Current Events in Asia-Pacific

From Defense Aerospace Joint Strike Fighter (Source: Australian Department of Defence; issued Feb. 1, 2007) Australia says it may lease 24 F-18Es as a stop-gap solution pending delivery of its JSFs. Australia’s planned acquisition of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) remains on track. Initial Operational Capability of the first squadron of JSF is expected in 2014/2015. In December I signed on behalf of the Australian Government the JSF Production, Sustainment and Follow-on Development (PSFD) Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The full complement of JSF will be phased in over the next decade. Statements that JSF will be far less capable than initia…

N. Korea missile could hit Guam, report says The Associated Press Posted : Monday Apr 30, 2007 13:27:31 EDT North Korea displayed a newly developed ballistic missile capable of reaching the US territory of Guam during a massive military parade last week, a news report said Sunday. The parade in Pyongyang on Wednesday featured three new models, including the medium-range missile that can travel 2,500km to 4,000km, the Chosun Ilbo reported. The report cited an unidentified South Korean government official familiar with an analysis of U.S. satellite images. “All three [new] models are ground-to-ground missiles,” the official was quoted as saying. “Of them, t…

From Aviation Week [Hot on the heels of the report of a request by Israel for export of the F-22 ... ] F-22 attractive to Japan as missile threats grow David A. Fulghum/Aerospace Daily & Defense Report Japanese military officials are eyeing the F-22 Raptor as an antidote to growing regional missile threats, Aviation Week & Space Technology will report on April 23. The Lockheed Martin-built fighter is expected to become a key element in missile defense because it can detect and destroy small cruise missiles and also evade sophisticated air defenses to bomb ballistic missile launch sites. Whether Japanese law might be interpreted to allow the countr…

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…

PRC navy faces issues with carrier protection By Cheng Ta-chen Taipei Times Tuesday, Apr 24, 2007, Page 8 Advertising Advertising The media have begun to hype up news of plans by China to obtain a new aircraft carrier. This kind of attention has its precedents, such as recent rumblings that China was in the process of building a nuclear-powered carrier, or that it planned to deploy two carrier groups in the Sea of Japan and the South China Sea. It is difficult to know what to make of all these developments. A carrier group requires effective integration of fighting forces in the air, on the water and below the surface. Even if China could overcome the tech…

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…

Seafarers warned to be on alert in Malacca Strait Sun Apr 22, 1:33 AM ET The International Maritime Bureau on Sunday warned seafarers to remain on alert while travelling on the piracy-prone Malacca Strait despite a fall in attacks. Pottengal Mukundan, London-based director of IMB, told AFP that there was "no room for complacency," since pirates were merely lying low due to aggressive patrols by Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Mukundan said if the three Southeast Asian countries that border the Malacca Strait let up in their patrols, "pirate attacks will rise again." Maintaining and securing the waterway has always been regarded as the responsibility of …

Los Angeles Times April 16, 2007 N. Korea Reminded To Fulfill Its Pledge U.S. is displeased by the failure to shut a nuclear reactor but says it will wait a few more days. By Associated Press SEOUL — The U.S. said Sunday that North Korea must act within days on a pledge to halt its nuclear weapons program, after the Pyongyang government failed to meet a Saturday deadline to shut down and seal a nuclear reactor. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said Washington was prepared "to hold on for a few more days" after his Chinese counterpart, Wu Dawei, asked the U.S. for patience. "We're not happy that the [North] essentially has missed…

Honolulu Advertiser April 18, 2007 Indonesia, U.S. Join Forces In Exercise By William Cole, Advertiser Military Writer About 80 U.S. soldiers are in Indonesia, including some Hawai'i National Guard members, for what is being described as "opening a new chapter" between the U.S. and Indonesian armies. Garuda Shield 2007 in West Java represents the resumption of brigade-level, army-to-army exercises after U.S. military ties with Indonesia were cut by the Clinton administration in 1999. The U.S. broke off ties after troops backed by the Indonesian government used deadly force to try to suppress East Timor's ultimately successful quest for independence. …

From Jane's Defence Weekly 19 April 2007 China marches forward By Timothy Hu The regeneration of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) is shifting into higher gear as it takes delivery of a new generation of home-grown arms and steps up the development of sophisticated asymmetric technologies designed to thwart more advanced adversaries. Along with the continuing importation of Russian weapons, improved training and rising levels of professionalism, China is now firmly on track to become a credible regional military power. An array of new indigenous weapon platforms has been unveiled in the past year that is at least a generation ahead of the PLA's …

Wall Street Journal April 18, 2007 Pg. 9 Singapore Prime Minister Urges U.S. To Bolster Its Ties In Asia By Yaroslav Trofimov and Paul Beckett SINGAPORE -- Distracted by problems elsewhere, the U.S. isn't paying enough attention to Southeast Asia, losing its regional influence to a rising China and potentially weakening antiterrorism cooperation, Singapore's prime minister cautioned. In Southeast Asia, the U.S. has "many friends and many strategic interests," Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told The Wall Street Journal ahead of his talks with President Bush, scheduled for early next month in Washington. "It's important for us to continue to nourish this,…

