Current Events in Asia-Pacific

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…

From Aviation Week DSP Satellites See Aggressive New Chinese Missile Testing By Craig Covault China is beginning an unprecedented surge in the flight test of new ballistic missiles at the same time that the U.S. is starting a lengthy transition of missile-warning satellite systems, critical for providing intelligence on this test activity. The current Defense Support Program (DSP) missile-warning spacecraft and new Space-Based Infrared System (Sbirs) spacecraft, just starting to be launched, have a primary job of attack warnings. But the powerful infrared telescopes on the DSPs are especially providing vital intelligence on new Chinese, as well as Iranian…

Washington Times April 6, 2007 Pg. 9 China Mum On Pace Query On Anti-Satellite System By Bill Gertz, The Washington Times China's senior military leaders refused to disclose any details about a recent test of a new anti-satellite weapon system or other aspects of a secret space-arms program, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told reporters yesterday. Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace, who recently returned from a four-day visit to China, also said NATO forces have launched a spring offensive in Afghanistan against ousted Taliban militia. On China's Jan. 11 test, Gen. Pace said he asked Chinese leaders during several meetings about the use of a mi…

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…

Japan, U.S., India to hold joint naval drill The Associated Press Posted : Tuesday Apr 3, 2007 9:32:29 EDT TOKYO — Japan, the U.S. and India will hold their first three-way naval drill later this month, a Japanese defense official said Tuesday, amid efforts by Tokyo to boost ties with the region’s naval powers. An Indian missile ship, two U.S. destroyers and three escort ships of Japan’s Self-Defense Force were among the vessels slated to take part in the joint exercise off Chiba prefecture on Japan’s eastern coast on April 16, according to defense official Yoshihito Fukabori. The drill, which Fukabori described as a goodwill exercise, will consist of bas…

From Defense Aerospace China Could Potentially Defeat U.S. In Conflict Over Taiwan By Limiting Military Access, Rand Study Finds (Source: Rand Corporation; issued Mar 29, 2007) China could potentially defeat the United States in a future military conflict over Taiwan by using strategies designed to limit U.S. military access to the area, according to a report issued today by the RAND Corporation. The report examines scenarios in which China might employ what are known as “antiaccess” strategies – actions that would impede the deployment of U.S. forces into a combat zone, limit the locations from which American forces could operate, or compel the U.S. milita…

From Jane's Intelligence Watch Report 26 March 2007 Tamil rebels take to skies to attack Sri Lankan base EVENT On 25 March, the ethnic insurgent Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) became the world's first non-state armed group to undertake a bombing raid using its own aircraft without external support. The LTTE’s use of air power is not unexpected. The Sri Lankan government has long accused the rebels of developing an air wing, possibly called Vaanpuligal, stating in mid-2005 that the LTTE had built and was maintaining a 1,250 m air strip in Mullaitivu district. Photographs released by the LTTE on 26 March show the LTTE leader Prabhakaran with six a…

From DefenseNews Posted 03/21/07 08:40 South Korean Air Force Chief Resigns REUTERS, SEOUL, South Korea South Korea’s air force commander resigned March 21, becoming the latest leader in the country brought down in part by a golfing scandal. President Roh Moo-hyun accepted the resignation of Air Force Chief of Staff Kim Seong-il, a presidential spokesman said. In an abrupt announcement, Kim said he was offering to resign to take responsibility for air crashes that occurred during his tenure, an Air Force spokesman said. But he was also facing intense criticism for reportedly playing golf while the nation mourned the death of the first South Korean soldier kil…

From Defence Talk Indian Air Force Retires More Old MiGs Agence France-Presse | Mar 21, 2007 India’s air force bid farewell March 20 to some of its last active Soviet-era jets, which are set to be replaced by new hardware from either Russia, the U.S. or Europe. Four of its five remaining MiG-23 jets, which have top speeds of up to 2,500 kilometers (1,150 miles) an hour, staged a fly-by from an air base in western India before the entire squadron was declared retired, an air force spokesman said. The planes — referred to by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as "Floggers" — were bought from the Soviet Union in the early 1980s during a frenetic a…

