Current Events in Asia-Pacific

FORMIDABLE CLASS MULTI-MISSION FRIGATES, SINGAPORE Naval-Technology.com Six Formidable Class multi-mission frigates are being built for the Singapore Navy. The first of class, RSS Formidable, was launched on 7 January 2004 at the Lorient dockyard in Brittany, France. The Republic of Singapore Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) awarded the contract in March 2002 to DCN in France for the design and construction of the frigates. The contract includes a technology transfer program under which the construction of the first frigate is carried out in France and then five further frigates are built in Singapore by Singapore Technology Marine (STM) at the Benoi shipyard. The fri…

From DefenseNews China Says Open To Missile Discussions with Taiwan By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BEIJING China on May 3 said it is willing to discuss its missile deployment with Taiwan if the island acknowledges it is part of China and abandons its pro-independence stance. Vice minister of the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party Central Committee Wang Zaixi told reporters that as long as Taiwan agrees with the “One China” policy, Beijing will be happy to negotiate missile issues. “I think so long both sides sit down and talk on the basis of ‘One China’, any topic can be put on the table, including the missile issue,” Wang said. “On the basis of the ‘…

Fourth Stealth Destroyer for Korean Navy English.Chosun.com The Navy will launch another Korean Destroyer Experimental (KDX) II class destroyer armed with the latest anti-ship and anti-air missiles on Wednesday, when the "Wang-geon" steams out of the Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard in Ulsan. The 4,200 ton stealth destroyer, the fourth KDX-II class destroyer after the Chungmugong Yi Soon-shin, Munmudaewang and Daejoyeong, takes its name from the founder of the ancient Korean kingdom of Goryeo. It's 150 meters long with a beam of 17 meters and height of 9.5 meters and has a top speed of 30 knots. The Wang-geon packs a powerful punch with its Harpoon anti-ship mis…

From Defence Aerospace US: North Korea Apparently Fires Missile into Sea of Japan (Source : Voice of America news ; issued April 30, 2005) WASHINGTON --- A top U.S. official says it appears North Korea has launched a short-range missile into the Sea of Japan. A few hours after the first reports surfaced of a possible North Korean missile test, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card was interviewed on American television. He told CNN's Late Edition there is reason to believe the initial Japanese reports are true. "It appears that there was a test of a short-range missile by the North Koreans, and it landed in the Sea of Japan," he said. Mr. Card made c…

From DefenseNews U.S. Presses China To Install Military Crisis Hotline By JIM MANNION, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE The United States pressed China to set up a crisis hotline between their military establishments in high-level defense talks held here April 28, amid U.S. concerns over North Korea and a Chinese military buildup that has raised tensions with Taiwan, U.S. defense officials said. A senior defense official said the Chinese in the past have set aside the idea of a direct, permanently manned telephone link between the U.S. and Chinese defense ministers, but appeared to be giving it close consideration now. “It seemed to us given our experiences with t…

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…

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 DefenseNews Japanese Fighter Scrambles Jump in Past Year By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, TOKYO Japan scrambled its military fighters 13 times due to China in the past year, compared with once or twice in each of the previous five years, showing the deteriorating ties between the neighbors, official figures showed April 20. The rise in scrambles caused by China was in sharp contrast to an overall 11-percent decline in such aircraft moves to 141 times in the year to March 2005, the Defense Agency said. “We cannot tell what was behind the gain, but we can at least tell the gain was remarkable,” an agency spokesman said. Jiji Press said the sharp increa…

From DefenseNews EU Keeping China Weapons Embargo: U.S. Officials By STEPHANIE GRIFFITH, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE The European Union, at the urging of the United States, apparently will keep a 16-year-old arms embargo against China, U.S. officials said April 14, adding that talks next week will seek to sway holdout countries. “We do not now believe that the EU is close to a decision to lifting the embargo itself. But we realize that we must keep this issue at the forefront of our agenda with the EU in Brussels and with all the EU governments — and we intend to do just that,” Nicholas Burns, the U.S. State Department Under Secretary for Political Affairs, told a c…

Malaysia Summons Indonesia Envoy over Sea Dispute By REUTERS, KUALA LUMPUR From DefenceNews. Malaysia has summoned Indonesia’s ambassador and sent a protest note after ships from the neighbors’ navies confronted each other in disputed waters, Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said April 14. Malaysia would continue to patrol potentially oil-rich waters off Indonesia’s East Kalimantan province, despite Jakarta’s objections, Syed Hamid said, and added Indonesia already has protested the encounter. “Indonesia’s note said it is their area and they disagreed with Malaysia’s presence there,” he told reporters. “We also sent a protest note after the incident.” …

