Japanese Shipyards to Help Keep US Warships Ready to Fight in Asia
The United States and Japan are looking to make a deal for Japanese shipyards to regularly overhaul and maintain U.S. Navy warships so they can stay in Asian waters ready for any potential conflict, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said on Friday."China watches what ships are coming in and out. It is not like this is a secret, they know what's happening. So therefore, they take an evaluation of your deterrence," Emanuel told reporters at the Yokosuka naval base near Tokyo.Unchallenged in Asian waters for decades, the U.S.
China Media Warns Against Taking China's Indian Ocean Research as Threats
Chinese state media warned on Friday that a report by a prominent U.S. think tank on the military uses of Chinese scientific research across the Indian Ocean gave "ammunition" to countries bent on concocting threats from China.The report this week by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) "comes at a time when some countries need to manufacture a 'China threat' narrative in the Indian Ocean region and provides them with ammunition", the state-controlled tabloid Global Times said in an editorial."The timing of this report is delicate…
VIDEO: Taiwan Reveals First Domestically Made Submarine in Defense Milestone
Taiwan unveiled its first domestically developed submarine on Thursday, a major step in a project aimed at strengthening the island's defense and deterrence against the Chinese navy, though it won't enter service for another two years.Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has made the indigenous submarine program a key part of an ambitious project to modernize its armed forces as Beijing stages almost daily military exercises to assert its sovereignty.President Tsai Ing-wen…
Taiwan Expects to Deploy Two New Submarines by 2027
Taiwan hopes to deploy at least two new, domestically developed submarines by 2027, and possibly equip later models with missiles, to strengthen deterrence against the Chinese navy and protect key supply lines, the head of the program said.Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has made the indigenous sub program a key part of an ambitious project to modernise its armed forces as Beijing stages almost daily military exercises to assert its sovereignty.President Tsai Ing-wen…
Australia, NZ Exempt from Solomon Islands' Navy Ship Moratorium
Navy vessels from Australia and New Zealand will be exempt from a temporary ban on foreign ships entering the ports of the Solomon Islands, the Pacific island nation's prime minister told parliament on Monday.Foreign military vessels responding to a request for assistance from the Solomon Islands government would also be exempt, Prime Minister Manesseh Sogavare said.The Solomon Islands signed a security pact with China in April, which a leaked draft said allows the Chinese navy to replenish in Honiara…
US Coast Guard Vessel Blocked from Bunkering in Solomon Islands
A United States Coast Guard vessel was unable to enter Solomon Islands for a routine port call because the Solomon Islands government did not respond to a request for it to refuel and provision, a U.S. official said.The islands' government did not immediately answer a Reuters request for comment. The Solomon Islands has had a tense relationship with the United States and its allies since striking a security pact with China in May.The USCGC Oliver Henry was on patrol for illegal fishing in the South Pacific for a regional fisheries agency when it failed to obtain entry to refuel at Honiara…
Taiwan Says China's Threat Remains, Though Military Drills Ease
China's threat of force is undiminished, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said on Thursday, even though Beijing's largest ever military drills around the island seemed to be scaling down.Furious about a visit to Chinese-claimed Taiwan last week by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, China launched ballistic missiles and deployed multiple aircraft and warships in recent days to simulate sea and air attacks.China said on Wednesday it would keep up patrols but had "completed various tasks" around Taiwan, signaling a possible end to the war games even while keeping up pressure.