Keating urges sharing maritime security info By Audrey McAvoy - The Associated Press Posted : Monday Apr 16, 2007 7:18:42 EDT KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — The top U.S. commander in the Pacific on Monday said countries lining the Malacca Strait have vastly improved the security and safety of the important trade route in the last five years. Adm. Timothy Keating also said that sharing maritime security information among military officials, diplomats and commercial shipping operators was an integral part of U.S. goals to boost regional stability. “It’s of critical importance to us,” said Keating told a joint news conference with Gen. Abdul Aziz Zainal, the chief…

Anyone with this edition or access to the USNI website, a vey interesting article can be found pp 38-42 discussing current Indian naval strategies/concerns. It can provide outstanding scenario fodder. I believe that you need "access", but here is the link anyway. Find article here - hopefully. I could always post a copy if it is believed to be "ok"

PaCom chief confident U.S. can deter N. Korea By Audrey McAvoy - The Associated Press Posted : Friday Apr 13, 2007 9:45:54 EDT SEOUL, South Korea — The new top commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific expressed confidence Friday in the military’s ability to respond to any aggression by North Korea though the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have left him with fewer troops on the ground. Adm. Timothy Keating is visiting South Korea for the first time since he assumed control of the U.S. Pacific Command last month. He was expected to discuss the U.S.-South Korea alliance with Korean leaders and have U.S. commanders brief him on the North Korean threat and the status…

From Aviation Week Chinese ASAT strike was third try; had mobile element Amy Butler/Web Exclusive COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - U.S. Marine Corps Gen. James Cartwright says the Chinese made two unsuccessful attempts at an anti-satellite intercept before the successful test in January. During those earlier tests, at least one of which took place last year, the Chinese interceptor boosted into space but missed the target. The re-entry vehicles later fell back to Earth, an intelligence official says. Cartwright says the test was a pivotal moment for the U.S.'s presence in space, but he cautioned against an overreaction. "This is not in my mind the defining momen…

India Test Fires Nuclear-Capable Missile India Test Fires New Nuclear-Capable Missile Agni III, State Government Official Says By MUNEEZA NAQVI The Associated Press NEW DELHI - India test fired a new missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads across much of Asia and the Middle East, a state government official said Thursday. An earlier test firing of the Agni III missile had failed when it plunged into the Bay of Bengal short of its target in July last year. There was no immediate comment whether the current test was successful. The missile was launched from Wheeler Island off the eastern state of Orissa, the state government official said on condition o…

How the U.S. could lose a war with China over Taiwan World Tribune Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Peter Pace inspected the honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Beijing in late March. Pace was in Beijing to hold talks with China 's top military leaders. (AFP/Elizabeth Dalziel) The Rand Corp., a leading consultant to the Pentagon and the intelligence community, has assessed that China could defeat the United States in a war over Taiwan. Rand said Beijing has developed a strategy meant to deny the U.S. military access to the Straits of Taiwan. In a report that contrasted sharply with the optimism of several U.S. mil…

Navy plans large-scale exercise off Guam Valiant Shield will involve 3 carriers, 22,000 troops By Audrey McAvoy - The Associated Press Posted : Tuesday Apr 10, 2007 9:54:39 EDT PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii — The Navy will send three aircraft carriers to waters off Guam for large-scale exercises late this summer, the outgoing U.S. Pacific Fleet commander said. The Valiant Shield war games will resemble exercises held near the U.S. territory last June. Those brought together some 28 ships, 280 airplanes and 22,000 troops. Adm. Gary Roughead, announcing the exercises Monday, said the Navy learned a great deal from last year's large-scale exercises and wanted to hol…

Los Angeles Times - April 10, 2007 China Missile Test Seen As A Threat To Taiwan Exercise showed ability to blind U.S. satellites that would help defend the island, study says. By Associated Press WASHINGTON — China's anti-satellite test in January increased the country's military threat to Taiwan by demonstrating a limited ability to blind the U.S. satellites that would be deployed in defense of the island, according to a report by an independent private research group to be released today. "The test is a vivid example of how China's emerging military capabilities will complicate the strategic environment confronting U.S. forces for decades to come,"…

Wall Street Journal April 9, 2007 Pg. 4 A Thaw For China And Japan? As Economies Become Intertwined, Nations Soften Stances By Sebastian Moffett and Jason Leow The complex and rocky relations between China and Japan these past few years have been neatly summed up in both countries by four Chinese characters: "politics -- cold; economy -- hot." Bilateral trade has doubled over the past four years, and exports of machinery and chemicals to China helped drag Japan's economy out of a slump. But there was little love lost between the governments and people. Japan's last prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, insisted on visiting Yasukuni, a shrine to Jap…