Current Events in Asia-Pacific

From Defence Talk Japan says it can go nuclear but won't Agence France-Presse Oct 31, 2006 - 5:28:02 AM TOKYO: Japan said Tuesday it has the legal right to develop nuclear weapons despite its pacifist constitution but has no intention even to consider the long-taboo idea. Prominent lawmakers have called on Japan, the only nation to suffer nuclear attack, to debate the nuclear option after communist neighbor North Korea on October 9 said it had tested its first atom bomb. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki argued that the US-imposed pacifist constitution allows Japan "the right to possess minimum capability" for self-defense. "Theoretically and…

Navy 'too weak' for big role in Korea blockade By Thomas Harding, Damien McElroy in Washington and Richard Spencer in Beijing (Filed: 16/10/2006) Telegraph Plans to impose a blockade of North Korea to prevent the regime acquiring nuclear weapons were thrown in disarray last night. China said it would oppose attempts to inspect suspect vessels and Royal Navy commanders said Britain was unable to make a significant military commitment to the proposed United Nations naval task force. advertisement The United States is leading attempts to put together a force that would prevent suspect cargoes from entering the Marxist dictatorship and stop North Korea e…

Indian Navy declines to buy British Harriers HindustanTimes Indo-Asian News Service New Delhi, October 13, 2006 The Indian Navy has declined to buy eight British Sea Harrier FA.2 fighter jets that were phased out of the Royal Navy in March 2006. According to a report in the October issue of the defence magazine India Strategic, the eight Harriers, which were also the last to serve the Royal Navy, were on offer but without some vital components like missiles and the Blue Vixen fire control radar. The prime consideration was to use them to train pilots and to fill in the gaps caused by the loss of six Harriers in the Indian Navy due to accidents spread over…

From Defence Talk US, China set for stand-off on NKorea AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE October 13th, 2006, 05:00 China and the United States looked set for a stand-off over North Korea after Beijing signalled it would take a softer line on sanctions against the North for testing an atom bomb. Just hours before more UN Security Council talks on a US draft resolution to tighten the screws on Pyongyang for its nuclear test, China said it wanted to resolve the crisis peacefully rather than aim for exacting revenge. "Punishment is not the goal," foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said. "As to what measures to take, I think the measures themselves are not punitive …

From DefenseNews Posted 10/09/06 10:35 Defiant North Korea Conducts Nuclear Test By JACK KIM, REUTERS, SEOUL North Korea said it conducted an underground nuclear test on Oct. 9, defying a warning from the U.N. Security Council and opening its crippled economy to the risk of fresh sanctions. South Korea put its troops on heightened alert after the announcement, which came just minutes before Japanese Prime Minister Shinto Abe landed in Seoul for a visit. The move could heighten regional tension and deal a fresh foreign policy blow to U.S. President George W. Bush ahead of mid-term elections. The White House branded the act "provocative" and said it expected the…

From Defence Talk North Korea Pushes Japan Further Down Nuclear Path AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE October 6th, 2006, 03:29 Tokyo: North Korea's brinkmanship will intensify a debate in Japan about developing atomic weapons, a long-standing taboo in the only nation to have suffered nuclear attack, analysts said. Both the United States and South Korea predicted in official statements or reports that North Korea's plans to test a nuclear bomb will build momentum in Japan to do likewise. North Korea said Tuesday it would carry out the test to win concessions from Washington, but ironically the move also emboldened Japanese hardliners who want to shed some of the pacifism…

Here's an excellent premise for a scenario, IMO. U.S. Detection Plane Leaves Japan Amid North Korean Nuclear Concerns By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, TOKYO DefenseNews A U.S. military plane capable of detecting radioactive particles in the air has left southern Japan Oct. 5 amid concerns North Korea could soon test a nuclear bomb, reports said. The WC-135C plane flew from the U.S. Kadena airbase in Okinawa in the direction of the Korean peninsula shortly before noon, the Japanese public network NHK reported. The Kyodo news agency also reported the departure of the plane, although neither report confirmed its mission. NHK said a midair refueling plane a…

From Defence Talk NKorea sparks international alarm with plans for nuclear test AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE October 4th, 2006, 12:31 North Korea announced it would carry out its first nuclear test in response to what it called a United States "threat of nuclear war and sanctions", raising tensions worldwide. No date was given for the test, but the shock announcement drew immediate and strongly worded condemnation from Japan, which warned that the reclusive communist state may make good on its threat. Washington said a test "would pose an unacceptable threat to peace and stability in Asia and the world." "A provocative action of this nature would only furthe…

From DefenseNews China Tried To Blind U.S. Sats With Laser By VAGO MURADIAN China has fired high-power lasers at U.S. spy satellites flying over its territory in what experts see as a test of Chinese ability to blind the spacecraft, according to sources. It remains unclear how many times a ground-based laser was tested against U.S. spacecraft or whether it was successful. But the combination of China’s efforts and advances in Russian satellite-jamming capabilities that illustrate vulnerabilities to the U.S. space network are driving U.S. Air Force plans to develop new space architectures and highly classified systems, according to sources. The hardware on the …

