Showing posts with label ASIA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ASIA. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

DTN News - DISPUTED EAST CHINA SEA REGION SENKAKU / DIAOYU ISLANDS: China Targets Japanese Vessel as Tensions Escalate Over Islands

Asian Defense News: DTN News - DISPUTED EAST CHINA SEA REGION SENKAKU / DIAOYU ISLANDS: China Targets Japanese Vessel as Tensions Escalate Over Islands
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By John Brinsley on February 05, 2013  - Bloomberg Businessweek
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 5, 2013: A Chinese patrol boat targeted a Japanese naval vessel with a radar system designed to calculate a range to fire a weapon, Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said.

The Chinese ship used fire-control radar on a Japanese destroyer on Jan. 30, Onodera told reporters today in Tokyo, adding the government will protest China’s actions. He declined to specify the location, which broadcaster NHK earlier reported was near islands that are claimed by both nations.

The episode may undermine recent efforts to ease tensions that have damaged trade ties between Asia’s two biggest economies and brought calls from the U.S. for a diplomatic resolution. Japan today issued a separate protest after Chinese ships entered its waters yesterday.

Illuminating a Japanese ship with fire-control radar is a “risky” move by China because it could invite retaliation, said James Hardy, a London-based Asia-Pacific editor at IHS Jane’s Defense Weekly. “You are assuming the other guy isn’t going to react in a bad way."

Hardy, speaking by telephone from Bangalore, said that “it might be one of these situations where an individual captain on a ship said he was going to make a name for himself or act beyond his remit.”

Onodera called the Chinese move “extremely unusual.” Until now, most contact between Japanese and Chinese vessels has been between Coast Guard ships or other non-military vessels that were either lightly armed or not armed at all.

Shinzo Abe took office as prime minister in December advocating a stronger stance asserting Japan’s claims on the uninhabited East China Sea islands called Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan. The administration plans to increase Japan’s defense budget for the first time in 11 years and boost Coast Guard spending as it copes with mounting incursions by Chinese ships in waters near the islands.

To contact the reporters on this story: Gearoid Reidy in Tokyo at greidy1@bloomberg.net; John Brinsley in Tokyo at jbrinsley@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Peter Hirschberg at phirschberg@bloomberg.net


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*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By John Brinsley on February 05, 2013  - Bloomberg Businessweek
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
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Saturday, May 26, 2012

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Asia's Military Spending To Surpass Europe's For First Time

Asian Defense News: DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Asia's Military Spending To Surpass Europe's For First Time
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Yifei Zhang - IBT
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - May 26, 2012: 2012 will be a historic moment in the shift of global power from the West to the East. According to expert estimates and figures on military spending, in 2012 Asia's spending on defense will eclipse Europe's for the first time in the modern era.


The International Institute for Strategic Studies, a UK-based think tank focusing on global military and political research and analysis, released its influential "Military Balance 2012" report back in early March.

The report claims that since 2008, financial crises in the West have led to major reductions in defense spending in Europe. Drawdowns in Afghanistan and Iraq will likely contribute to decreasing numbers in the future. Meanwhile, Asia's continued economic growth, and efforts to modernize and build military forces there, have reinforced higher spending. In the IISS calculations, Europe does not include Russia, and Asia does not include the Middle East, but does include Australasia.
While per capita spending in Europe is still higher, press releases form the institute say that "Asian defense spending is likely to exceed that of Europe, in nominal terms, during 2012." The U.S. accounted for nearly half of all worldwide military spending in 2011, a figure which may be in slight decline over the following years due to defense cutbacks.
IISS says that in real terms, declines in defense spending by 16 out of 28 member states of NATO exceeded 10 percent between 2008 and 2010. Asian spending increased almost 3.2 percent in real terms between 2010 to 2011.
Planned spending on defense, from different countries worldwide, 2011. Graphs from IISS.
Planned spending on defense, from different countries worldwide, 2011. Graphs from IISS.
Five countries -- ChinaJapan, India, South Korea, and Australia -- accounted for more than four-fifths of all regional defense spending. A major focus of spending in Asia is geared towards building newer, bigger fleets of warships and aircraft. Further geographic distances, greater territorial distributions of water, and the predominance of air and naval forces in modern warfare are the main factors driving Asian funding for air forces and navies.
Nations such as China and India are developing new and more powerful ballistic and cruise missiles as well as aircraft carriers. All of the five countries above, save Australia, have active space programs aimed at deploying greater systems of satellites for surveillance and communications, as well as plans for building next-generation stealthy super-jets, like the U.S. F-22 Raptor.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Yifei Zhang - IBT
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
©COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS 

Friday, April 27, 2012

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: U.S., Japan Agree On Okinawa Troop Relocation

Asian Defense News: DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: U.S., Japan Agree On Okinawa Troop Relocation
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Karen Parrish - American Forces Press Service
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 27, 2012: U.S. and Japanese officials announced yesterday the two nations have agreed on a plan to relocate U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam.
The joint statement of the U.S.-Japan Security Consultative Committee spells out unit moves, land and facilities on Okinawa the United States will return to the Japanese government, and the costs each government will pay for the relocation.

