Current Events in Asia-Pacific

Carrier-capable version of LCA

Alarm as China issues rules for disputed sea (New York Times)

Lots of chatter lately about whether the Rafale "deal" is going to be tossed in favour of more Su-30MKI Indian defence minister hints at MMRCA cancellation (Jane's)

Leader Vows To Modernize Military Cites global ‘trends’ in need for able army By Scott McDonald, Associated Press BEIJING — China’s sprawling military will speed up its modernization during the next five years, increasingly adopting high-tech battle systems and upgrading training, President Hu Jintao said yesterday. In his keynote speech at the opening of the Communist Party Congress, held every five years, Mr. Hu said he was committed to making China’s military more modern. “In keeping with the new trends in world military affairs and the new requirements of China’s development, we must promote innovation in military theory, technology, organization a…

Submarines in Southeast Asia: Proliferation, Not a Race (The Diplomat)

From DefenseNews Posted 05/10/07 10:15 Russia Throws Wrench in S. Korea’s Global Hawk Plan AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, SEOUL South Korea’s plan to buy a U.S.-made unmanned spy plane to keep watch over North Korea has hit a snag because Russia opposes the easing of a global arms control pact, a news report said May 10. Dong-A Ilbo newspaper, quoting a diplomatic source, said any U.S. sale of the $50 million Global Hawk would need a revision to the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). "The U.S. is trying to persuade MTCR member states to revise the MTCR regulations but Russia is opposed to revising it or making any exceptions," the source said. "South Korea’s pl…

From DefenseNews Indian Party Wants To End Military Ties With U.S. By vivek raghuvanshi Published: 1 Apr 12:58 EDT (08:58 GMT) NEW DELHI -Increasing defense cooperation with the United States is likely to shorten the life of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government here as its main supporter on the left, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM), has resolved to end India's military relationship with the United States. Without the support of India's Communist parties, the alliance government will find it difficult to remain in power until its term ends in mid-2009. Meeting March 29, the CPM's 19th Congress called for ending the Indo-U.S. …

From Jane's Defence Weekly Eurofighter Typhoon takes a nosedive in Singapore By ROBERT HEWSON Editor of Jane's Air-Launched Weapons London A shock decision by Singapore to drop the Eurofighter Typhoon from a shortlist of contenders vying to be the Republic's next-generation fighter has thrown the aircraft's manufacturing consortium, comprising BAE Systems, EADS and Alenia, into disarray. JDW understands that Singapore¹s Defence Science and Technology Agency, an arm of the Ministry of Defence (MinDef), has delivered a letter to the Eurofighter team formally discounting the Typhoon from the NFRP competition. While no official statement has been made by Sin…

From Jane's Japanese MoD maintains plan to pursue F-22 By Jon Grevatt and Craig Caffrey 07 January 2009 The Japanese Ministry of Defence (MoD) has dismissed reports that it is prepared to drop plans to evaluate the F-22 Raptor fifth-generation air superiority fighter as part of its programme to procure next-generation (FX) fighters for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF). Media reports from Japan have quoted government sources as saying that the MoD will abandon efforts to seek access to the aircraft's technologies and performance data in light of increasing budgetary pressures on the F-22 programme in the United States and the continuing ban on its exp…

Source: Engineers unveil long range, fuel cell-powered UAV | Korea.net News Note:

Anti-access lessons from the past (USNI, Proceedings)

http://www.australiandefence.com.au/news/bae-systems-offers-queen-elizabeth-carrier-design-to-india

Stuff like this has gotta make you wonder if all the weapons performance in military simulations is truly accurate under combat conditions. Editorial from The China Post Armed forces botch attacks 2005/11/1 In another costly botch Taiwan's submarines fired four torpedoes in two many sea maneuvers last year. In the first mock war, two were launched to sink target ships, but neither scored a hit. President Chen Shui-bian, for whom the navy held that exercise, proffered comfort and asked for another torpedo attack. Two were fired, and one of them hit the bull's eye. One hit out of four launches certainly was a costly botch. Now it's the turn of the other two servic…

NIDS China Security Report 2016 (National Institute for Defense Studies (Tokyo), pdf)

Australia could buy F-35B (Jane's)

The 20 countries taking part in this year's exercises include New Zealand, the United States, Japan, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, the Republic of Korea, India, Singapore, Germany, France, Spain, Fiji, Canada, Brunei, Malaysia, Finland and Sweden Aust abc news

Sounds like an excellent premise for a new scenario! White House May Go to U.N. Over North Korean Shipments By DAVID E. SANGER Published: April 25, 2005 New York Times ASHINGTON, April 24 - The Bush administration, facing a series of recent provocations from North Korea, is debating a plan to seek a United Nations resolution empowering all nations to intercept shipments in or out of the country that may contain nuclear materials or components, say senior administration officials and diplomats who have been briefed on the proposal. The resolution envisioned by a growing number of senior administration officials would amount to a quarantine of North Ko…

Indias Missile Defense: Is the Game Worth the Candle? (The Diplomat)

Document: China's Naval Modernization (USNI News)

China would invade Taiwan in certain circumstances: MND report (Focus Taiwan)