Australia Says Chinese Spy Ship's Presence off West Coast 'Concerning'
A Chinese intelligence ship was tracked off Australia's west coast within 50 nautical miles of a sensitive defense facility, Australia said on Friday, raising concern amid an election campaign about China's behavior in the region.Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Chinese navy vessel was not in Australian territorial waters but its presence was "concerning"."It is clearly an intelligence ship and they are looking at us and we're keeping a close eye on them," he told reporters.Australia…
China Shipbuilding for Taiwan Firm Likely Aiding Chinese Navy Build-up
Contracts between China's top state-owned shipbuilding firm and Taiwan's leading shipping company are likely lowering the costs of upgrading China's navy, posing security concerns for the island claimed by Beijing, a U.S. think tank said on Thursday.China State Shipbuilding Corp (CSSC) is a key producer of vessels for China's rapidly expanding People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), and is thought to be building its third aircraft carrier.Taiwan's Evergreen Marine Corp has purchased 44 vessels from China since 2018…
Philippines Summons Chinese Ambassador Over Navy Ship's 'Intrusion'
The Philippines summoned China’s ambassador on Monday to explain what it called the “illegal intrusion and lingering presence” of a Chinese navy vessel in waters between some of the archipelago nation’s largest islands.The foreign ministry in a statement said a Chinese navy reconnaissance ship entered Philippine waters without permission and lingered from Jan. 29 to Feb. 1, ignoring repeated demands to leave.It was detected off the Cuyo Group of Islands, close to Palawan, and Apo island off Mindoro…
Indonesia Boosts Naval Patrols after Foreign Ships Detected near Natuna
Indonesian navy has increased patrols around its Natuna islands in the South China Sea after Chinese and U.S. vessels were detected nearby in international waters, despite saying there were no disturbance from the vessels, a navy official said on Thursday.Five navy vessels, assisted by an air patrol, have been deployed in North Natuna Sea to secure the area, Indonesian Navy western fleet commander Arsyad Abdullah told reporters.“The Navy’s position on the North Natuna Sea is very…
US to Help Japan Monitor 'Unprecedented' Chinese Incursion Around Disputed Islands
The U.S. military will help Japan monitor “unprecedented” Chinese incursions around East China Sea islands controlled by Tokyo but claimed by Beijing as Chinese boats prepare to begin fishing in nearby waters, the commander of U.S. Forces Japan said on Wednesday.“The United States is 100 percent absolutely steadfast in its commitment to help the government of Japan with the situation,” Lieutenant General Kevin Schneider said during an online press conference.“They (Chinese ships)…
US Rearms to Nullify China's Missile Supremacy
As Washington and Beijing trade barbs over the coronavirus pandemic, a longer-term struggle between the two Pacific powers is at a turning point, as the United States rolls out new weapons and strategy in a bid to close a wide missile gap with China.The United States has largely stood by in recent decades as China dramatically expanded its military firepower. Now, having shed the constraints of a Cold War-era arms control treaty, the Trump administration is planning to deploy long-range…
USN Ship sails in Disputed South China Sea
The U.S. military said one of its warships sailed near the disputed Scarborough Shoal claimed by China in the South China Sea on Sunday, angering Beijing at a time of tense ties between the world's two biggest economies.The busy waterway is one of a growing number of flashpoints in the U.S.-China relationship, which include a trade war, U.S. sanctions and Taiwan.China struck a more aggressive tone in its trade war with the United States on Friday. The tough talk capped a week that saw China unveil new retaliatory tariffs in response to a U.S.
China's First Home-built Aircraft Carrier Begins Sea Trials
China’s first domestically built aircraft carrier headed out for sea trials on May 13, Chinese state media reported. The report said that the new aircraft carrier, temporarily named Type 001A, sailed out at around 7 a.m. in Dalian, in the northeast province of Liaoning. The Chinese Navy — officially the People’s Liberation Army Navy — already has one operational carrier, the Liaoning, which it bought unfinished from Ukraine after the collapse of the Soviet Union. So, the 50,000-tonne ship will become the country's second aircraft carrier, and the first to be entirely built and designed inside of China, when it joins the navy sometime before 2020. State media reports say China is also planning to build a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier capable of remaining at sea for long durations.
