Current Events in Asia-Pacific

Reuters.com February 27, 2006 US, Japan To Help Malaysia Boost Strait Security KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - The United States is ready to help Malaysia boost security in the vital Malacca Strait once it concludes a pact on joint air patrols with other littoral states, a U.S. defense commander said on Monday. Separately, Malaysia's defense chief said Japan, a major user of the busy sea lane, would provide a ship next month to Malaysia's coast guard to help patrol the strait, which carries roughly a quarter of global trade. Admiral William Fallon, commander-in-chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, said the United States was also looking to provide defense equi…

From Defense Aerospace Government Welcomes ASPI Strategic Insights Paper -Cutting Edge: The Collins Experience (Source: Australian Department of Defence; issued Feb. 23, 2006) The Australian Strategic Policy Paper, Cutting Edge: The Collins Experience, highlights the many initiatives taken by the Howard Government over the past ten years to both reform Defence procurement and deliver a world class submarine capability to the Royal Australian Navy. Through utilising our Alliance relationship with the United States of America, reforming the way we do business in Defence Procurement and investing in local industry the Coalition Government is delivering this st…

Commercial photos show Chinese nuke buildup By Bill Gertz THE WASHINGTON TIMES February 16, 2006 Commercial satellite photos made public recently provide a new look at China's nuclear forces and bases images that include the first view of a secret underwater submarine tunnel. A Pentagon official said the photograph of the tunnel entrance reveals for the first time a key element of China's hidden military buildup. Similar but more detailed intelligence photos of the entrance are highly classified within the U.S. government, the official said. "The Chinese have a whole network of secret facilities that the U.S. government understands but cannot m…

US to hold mammoth naval exercise in Pacific (AFP) Updated: 2006-02-15 13:49 ChinaDaily WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US military has said it is to hold one of its biggest naval exercises in the Asia Pacific this summer. The large-scale operations will involve several carrier strike groups, each of which includes at least three warships, an attack submarine and a support ship. Four carriers would be involved in three military maritime exercises -- one of them touted as the world's largest -- between June and August in the region, Commander of the US Pacific Fleet Admiral Gary Roughead said in Washington. Two of the exercises are expected to be largely confined …

Excerpt from Jane's Defence Weekly Taiwan claims US Navy is sabotaging SSK plans By Wendell Minnick JDW Correspondents Taipei Taiwan (Republic of China) has accused the US Navy of intentionally sabotaging the sale of eight diesel-electric submarines that the Bush administration promised it in April 2001. A US source close to the programme has confirmed Taiwanese claims and argues that the US Navy feared a revival of a domestic diesel-electric submarine programme that would challenge its traditional use of nuclear-powered submarines. "The bottom line is that the initiation of a Taiwan submarine programme has tremendous implications for the US Navy …

Washington Times February 8, 2006 Pg. 13 U.S. Navy Boards Suspected Pirate Ship Fears alliances with terrorists By Richard Halloran, The Washington Times HONOLULU -- The United States was striking a pre-emptive blow when it ordered a U.S. Navy destroyer to detain and board a suspected pirate ship in the Indian Ocean last month, aiming to see that terrorists do not lash up with pirates in the Asia-Pacific region. The destroyer, the USS Winston S. Churchill, was ordered to intercept the suspected pirate ship on Jan. 21 after the U.S. Central Command, from its forward headquarters in Bahrain in the Persian Gulf, was contacted by the International Marit…

International Herald Tribune January 31, 2006 An Aircraft Carrier For China? By David Lague BEIJING--As China builds a military to match its growing economic power, its neighbors and potential rivals including the United States have puzzled over a key question: When will the Chinese Navy launch an aircraft carrier? For decades, senior Chinese military and political officials have argued that for the country to become a great power, the People's Liberation Army Navy needs to add these potent warships to its fleet. However, the major obstacle to this ambition is that aircraft carriers are hugely expensive. The two 50,000-metric-ton conventionally p…

From Jane's Defence Weekly China develops anti-ship missile By Ted Parsons JDW Correspondent Virginia, US The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) is in the advanced stages of developing a revolutionary anti-ship ballistic missile to supplement its well known Ying-Ji family of anti-ship cruise missiles. The development programme has been confirmed by both US government and Asian military sources, with the latter estimating that the PLA may be able to deploy the space targeting systems needed to make its anti-ship ballistic missile operational by 2009. PLA efforts to provide terminal guidance capabilities to both its 600 km-range DF-15 (CSS-6) short-ran…

From DefenseNews N. Korea Says No Point in Nuclear Talks with U.S. By JON HERSKOVITZ, REUTERS, SEOUL North Korea said Jan. 17 it was unthinkable for it to return to nuclear disarmament talks that include the United States because it believes Washington wants to bring down its communist rulers with financial sanctions. Pyongyang has already threatened to boycott the talks until the sanctions are lifted, but the fresh remark from the official KCNA news agency came as media reports suggested North Korean leader Kim Jong-il was in Beijing for discussions with Chinese leaders about the stalled six-way talks. Talks among the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and…

Korea Herald December 22, 2005 Navy Successfully Tests Ship-To-Ship Missile By Jin Dae-woong The Navy successfully completed test-firing the first domestically-made ship-to-ship missile, the Defense Ministry said yesterday. The 150-km-range missile was developed in 2003 by a domestic defense institution, the Agency for Defense Development. Brig. Gen. An Jung-hun, a spokesman for the Defense Ministry, said the ministry and Navy together conducted the final test-firing of the indigenous missile on the East Sea before the military begins mass-production of the weapon in 2006. During the test firing, the military also successfully tested the capabilities…

