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DEFENSE

Japan Times
JAPAN / FOCUS
Apr 14, 2021
Could North Korea rain missiles on Suga and Biden’s parade?
Pyongyang could conduct a missile test or unveil a new weapon as it marks a key anniversary and seeks to force itself back to the top of the U.S.-Japan agenda.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 12, 2021
The dangerously flawed U.S. Senkakus policy
Earlier this week Kyodo News dropped a bombshell (pun intended) by introducing the contents of declassified U.S. documents that the U.S. government turned down a request in June 1978 for its military based in Japan to use its firing and bombing ranges in the Senkaku Islands.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Apr 12, 2021
Top U.S. diplomat says any attempt by China to take Taiwan by force would be a ‘serious mistake’
Antony Blinken voiced concern about tension fomented by Chinese ‘aggressive actions” in the area and said the U.S. stands by its commitments to ensure the island’s self-defense.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 8, 2021
U.S.-China cold war will have more than two sides
The real danger ahead, however, is not so much a new cold war as binary modes of thinking that see stark divisions and antagonisms where none exist.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 7, 2021
Taiwan to kick off war games with computer simulated invasion by China
Computer simulations of a Chinese attack on Taiwan will be conducted between April 23 to 30, and will form the first phase of Taiwan’s largest annual war games.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 6, 2021
China says carrier group exercising near Taiwan and drills will become regular
‘Similar exercises will be conducted on a regular basis in the future,’ the Chinese navy said without elaborating.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 6, 2021
Asia’s growing missile arsenals demand a response
The Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam have expressed interest in acquiring a supersonic cruise missile jointly developed by India and Russia.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 4, 2021
Pope, in Easter message, slams weapons spending in time of pandemic
Pope Francis urged countries in his Easter message on Sunday to quicken distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, particularly to the world’s poor, and called armed conflict and military spending during a pandemic “scandalous.”
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 3, 2021
Taiwan says European countries helping with submarine project
The revelation by the country’s Defense Ministry was a rare admission that the sensitive program is not getting assistance solely from the United States.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 27, 2021
China sends 20 warplanes near Taiwan in largest-ever incursion by its air force
The U.S. is increasingly concerned that China is flirting with the idea of seizing control of Taiwan, the Financial times reported, citing a senior Biden administration official.
Japan Times
EDITORIALS
Mar 25, 2021
North Korea provokes in predictable ways
In many ways, North Korea is quite predictable. The government in Pyongyang was expected to try to provoke the Biden administration, and this week it did just that with a series of missile launches. International reaction has been muted — as it should be. Every challenge does not deserve a response....
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 24, 2021
China embassy takes swipe at ‘fusty’ Japan over South China Sea
The comment was a direct response to a Twitter remark on ‘action that heightens tensions’ by Japan’s ambassador to the Philippines, Kazuhiko Koshikawa.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 24, 2021
What can Japan do in a Taiwan-China clash?
In the “two-plus-two” meeting that took place last week, the Japanese and U.S. governments unequivocally called out China, highlighting the country’s unilateral and unlawful attempts to change the status quo in the Indo-Pacific. Since then, there has been much debate on what this means for the region, especially in the context of Taiwan.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 21, 2021
Philippine troops kill Abu Sayyaf leader and rescue Indonesian hostages
Majan Sahidjuan, alias Apo Mike, was severely wounded in a gunbattle with the marines on Saturday night in Languyan town in southern Tawi-Tawi province, and later died.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 21, 2021
China’s Himalayan salami tactics
China’s new border villages in the Himalayas are the equivalent of its artificially created islands in the South China Sea, whose map Xi’s regime has redrawn without firing a shot.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 9, 2021
Top China generals urge more spending for U.S. conflict ‘trap’
The comments marked an unusual acknowledgment of the risk of a clash between the world’s two largest economies.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Mar 8, 2021
Biden’s pricier troop deal with Seoul to impact next agreement with Tokyo
The agreement on a “meaningful increase” in cost-sharing could prompt the U.S. to ask Japan to play a larger role in its regional strategy instead of doling out more cash, experts say.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 8, 2021
Australia halts defense ties with Myanmar and redirects aid
Australia has suspended its defense cooperation program with Myanmar, Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne said, amid an intensified crackdown by the country’s military on massive protests against last month’s coup.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 6, 2021
South Korean envoy hopes to wrap up talks with U.S. on defense costs
South Korea is seeking to iron out remaining differences and sign a deal with Washington on sharing costs for stationing 28,500 American troops in the country, its chief envoy has said.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 6, 2021
China defense spending gets mild boost amid economic caution
China’s 2021 defense spending will rise 6.8% from 2020, up slightly from last year’s increase and broadly tracking the government’s modest growth forecast, as the world’s second-largest economy emerges from the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic.

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