Current Events in Asia-Pacific

From Defence Aerospace First B-2s Deploy to Andersen Source: US Air Force; issued March 4, 2005 ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam --- B-2 Spirit bombers have deployed here for the first time to support Pacific Command’s security efforts in the Western Pacific. More than 270 Airmen of the 393rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron deployed from the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., currently the only B-2 unit in the Air Force. They replaced the 93rd EBS from Barksdale AFB, La. The 393rd EBS is the first B-2 squadron to deploy here supporting Pacific Command's continuous bomber presence in the Asia-Pacific region. The bombers enhance regional security…

From http://www.defensenews.com Singapore Navy To Escort Passing Merchant Ships By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, SINGAPORE Armed escorts from the Singapore Navy will guard selected merchant ships and cruise liners plying the city-state’s busy waters as part of efforts to prevent terrorism, the defense ministry said Feb. 28. The Accompanying Sea Security Teams scheme will be launched sometime in March, a ministry spokesperson said. The Straits Times newspaper reported Feb. 28 that up to eight navy personnel capable of running a commercial vessel in an emergency will board selected ships that might be threatened because of their cargo. The team will includ…

From http://www.defensenews.com N. Korea Slams U.S., Threatens To Hold Missile Tests By JON HERSKOVITZ, REUTERS, SEOUL North Korea threatened to resume long-range missile testing and demanded the United States apologize for calling the country "an outpost of tyranny", official media reported late March 2. The Korean-language version of a Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) report quoted a Foreign Ministry statement as saying Pyongyang threatened to test-fire a long-range missile. The statement said North Korea did not feel bound by a 1999 moratorium on missile testing, reached when Pyongyang was in non-proliferation talks with the administration of then-U.S. P…

From http://www.defensenews.com China To Increase Military Spending in 2005 By ROBERT J. SAIGET, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BEIJING China is expected to increase its military expenditure by 12.6 percent this year, while boosting its capability of using force to reunify rival Taiwan, sources said March 3. The rise in spending comes with Washington voicing concern that China’s military build-up could tilt the strategic balance with Taiwan and also threaten U.S. forces in Asia. In his budget report to the upcoming annual session of the National People’s Congress, Finance Minister Jin Renqing is expected to propose raising military spending in 2005 to 244.65 billion …

From http://www.defensenews.com Indonesia Sends Warships to Waters Claimed by Malaysia By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, JAKARTA Indonesia has dispatched three warships to a maritime border area also claimed by Malaysia amid rising tensions in the Sulawesi Sea, a navy spokesman said March 2. The warships were now in the disputed area off the coast of Malaysia’s Sabah state and the Indonesia’s East Kalimantan province, Navy Spokesman First Admiral Abdul Maliki Yusuf told Agence France-Presse. A fourth ship will leave for the area later March 2, Yusuf said, adding the navy also was considering sending a submarine to the area. “It is normal for the Indonesian nav…

From http://www.defence-aerospace.com Wedgetail Aircraft Heading to Australia for First-Ever Visit Source: Boeing Co.; issued March 1, 2005 ST. LOUIS --- Boeing today announced that an airborne early warning and control aircraft for Australia’s Project Wedgetail will make its first visit to Australia at the Australian International Air Show in Avalon beginning March 15. “Hundreds of Australian defence and industry personnel are working on the Wedgetail program and this visit is a great opportunity for them to see the aircraft and the excellent progress being made, said Air Vice-Marshal (ret.) Norman Gray, deputy chief executive officer of the Defence Materi…

From www.defence-aerospace.com (Source: Tenix Defence; issued Feb. 22, 2005) Tenix Defence began cutting steel for the NZ$500m Project Protector naval shipbuilding contract at its Williamstown, Melbourne shipyard today. NZ Secretary of Defence, Mr Graham Fortune, switched on computerised cutting equipment to begin manufacturing plates for two 85m, 1500 tonne Offshore Patrol Vessels for the Royal New Zealand Navy. The ships are being constructed as part of Royal New Zealand Navy seven-ship order, which includes four 55m Inshore Patrol Vessels and a 131m Multi-Role Vessel, as well as the Offshore Patrol Vessels. Tenix Defence CEO Robert Salteri said the ceremony at …

News from BBC, 18 February 2005 Defence to top Japan, US talks Japan's defence and foreign ministers are in Washington for key security talks with US counterparts. There is speculation that one topic on the agenda is the Taiwan Strait, an important flashpoint in the region. ... More here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4275963.stm