The joint statement is the latest result of negotiations between the two countries dating to the 2006 Realignment Roadmap and the 2009 Guam International Agreement.

The two nations issued a joint defense posture statement in February that “delinked” the two agreements so parts of the relocation plan could move forward more quickly.

“I am very pleased that, after many years, we have reached this important agreement and plan of action,” Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said in a statement yesterday. He praised Japanese Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka for “spearheading discussions” leading to the joint statement.

“We will work closely with our partners in the Japanese Self Defense Force to implement these decisions and to further improve this vital alliance of ours,” the secretary added.
Panetta said he looks forward to strengthening the two nations’ partnership “as, together, we address security challenges in the region.”

During a Pentagon background briefing to reporters yesterday, senior State and Defense Department officials outlined the agreement.

About 9,000 Marines will relocate from Okinawa, with about 5,000 moving to Guam and the rest transferring to other locations in the Pacific such as Hawaii and Australia, the defense official said.

The Marines will be organized in air-ground task forces, which combine command, ground, air and logistics elements that can deploy and operate as a unit.

“This new posture that we've created results in a more operationally effective presence across the region,” the defense official said.

“In the end, we are sustaining the same presence in the Western Pacific that we've intended for some time,” the official added.

About 10,000 Marines will remain on Okinawa when the relocation is complete, the official said.

The agreement also sets Japan’s funding for the move to Guam at $3.1 billion of the overall $8.6 billion estimated cost, the defense official added.

“We're particularly appreciative of this commitment in the context of Japan's fiscal challenges, which we fully recognize,” the official added.

One element of the agreement involves possible development of joint training ranges in Guam and the commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands as shared-use facilities for U.S. and Japanese forces, the official said.

The State Department official said the plan will result in a stronger, more sustainable and more flexible alliance.

“This is really a key component of our strategic rebalancing toward the Asia-Pacific region,” the official said. “As you know, one of the key aspects of that is strengthening partnerships with regional allies, and of course Japan is a very important alliance partner.”

The official said the agreement reaffirms both nations’ commitment to relocate Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, now in the center of Okinawa’s Ginowan City, to a more remote area of the island. Until the Futenma relocation happens, both governments will share the cost of maintaining the existing facility, the official added.

The Japanese government will determine the timeline for the Futenma move, the State Department official said, noting the U.S. focus for Okinawa is sustaining an operationally effective Marine Corps presence there.

The defense official said U.S. representatives are “delighted” at the agreement.

“We think it's a significant achievement that demonstrates that the U.S.-Japan alliance is still capable of big things,” the official said.

Biographies:
Leon E. Panetta

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Karen Parrish - American Forces Press Service
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
©COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS 

Friday, March 9, 2012

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Asia's Military Spending Likely To Overtake Europe This Year

Asian Defense News: DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Asia's Military Spending Likely To Overtake Europe This Year
*Asia, led by China, is becoming increasingly militarised as a result of rapid economic growth and strategic uncertainty
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Richard Norton-Taylor ~ guardian.co.uk
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 8, 2012: Military spending by Asian countries, led by China, is rising fast and for the first time is likely this year to outstrip Europe, where governments are cutting their defence budgets, according to a leading London-based thinktank.
"While the west reduces its spending on defence, Asia is becoming increasingly militarised as a result of rapid economic growth and strategic uncertainty," John Chipman, director general of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said at the launch of its latest annual Military Balance survey.
Asian countries increased their defence budget by more than 3% in real terms last year, the IISS said. China increased its share of total military expenditure on weapons in the region to more than 30%. Official Chinese military spending totalled nearly $90bn last year, more than two-and-a-half times the 2001 level.
Western analysts point to China's plans for naval "force projection" to defend its growing economic interests in Africa and elsewhere, and secure maritime lanes of communication.
Most attention has focused on China's first aircraft carrier, the former Soviet ship the Varyag, and its new J-20 combat aircraft. "But China's technological advances are more modest than some alarmist hypotheses of its military development have suggested", Chipman said. "They represent nascent rather than actual capability. China, for example, does not yet have the capability to operate fixed-wing aircraft from a carrier."
More immediately significant is China's development of anti-satellite capacities, anti-ship ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and cyber-warfare capabilities. "Managing tensions in the South China Sea will be an increasing challenge," said the IISS report.
Defence analysts also pointed to potential tensions between the US and China being aggravated by Beijing refusing to agree to confidence-building measures along the lines of those between the US and the Soviet Union during the cold war. "China does not want to give a seatbelt to the US," one defence analyst said.
Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam are all investing in improving air and naval capacities, as are India, Japan and South Korea. India, for instance, plans to boost maritime capacities with submarines and aircraft carriers, said the IISS.
In Europe, defence budgets remain under pressure and cuts to equipment programmes continue. Between 2008 and 2010 there were reductions in defence spending in at least 16 European Nato member states. In a significant proportion of these, cuts in real terms exceeded 10%.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Richard Norton-Taylor ~ guardian.co.uk
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
©COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS