Current Events in Asia-Pacific

From Armed Forces Journal, November 2011 issue [excerpt]

dont know if this is the greatest idea in the world, why pull on the tigers tail. http://news.yahoo.com/taiwan-hails-missile...-084816584.html

From Defense Aerospace [excerpt]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-08/australian-military-to-buy-small-american-made-lethal-drones/104069310 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-03/australian-army-to-operate-local-made-lethal-drone-within-months/103925798

Defiant Chinese Admiral’s Message: South China Sea ‘Belongs to China’ (Defense One)

From DefenseNews [excerpt]

From DefenseNews S. Korea Fires Warning Shots at N. Korean Ships AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Published: 16 May 2010 15:16 SEOUL, - South Korea's navy fired warning shots to drive away North Korean patrol boats from the disputed inter-Korean sea border, amid tension over the sinking of a Seoul warship, officials said May 16. The warning shots were fired late May 15 when two North Korean patrol boats violated the Northern Limit Line (NLL) border and strayed into South Korean waters, the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff office said. A spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff told AFP the North's patrol boats retreated without responding to the fire. No casualties occu…

From DefenseNews Posted 05/25/07 08:11 S. Korea Launches Aegis Destroyer AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, SEOUL South Korea on May 25 launched its first Aegis destroyer equipped with advanced air and sea weaponry, on the same day that North Korea test-fired several missiles. President Roh Moo-Hyun, speaking at the launch of the billion-dollar 7,600-ton KDX-III destroyer, said South Korea must be mindful of what he called a regional arms race. "The ship, armed with [a] state-of-the-art defense system and combat capability, is one of the world’s best destroyers," Roh said at a ceremony at the Ulsan dockyard of Hyundai Heavy Industries, which built the ship. "We have to se…

From Flight Global [excerpt]

South Korea Selects the Taurus KEPD 350 Cruise Missile (Defense Update)

From Defense Aerospace Korea to Develop Super-Fast Flying Boats (Source: Korea Information Service; issued June 23, 2005) The Korean government plans to invest 170 billion won to develop a large-sized watercraft that can cruise at a maximum speed of 250 kilometers per hour just above water, starting 2006. It will also spend about 70 billion won to establish an Antarctic research center by 2011, in addition to the existing King Sejong Station. The ambitious plans were endorsed on Thursday (June 23) at a meeting of science-related ministers, presided over by Science-Technology Minister Oh Myung. To build watercraft, called wing-in-ground (WIG) veh…

South Korea to Expand Its Air Defense Identification Zone (The Diplomat) S. Korea nears finalization of expanded air defense zone (Yonhap) Possible scenarios for the expansion:

From Defense Aerospace Seoul to Purchase US Spy Aircraft (Source: Korean Ministry of National Defence; dated July 13, web-posted July 12, 2005) The Defense Ministry has officially requested the United States sell its high-altitude, long-range surveillance aircraft as part of its mid to long-term arms acquisition plan, ministry officials said on Tuesday (July 12). The request was made at a sub-panel session of an annual defense ministerial meeting between South Korea and the U.S., called the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM), in Hawaii last month, officials said. The two allies are scheduled to hold the SCM in October. The South Korean delegates aske…

More Westpac scenario fodder ... From DefenseNews Posted 03/20/06 10:08 S. Koreans See China as Long-Term, Threat, Not North: Poll By REUTERS, SEOUL South Koreans view China rather than North Korea as the biggest threat to their security 10 years from now, according to a survey. The two Koreas are technically still at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. North and South Korea have hundreds of thousands of troops stationed near the heavily fortified border that divides the peninsula. In the survey by the state-funded Korea Institute for Defence Analyses (KIDA), 37.7 percent of respondents listed leading trading partner C…

Sri Lanka: War is Over but Tensions Run High (The Diplomat)

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…

Exploits of the RQ-170 Sentinel in 2009. Stealth Drones Secret Pacific Missions (War is Boring)

Step by Step, Here's How to Fight China (War is Boring) Notice how none of the naval wargaming sims - old or new - come remotely close to modeling this.

From Air Force Magazine, August 2012 [excerpt]

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…