From Jane's Thai prime minister deposed in name of monarchy amid political uncertainty By Christian LeMiere, Jane’s Country Risk Asia Editor EVENT A military coup took place in Thailand at midnight (1700 GMT) on 19 September to depose caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was in New York at the time. The coup is a sign of military disaffection with governmental intervention and royalist fears of Thaksin's autocracy. In the immediate term, the lack of an interim prime minister poses the greatest risk. However, should a prime minister be forthcoming, the most likely short-term outcome will be democratic elections in November and a possible increase i…

London August 18, 2006 IT'S not every day that a foreign diplomat publicly tells the US to "shut up and keep quiet", but China's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva did just that during a BBC interview on the subject of Beijing's growing military spending. Interviewed for a BBC radio program yesterday, Sha Zukang also said China would sacrifice its own people's lives if any nation supported a declaration of independence by Taiwan. Responding to jitters in the Bush Administration about Beijing's rising military budget, Mr Sha said the US itself accounted for half of the world's military spending. "The China population is six times or five times that…

Submarine Corp to be sold off August 16, 2006 THE former Australian Submarine Corporation (ASC Pty Ltd) will be sold by the Federal Government. Finance Minister Nick Minchin announced today that following a scoping study into the possible sale of the company, the Government had decided to put it up for a competitive tender sale. He said the tender would most likely begin in late 2007, with a sale completed by the second half of 2008. The sale decision had been expected. Senator Minchin said a tender sale would protect the company's long term interests. "It is vital that ASC continue to have access to essential technical assistance from international …

It seems that some scens are getting an even more realistic background. May the fisherman RIP.

From Defence Talk Evolved Design Unveiled for Australia's Next Generation Air Warfare Destroyer Gibbs & Cox Tue, 8 Aug 2006, 12:43 ADELAIDE, Australia: The first images of the Evolved Design for Australia's Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) project were unveiled by the Minister of Defence Brendan Nelson in Adelaide at the opening of the new AWD Systems Centre. Three-dimensional animated vision has been released showing the advanced capabilities of the Evolved Design, with 360-degree protection for Australian troops against threats of air, underwater or missile attack. A series of detailed images of the Evolved Design from different angles has also been releas…

From Defence Talk China Warns U.S. Not to Sell Fighters To Taiwan AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Mon, 24 Jul 2006, 00:33 Beijing has warned Washington not to proceed with a reported deal to sell fighterss to Taiwan, indicating it would impact on regional security and harm Sino-U.S. relations, state media said on July 21. ”The Chinese side has taken note of the report and lodged serious representations to the United States,” China’s foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua news agency. The China Times reported on July 17 that a Taiwanese delegation had proposed the procurement of 66 advanced fighter planes during an annua…

From Defence Talk North Korea Launches Wartime Alert AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Wed, 19 Jul 2006, 00:15 Seoul: North Korea has launched a wartime alert, putting its armed forces and nationals in a state of a war mobilization, an unconfirmed news report said here Wednesday. Kim Jong-Il, head of the communist country, issued an order to that effect hours before the United Nations Security Council unanimously condemned North Korea's missile tests last week, said the Joongang daily, quoting an unnamed government source. Government officials were unable to be reached for confirmation early Wednesday. North Korean soldiers on leave were told to return to their b…

PRC's new 'Type 094' submarine has no bite By Cheng Ta-cheng 鄭大誠 Taipei Times Saturday, Jul 15, 2006,Page 8 Advertising Advertising Recent reports indicate that China's Type 094 Jin-class nuclear-powered guided ballistic missile submarine is already in service. Some of the media haven't been able to avoid buying into the hype surrounding its production, calling it "the complete equal of the American Ohio-class nuclear submarine." The 094's construction process has been shrouded in mystery, even to the extent that authorities have cordoned off a restricted area extending several kilometers around the construction facilities on China's Hulu Island, strictly p…

From Defense Aerospace MND Mulls US$4b Budget for 66 Fighters (Source: Taiwan government news; issued July 13, 2006) While Taiwan is planning to increase its defense budget to cope with military threats from China, the Ministry of National Defense is assessing a plan to buy sixty-six F-16 C/D fighters from the United States for NT$130 billion (US$4 billion) in order to strengthen its air defense capabilities. The deal was proposed in response to President Chen Shui-bian's plan to increase the percentage of the defense budget from 2.4 percent to 2.85 percent of Taiwan's GDP in fiscal year 2007, a local Chinese-language newspaper quoted sources in the MND as …

From Defence Talk Taiwan To Test Fire Cruise Missile Capable Of Hitting China AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Fri, 7 Jul 2006, 01:19 Taipei: Taiwan plans to test-fire a cruise missile capable of hitting rival China despite concerns from the United States, a report here said Thursday. The cruise missile, with a range of 600 kilometers (360 miles), will be test-fired at a ceremony in September attended by President Chen Shui-bian in the south of the island, the ettoday.com online newspaper said. "The United States has voiced concerns to Taiwanese authorities as the missile has exceeded the 300-kilometer limit" under the Missile Technology Control Regime, the Chinese-la…