From Defence Talk Japan is considering the Eurofighter Typhoon as a replacement for some of its ageing fighter jets, in what would be a surprise move for a country that has hitherto relied on the United States for combat aircraft. The Defence Ministry is examining its options as it plans to start replacing its fleet of 60 F-4 fighters as well as training aircraft in the next couple of years, the defence ministry said. "Of course we are considering the Eurofighter among other options," a spokesman at the Defence Ministry said. The Eurofighter is built by a consortium headed by BAE Systems, Europe's largest defence firm. The Rafale fighter jet manufactur…

From DefenseNews Posted 03/19/07 17:29 Analysis: Strains Show in Complex China-Russia Relations By WENDELL MINNICK, TAIPEI During the Cold War, the Russian-Chinese relationship was watched by Western intelligence analysts like hawks on mice. What if Moscow and Beijing form an alliance? What if there is another border dispute between them? What if Russia provides advanced fighters to North Korea? How would the United States respond to a Russian attack on Japan? Today, the relationship is far more transparent, yet still very complicated. “Despite all the recent joint exercises between Russia and China, as well as continuing arms trade between the two, Japan see…

From Navy Times Commander confident Navy can control Pacific By Philip Ewing - Staff writer Posted : Tuesday Mar 13, 2007 8:11:13 EDT Forward-deploying the aircraft carrier George Washington in Japan will help the Navy keep Southeast Asia, home to the world’s most populous Muslim nation, from becoming a “front line in the war on terror,” Pacific Fleet commander Adm. Gary Roughhead said in an online chat session March 5. Roughhead chatted with readers of the Honolulu Advertiser’s Web site in a moderated question-and-answer session about his command, the world’s largest, which includes 102 million square miles, 190 ships and submarines, 1,400 aircraft, 191,000…

From Aviation Week Pacific, Korean Commanders Declare 'Overmatch' By Michael Bruno/Aerospace Daily & Defense Report The four-star chiefs of the U.S. Pacific and Korea combatant commands declared March 7 that the United States and its allies enjoy an overwhelming "overmatch" of naval and air forces in the region against any challenger, but the Korea commander noted concern with longer-term supplies of air-delivered munitions. U.S. Navy Adm. William Fallon, head of Pacific Command, and U.S. Army Gen. Burwell Bell, the military commander in South Korea, told the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) that they are not in immediate need of additional weapons, …

From DefenseNews Posted 02/13/07 08:14 N. Korea Agrees to Shut Key Nuclear Facilities By JUN KWANWOO and SHIGEMI SATO, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BEIJING North Korea agreed Tuesday to shut down key nuclear facilities within two months in exchange for badly needed fuel, part of a broad agreement aimed at ending the regime’s controversial nuclear program. In return, the U.S. would hold direct talks on diplomatic relations with North Korea — a member of President Bush’s "axis of evil” — and begin looking at removing it from the U.S. list of terrorist nations. The deal came after nearly a week of grueling six-nation talks in Beijing aimed at convincing the secretive St…

From Defense Aerospace China's Defense Budget to Increase 17.8% in 2007 (Source: Voice of America News; issued March 4, 2007) BEIJING --- China's military spending will grow by 17.8 percent to nearly $45 billion this year. China has steadily increased its defense budget by double digits over the past few years, raising concerns about its military intentions. China will increase its military spending by 17.8 percent this year, to improve salaries and living conditions for military personnel and to upgrade equipment and technology. Jiang Enzhu, the Deputy Secretary General and spokesman for the National People's Congress, announced the jump in military …

NORTH KOREA'S NUCLEAR THREAT / North Korea 'had plan to attack Japan' The Yomiuri Shimbun An agreement adopted at the latest round of six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program stipulates two-phase measures toward Pyongyang's denuclearization in return for energy support. This second series of articles on the threats posed by North Korea's nuclear program, following the first series carried last month, takes a close look at the background to the agreement reached at the six-party talks. This is the fifth and last installment of the series. What appears to be a simple maritime accident can have very different implications in the eyes of military e…