Taiwan Mulling New Generation of Jet Fighters By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, TAIPEI Originally from DefenceNews. Taiwan said April 12 it is considering buying a new generation of jet fighters in order to prevent the balance of power shifting in rival China’s favor in the event of an EU arms embargo being lifted. Taiwan Defense Minister Lee Jye said he had ordered a study on obtaining the new fighters after reports that French company Dassault Aviation, which had sold the island Mirage jets, may provide its latest line of fighters to the mainland. In reply to questions raised in parliament, Lee said the ministry was alarmed by the reports that Dassault may sell …

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…

From DefenseNews China Seeks To Double Trade with Israel By BARBARA OPALL-ROME, TEL AVIV China hopes to double its trade with Israel over the next three years, from nearly $2.5 billion registered in 2004 to $5 billion or more by 2008, according to Beijing’s top diplomat here, who declined to discuss specifics of the two countries’ defense trade. In an April 7 lecture at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Ambassador Chen Yonglong noted that Sino-Israeli trade is growing at an annual rate of some 40 percent. When asked specifically about bilateral defense trade ties, however — and about U.S. claims that Israel is Beijing’s second largest supplier of arms a…

From Defence Aerospace New Helicopters Selected for the NZ Defence Force (Source: New Zealand Ministry of Defence; dated March 31, web-posted April 4, 2005) Minister of Defence, Mark Burton, announced today that NH Industries’ NH90 helicopter has been selected to replace the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s ageing Iroquois. The new helicopters will represent another significant step in re-equipping all three services of the NZDF. “The NH90 is a modern, very capable helicopter with a growing international customer base and assured long-term support. It has been designed to meet current and future requirements and provides an excellent long-term investment. …

From DefenseNews Germany Stands Firm on Lifting China Arms Embargo By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BERLIN German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said in an interview released March 30 that he has no plans to drop his support for the lifting of a European Union arms embargo on China. “I have no intention of changing” my position, he said, as quoted in Die Zeit weekly. Schroeder’s ruling Social Democrats and their junior coalition partners, the Greens, disagree over whether the ban should be lifted on China, which is one of Germany’s major trading partners. Most of parliament opposes his stance and the conservative opposition has also urged him to change tack. …

Diesel-electric subs can pressurize China: official (updated AM 00:15) 2005/3/25 The China Post staff In a bid to drum up further support for a controversial billion dollar U.S. arms deal, a defense ministry official yesterday said eight diesel-electric submarines in the U.S. weapons package would be able to attack crucial Chinese supply lines if a war broke out. The official's comments came as the Legislature prepares to deliberate a special NT$480 billion budget for purchasing the diesel electric submarines along with anti-submarine aircraft and patriot anti-missile systems from America. U.S. officials say the purchase is vital for Taiwan's friendship with…

From Defence Aerospace Chinese Military Buildup Causes US Concern (Source: Voice of America news; issued March 23, 2005) WASHINGTON --- Two developments are focusing renewed attention and concern in Washington toward China's military buildup. Earlier this month, China's legislature passed a law authorizing military action to take control of Taiwan, if it moves toward independence or if all other efforts at reunification fail. And at the same time, the European Union wants to lift its arms embargo against China, which was imposed after the Tiananmen massacre in 1989. A recent report prepared for the U.S. Defense Department says China is proceeding with a su…

From Air Force Times Hickam to get warfighting headquarters By Nicole Gaudiano Times staff writer A new warfighting headquarters will activate at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, in May, and 13th Air Force, currently assigned to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, will relocate to form its core. The moves are part of the Air Force’s plan to establish a continuously operating network of 10 warfighting headquarters to support geographic and functional combatant commanders. The new Hickam-based headquarters will include functional experts and an Air and Space Operations Center capable of command and control operations 24-hours a day, year round. Officials said tha…

From Defence Aerospace Defence Statement - Super Seasprite Helicopters (Source: Australian Department of Defense; issued March 19, 2005) The [Royal Australian] Navy's Super Seasprite project has been misrepresented by claims made in today's Sydney Morning Herald newspaper. The aircraft is currently undergoing a certification process before it can become fully operational. Defence expects to receive a certified helicopter later this year. Once accepted, the Super Seasprite will fulfil all of its planned roles including search and rescue operations in poor visibility. This is a normal and proper process for Defence to follow in testing a new aircr…

The Drudge Report REPORT: CHINA, RUSSIA TO 'REHEARSE INVASION OF TAIWAN' Thu Mar 17 2005 11:02:09 ET MOSCOW, March 17. (RIA Novosti)-Yesterday, Chief of the Russian General Staff Yury Baluyevsky left for China to settle a scandal over the first Russian-Chinese military exercise, Commonwealth-2005, which is due to be held this fall off the Yellow Sea coast, writes Kommersant. The initial plans were to practice operational teamwork in combating terrorism during the exercise. However, Beijing, skillfully changing the format of the exercise, has tried to re-orient the two countries' armies to practicing an invasion of Taiwan. The choice of where the exerci…