New Strategies to Guard Against Future Security Threats
The international conference on maritime security and defense (MS&D), held for the seventh time in Hamburg during the SMM maritime trade fair, focused on current and future challenges to maritime security and defense. Twenty naval, industrial and science experts discussed topics such as how to protect international ocean trading routes, when and how to deploy naval forces on crisis missions, as well as cyber security issues.The welcome address opened the event with somber words as Rear Admiral Thorsten Kähler…
CSSC to Build Research Vessels
China's government controlled China State Shipbuilding Corp (CSSC) is going beyond building navy vessels and making advanced scientific research ships, Xinhua reported. CSSC has been focussing on defence sector till now. It was the largest supplier of surface combatants to the Chinese Navy, said the report. CSSC has been using its expertise in the research and development of naval hardware to construct high-tech civilian ships, encouraged by government measures to boost transfer of defense-related technologies to civilian and business sectors, said company officials. The company is currently making a polar research icebreaker-the first to be built from the keel up by China-at the Jiangnan Shipyard…
Chinese Sub near Disputed Islands Stokes Tension with Japan
Japan’s defense minister criticized China on Monday for sailing an advanced stealthy nuclear submarine close to disputed islands claimed by Japan and China, saying the action had stoked tension. The submarine, which Japan detected in the East China Sea, was a 110 meter-long Shang-class vessel, which is able to dive deeper and for longer than older boats and is armed with torpedoes and anti-ship missiles, according to Japan’s Ministry of Defence. “Operating a submerged submarine close to another country’s territory goes against the norms of international rules…
China Says US Warship Violated its South China Sea Sovereignty
A U.S. Navy destroyer this week sailed near the Scarborough Shoal, a disputed lagoon claimed by China in the South China Sea, U.S. officials said on Saturday, and Beijing vowed to take “necessary measures” to protect what it said was its sovereignty. China’s foreign ministry said USS Hopper missile destroyer came within 12 nautical miles off Huangyan island, better known as the Scarborough Shoal and subject to a rival claim by the Philippines, a historic ally of the United States. It was the latest U.S.
Chinese Warships Enter East Indian Ocean
Eleven Chinese warships sailed into the East Indian Ocean this month, a Chinese news portal said, amid a constitutional crisis in the tiny tropical island chain of the Maldives now under a state of emergency. A fleet of destroyers and at least one frigate, a 30,000-tone amphibious transport dock and three support tankers entered the Indian Ocean, news portal Sina.com.cn said, without linking the deployment to the crisis in the Maldives or giving a reason. "If you look at warships and other equipment, the gap between the Indian and Chinese navy is not large," Sina.com.cn said on Sunday. It did not say when the fleet was deployed or for how long.
Chinese Navy Plans Combat Drills in South China Sea
China's navy will carry out combat drills in the South China Sea, the military's official newspaper said on Friday, describing the move as part of regular annual exercises. Taiwan's defence ministry said this week it had shadowed a Chinese aircraft carrier group traversing the Taiwan Strait in a southwesterly direction - meaning into the disputed South China Sea - in what Taiwan judged to be a drill. In a brief report on its WeChat account, the People's Liberation Army Daily said the combat exercises would take place shortly…
Satellite Images Show China's Show of Force in South China Sea
Dozens of Chinese naval vessels are exercising this week with an aircraft carrier in a large show of force off Hainan island in the South China Sea, satellite images obtained by Reuters show. The images, provided by Planet Labs Inc, confirm a Chinese carrier group has entered the vital trade waterway as part of what the Chinese navy earlier described as combat drills that were part of routine annual exercises. The Liaoning carrier group last week traversed the Taiwan Strait, according to the Taiwanese defense ministry.
China: South China Sea Drills 'Routine'
China's Defence Ministry said on Thursday the military was carrying out routine training in the South China Sea, but would not comment on the presence of China's sole operational aircraft carrier there. Dozens of Chinese naval vessels are exercising this week with an aircraft carrier in a large show of force off China's Hainan island in the South China Sea, satellite images obtained by Reuters show. The images, provided by Planet Labs Inc, confirmed a Chinese carrier group had entered the important trade waterway as part of what the Chinese navy earlier described as combat drills that were part of routine annual exercises. The Liaoning carrier group last week traversed the Taiwan Strait, according to the Taiwan defence ministry.