2006, 00:32 Seoul: North Korea on Sunday threatened to "mercilessly wipe out" US forces in case of war during a national meeting to mark leader Kim Jong-Il's 42 years' work at the ruling party. The threat, in a ruling party report carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), came as North Korea was reportedly preparing to test-fire a long-range missile despite strong protests from the United States and its allies. Choe Thae Bok, a ranking Workers Party official, said Washington was "hell-bent on provocations of war of aggression" in the repo…

China's Army Hacked Pentagon Network Deutsche Presse-Agentur | September 04, 2007 Military.com China's Army hacked into a computer network at the Pentagon in an attack that has US officials concerned about the growing regularity and sophistication of China's technological assaults, the Financial Times reported Tuesday. Computer specialists with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) penetrated an unclassified network used by policy aides to US Defence Secretary Robert Gates in June, resulting in a weeklong shutdown of the system, the newspaper said in a report that quoted unnamed US officials. The PLA has demonstrated the ability to conduct attacks that disabl…

Indian Carrier Sails From Russia for Final Sea Trials (RIA Novosti)

I am not certain if a topic like this is welcome here. I have been asking myself this question every other day the past week and would like to hear your opinion.

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2025/02/new-zealand-fires-penguin-missile-for-the-first-time/

A couple of just released reports from the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) on the RAAF F-35A and F/A-18: Management of Australia’s Air Combat Capability—F-35A Joint Strike Fighter Acquisition http://www.anao.gov.au/~/media/Files/Audit%20Reports/2012%202013/Audit%20Report%206/201213%20Audit%20Report%20No%206%20OCRed.pdf Management of Australia’s Air Combat Capability—F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet Fleet Upgrades and Sustainment http://www.anao.gov.au/~/media/Files/Audit%20Reports/2012%202013/Audit%20Report%205/201213%20Audit%20Report%20No%205%20OCRed.pdf

How FP Stumbled Into a War With China — and Lost (Foreign Policy) Discussion of a simulated conflict in the East China Sea.

What Next for North Korea’s ICBM? (38 North)

From DefenseNews Japan’s Missile Defense System Far from Readiness By ISABEL REYNOLDS, REUTERS, TOKYO While the world keeps a wary eye on signs of a possible North Korean missile test, Japan, perhaps the most nervous of the communist state’s neighbors, remains years away from completing a planned missile defense system. Many experts have cast doubt on the effectiveness of such an interceptor system even when it is fully deployed. Unnerved by North Korea’s 1998 launch of a ballistic missile, part of which flew over Japan and landed in the Pacific Ocean, Tokyo agreed to introduce elements of the U.S. missile defense system, but the installation process is far fro…

Japan changes Iwo Jima name By Hans Greimel - The Associated Press Posted : Wednesday Jun 20, 2007 13:27:08 EDT TOKYO — Japan has changed the name of Iwo Jima, the volcanic island immortalized in one of World War II’s most brutal battles, to reflect the original name given by its inhabitants, the Japanese Geographical Survey Institute said. The new name is Iwo To, which will retain the same written characters and meaning — “Sulfur Island” — but is different when spoken. The name change was approved Monday by a joint geographical naming committee meeting between the survey institute and Japan’s coast guard, a statement from the institute said. An offic…

From DefenseNews U.S. Exercises Off Guam Impressive: China By REUTERS, BEIJING Chinese military officers who observed U.S. naval exercises in the Western Pacific were "deeply impressed", state media reported June 23. China, one of seven countries attending, sent a 10-member delegation to the Valiant Shield exercises that started on Sunday near Guam, involving more than 290 aircraft, three aircraft carrier strike groups and about 22,000 U.S. forces. The invitation came from the Commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, Adm. William Fallon, on a visit to China in May that was aimed at improving defense contacts between the two often wary military powers. Fallon has…

From Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists [excerpt] CV32: Lots of maps and diagrams of DPRK test sites in this article.

First Littoral Combat Ship Loses, Regains Power (Aviation Week)