Current Events in Asia-Pacific

Can't remember where I saw it, but Taiwan is looking to get second hand FFG-7s to replace their Knox FFs.

Taiwan to get warships from US by year-end Taipei: Taiwan will begin taking delivery of four US Kidd-class destroyers before year's end to boost its defences against China, a military official said Tuesday. NewKerala "Two of the four vessels are undergoing testing and training in the US," Rear Admiral Lee Hao said at a news conference. "Both have passed the tests by the US Atlantic Fleet. Test-firing of Standard II anti-air missiles on the vessels will be held in October." "The two warships will depart from the Charleston port in South Carolina for Taiwan via the Panama Canal in November and are expected to arrive in Taiwan before the end of the year," L…

Taiwan to Get U.S. Early Warning Radar By JIM WOLF, REUTERS, WASHINGTON DefenseNews The U.S. Defense Department said on June 23 it would supply Taiwan with key elements of a missile and air defense capability, a move aimed at defusing the threat from China. Raytheon Co. won a U.S. Air Force contract worth up to $752 million to supply the Early Warning Surveillance Radar by September 2009, the Pentagon said. In a move bound to anger Beijing, which views Taiwan as a renegade province, the system will let Taiwan’s air force detect and track long- and short-range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, enemy aircraft and surface ships with “no doubt” reliability…

Taiwan To Mass Produce Supersonic Anti-Ship Missiles By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, TAIPEI Originally posted to DefenceNews Taiwan plans to mass produce supersonic anti-ship missiles to beef up the island’s defense capabilities against China following successful test firings of the weaponry, a report said April 11. The defense ministry next year would set aside a budget for mass production of the Hsiung Feng III missile, which is expected to make its debut during the 2006 “Han Kuang 22” exercise, the Chinese-language China Times said. Given its speed and capability of flying at low altitude, the missile would be difficult to intercept, it said. The Hs…

Taiwan To Provide Emergency Assistance To Chinese Military Planes (Defense World) If you recall the Global Thunder MBX, you will see a scenario here.

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…

Wargame Shows Armed Forces' Progress in Joint Operation Ability: MOFA find article here TAIPEI --- A recently concluded computer wargame showed that the armed forces have made remarkable progress in their joint operation capability, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said Thursday. MND officials made the remarks when they reported on the results of the computer wargame of the "Hankuang No. 22" series of military exercises at a meeting of the Legislative Yuan's Defense Committee. The live fire drills of the "Hankuang No. 22" exercise will be held later this year. On April 24, the MND began a five-day, round-the-clock simulation of various scenarios,…

Taiwans New Source for Submarine Tech? (The Diplomat, Flashpoints blog)

Taiwan President Presses for U.S. Subs Deal (DefenseNews)

From the recent copy of Undersea Wafare: Taiwan's Project Diving Dragon Resurfaces TAIPEI - Recurring reports that countries other than the United States are helping Taiwan build diesel-electric submarines domestically go back a decade. According to various articles, it's either the Western Europeans, Russians or Indians who are clandestinely concocting a submarine plan with the Taiwanese. While the notion that any country able to build subs would choose to so profoundly snub China appears unlikely, the question arises as to why these rumors persist. An island and its mythical being Then-United States president George W Bush in 2001 approved the sale of eight c…

I found this very interesting link while cruising around ConSimWorld. It's an open source analysis of Taiwan's SAM Networks with plenty of maps and other images. I though it might find a home in HG/Weblinks/Sources, but was not able to post it there. Either way, some interesting information. Taiwanese SAM's

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…

China and Russia don't agree with it ... http://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/08/asia/north-korea-thaad-missile-deploy/

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…

From Jane's [excerpt]

From DefenseNews Posted 10/16/07 16:16 Thailand Picks Sweden’s Gripen for $1B Fighter Deal By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BANGKOK Thailand will purchase 12 Swedish-made jet fighters over the next decade for 34.4 billion baht ($1 billion), the head of the air force said Oct. 17. The first lot of six JAS-39 Gripen fighters will be bought by 2011, with a second lot of six jets purchased by 2017, air force chief Chalit Phukphasuk told reporters. The Gripens, manufactured by Sweden’s Saab, will replace aging American F-5E fighters, which will be rotated out of service in 2011, he added. "It is necessary to purchase the new jet fighters to replace the retiring fighters, …

From Aviation Week's ARES Blog Navy Reacts To Missile Threats Posted by Bill Sweetman at 8/14/2008 7:00 AM CDT Tests this summer of Raytheon Standard Missile 2 weapons from the Aegis cruiser USS Lake Erie were intended to demonstrate technology for a quick-reaction defense against ballistic missiles in their terminal phase. In the dry terminology of missile defense, this may not sound critical, but it indicates that the Navy is very worried about a new threat: the anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM). Indications are that China, in particular, is developing an ASBM - an intermediate-range ballistic missile tipped with a guided warhead. The weapon outranges any…

Nuclear versus diesel-electric: the case for conventional submarines for the RAN (The Strategist, ASPI)

SINGAPORE — Though small in size, the city state of Singapore resides in a busy neighborhood. It’s the home of the busiest port in the world, and it’s not uncommon to see several hundred container ships stacked up in neat rows stretching out dozens of miles from the downtown skyline. The Malacca and Singapore Straits also see about 1,400 vessels pass through their narrow channels each day. For a small nation with no natural resources or agricultural industry, maritime and port security are essential to the nation’s economic well-being. And security in the straits has global implications, experts say Col. Tay Kian Seng, head of naval operations for the Royal Si…

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…