Washington Times December 22, 2005 Pg. 15 Official Sees China As 'Considerable Threat' TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso told a press conference early today that China is beginning to pose a considerable threat, referring to its military buildup. China is "a neighbor equipped with nuclear bombs and has expanded its military outlays for 12 years in a row," Mr. Aso said. "It is beginning to be a considerable threat." The remarks appeared to signal a new approach in the way Tokyo looks at its giant neighbor. Japan normally emphasizes accommodation, not criticism, in its comments on China. Mr. Aso's remarks come against a rapidl…

Initial 2 Kidd-class Destroyers Take Their Places in ROC Fleet (Source: Taiwan Information service; issued Dec. 19, 2005) (Edited for content) The first two of four Kidd class destroyers purchased from the United States arrived at the Suao naval base on the northeast coast of Taiwan Dec. 9 after a month-long journey from Port Charleston in South Carolina. The addition of the destroyers to the ROC Naval fleet is expected to be a shot in the arm to Taiwan's ability to defend itself against China. A formal ceremony to commission the two destroyers has been scheduled for mid-December when President Chen Shui-bian is expected to officiate in his capacity …

Walking softly and sticking to big carriers The U.S. military is more cautious than wary as China rearms and challenges for regional dominance 2005-11-20 / The Christian Science Monitor / By Robert Marquand TaiwanNews An F/A-18C Hornet attempts an arrested landing aboard the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) in this file photo. The Kitty Hawk is based in Yokusuka, Japan. / Knight ridder This 30-mile-long volcanic island appears on a map like stray bit of tropical spackling flung out in the Pacific. Honolulu is eight hours east, Tokyo four hours north, Hong Kong and Jakarta four hours west and south. The rest is ocean. Guam has been a sleepy supply …

From DefenseNews U.S. Navy To Shift Carrier George Washington to Japan By ANDREW SCUTRO A newly overhauled aircraft carrier George Washington will be home-ported in Asia. “The Navy has slotted George Washington to relieve Kitty Hawk in 2008 in Yokosuka,” a senior U.S. defense official told Navy Times. The official announcement from the U.S. Navy is expected in the next few weeks, pending shifts in the massive restructuring plan known as the Quadrennial Defense Review. “Navy is waiting until there’s closer understanding of how the QDR is coming until they make a final carrier force distribution,” the official said. News of the move ends speculation abo…

From Defense Aerospace New Torpedoes and Combat System for Collins Class Submarines (Source: Australian Department of Defence; issued Nov. 14, 2005) Australia’s Collins-Class Submarines are undergoing a major capability boost with work about to start fitting out the first submarine with a new tactical combat system and upgraded state-of-the-art Heavyweight Torpedoes. Defence Minister Robert Hill said the design and installation of the Replacement Combat System and Heavyweight Torpedo System are on schedule and on cost. Senator Hill said the $857 million capability investment will significantly boost the combat effectiveness of the Collins Class making…

I wonder if this might have the same implications as the sale of manufacturing equipment by Toshiba to the Soviet Union? It gave them huge advances in the quieting of their SSNs. Chinese Nationals Held in Alleged Scheme By GILLIAN FLACCUS The Associated Press Monday, November 7, 2005; 10:57 PM WashingtonPost SANTA ANA, Calif. -- A federal judge on Monday denied bail for two Chinese nationals accused of conspiring to steal sensitive documents on U.S. Navy warship technology and smuggle them to China. Tai Wang Mak, a broadcast and engineering director for the Phoenix North American Chinese Channel, and his wife, Fuk Heung Li, were arrested Oct. 28 in …

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…

China's navy not yet a threat to Japan and US Taipei Times A former Japan Maritime Self Defense Force Fleet Air Wing commander, retired Rear Admiral Sumihiko Kawamura, spoke to 'Taipei Times' Staff Reporter Rich Chang on the Chinese navy's abilities - especially its submarine fleet - as well as the potential for military cooperation between the US, Japan and Taiwan Monday, Oct 31, 2005,Page 3 Taipei Times: It is widely believed that China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has been making substantial progress, particularly with their submarine force. What is your evaluation of PLAN? Rear Admiral Sumihiko Kawamura: I see PLAN's capability as still bei…

Japan to host nuclear U.S. carrier The Navy says the move is unrelated to efforts to base such a vessel in Hawaii By Gregg K. Kakesako gkakesako@starbulletin.com The Pentagon's decision to locate a nuclear aircraft carrier in Japan for the first time is not related to the ongoing campaign to home-port one at Pearl Harbor, Navy officials said yesterday. Pacific Fleet spokesman Jon Yoshishige said no decision has been made on whether the Navy will base a nuclear aircraft carrier in Hawaii. The Navy announced yesterday that the USS Kitty Hawk -- one of its two remaining non-nuclear carriers -- will leave Yokosuka in 2008 and be decommissioned. It will be repla…

From DefenseNews Guessing Game: How Large Is China’s Defense Budget? By PETER HARMSEN, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BEIJING While everyone knows China is a rising power, one can only guess at how strong its armed forces are, or how much it is spending to build its military might. The issue of the size of China’s defense budget re-emerged this week as U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld visited Beijing. He used every opportunity to voice concern over his host nation’s military expansion, which he said was sending “mixed signals” about China’s intentions. “Many countries … have questions about the pace and the scope of China’s military expansion,” he said a…