IMOA
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Vietnam joins submarine arms race amid South China Sea tensions
Vietnam finally has a new weapon against the Chinese maritime expansion after receiving its first Kilo-class submarine from Russia on the last day of 2013, according to the Washington-based Strategy Page on Feb. 20. The submarine is the first of six 2,300-tonne Kilo-class submarines to arrive in Vietnam after the country signed a US$2.1 billion […]
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Phl, SoKor complete talks on 12 fighter jets
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines is close to acquiring 12 lead-in fighter trainer jets from South Korea as the two countries completed negotiations for the multi-billion-peso project yesterday. The Department of Defense’s special bids and awards committee, led by Undersecretary Fernando Manalo, approved the offer of Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) after about seven months of […]
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4 Chinese ships back at Ayungin
MANILA, Philippines – Four Chinese surveillance ships have returned to Ayungin Shoal after several months of absence. A security official who asked not be named said two of the Chinese ships have the 306 and 363 markings on their bows, while the two others look like frigates. “They’ve been spotted near Ayungin since last week,” […]
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China gives order to commence war with Japan ‘if it is appropriate to fight’
The following is a translation from Chinese media: Quite a few people have said that the conflict over the Diaoyus (known as Senkakus in Japan) has passed the stage of oral confrontation and what follows may very probably be direct military conflict. It is especially so as, relying on US support, Japan is obviously declaring […]
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Southern air defence zone ‘crucial for China in long term’, PLA expert says
Establishing a second air defence zone – this time over the South China Sea – was in China’s long-term interest, a senior People’s Liberation Army researcher said yesterday. Senior colonel Li Jie , of the PLA Navy’s Military Academy, said a senior US intelligence officer’s remarks last week about China’s intention to declare another air […]
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PLA Officer: China Must Establish South China Sea ADIZ
A senior researcher and officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army said that establishing an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) is essential to China’s national interest. “The establishment of another ADIZ over the South China Sea is necessary for China’s long-term national interest,” Senior Colonel Li Jie, a researcher at the PLA Navy’s Military Academy and […]
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Obama seeks to avoid “clash of civilisations” between China and the West
ADIZ, Air Defense Identification Zone, Brunei, China, Diplomatic Relations, Malaysia, Militarization, Philippines, South China Sea Dispute, USA, VietnamOn the next day after President Barack Obama delivered his State of the Union (SotU) 2014, which did not mention anything about the tension in East Asia, not even the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Tokyo-based The Diplomat published an article to ask whether Obama “has abandoned the Pivot to Asia”: “… he couldn’t make room for […]
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To Counter Beijing, Japan Moves Closer to Taiwan
A report from Kyodo News International says that lawmakers from Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) are trying to create a Japanese version of the Taiwan Relations Act, the U.S. law that governs Washington’s relations with Taipei. Japan does not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but the proposed law would seek to formalize the current unofficial […]
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China’s “Nine-Dash Line” is Dangerous
As noted last week, the U.S. has lodged its objection to China’s “nine-dash-line” claim to the South China Sea. It is right to do so for two reasons. First, in contrast to what China claims, the U.S. clearly stating its position on the conflict will reduce the chance that the U.S. and China will come […]
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China claims Japan is secretly developing nuclear weapons
Asia Weekly, a Hong Kong-based news outlet (Chinese controlled), is reporting that Japan is secretly developing a nuclear weapons program in response to increasing hostilities with China over the East China Sea dispute. According to the report, paraphrased by the Want China Times, “With the capability to build at least 2,000 nuclear warheads, Japan has recently […]