Category Archives: China

China Protests U.S. South China Sea Freedom of Navigation Operation

China Protests U.S. South China Sea Freedom of Navigation Operation

Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Milius (DDG 69) conducts a freedom of navigation operation in the South China Sea, March 24. Milius is forward-deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific. US Navy Photo

A U.S. warship conducted a freedom of navigation operation in the South China Sea, near the Parcel Islands, the day after China claimed it chased away the ship from its territorial waters, U.S. 7th Fleet announced Friday. Read More

Makin Island ARG Docks in Busan, 3 LCS Now Underway in Indo-PACOM

Makin Island ARG Docks in Busan, 3 LCS Now Underway in Indo-PACOM

USS Makin Island (LHD-8) conducts a photo exercise and replenishment-at-sea with the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Chung Hoon (DDG 93), March 15, 2023. US Navy Photo

The Makin Island Amphibious Group (ARG) docked at the port of Busan in the Republic of Korea (ROK) as part of their participation in the U.S.-ROK Exercise Ssangyong this week. Read More

U.S. 7th Fleet Denies Destroyer was Expelled from South China Sea Island Chain

U.S. 7th Fleet Denies Destroyer was Expelled from South China Sea Island Chain

Guided-missile destroyer USS Milius (DDG-69) steams alongside the Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship USNS Charles Drew (T-AKE-10) during an underway replenishment while operating in the Philippine Sea, March 16. US Navy Photo

- This post has been updated to indicate USS Milius had not been conducting a freedom of navigation operation at the time of the incident. 

The Navy denied that an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile illegally entered China’s maritime territory and was chased off by People’s Liberation Army forces, contradicting claims by China’s Southern Theatre Command. Read More

Japan Faces Readiness Hurdle As it Modernizes Military, Former Defense Chief Says

Japan Faces Readiness Hurdle As it Modernizes Military, Former Defense Chief Says

A Japan Ground Self-Defense Force CH-47 Chinook, lands on the amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA-6) during a bilateral simulated casualty pick up in the Philippine Sea, March 10, 2023. U.S. Marine Corps Photo

Japan’s toughest hurdle, as it launches an unprecedented military modernization program and doubles defense spending, is the operational readiness of its air, naval and land forces, a former chief of the Japan Self-Defense Forces said Thursday. Read More

INDOPACOM: China Has Not Responded to U.S. Attempts to Establish Communication

INDOPACOM: China Has Not Responded to U.S. Attempts to Establish Communication

Adm. John C. Aquilino, Commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, listens to a brief during the USINDOPACOM Commander’s Summit in Hawaii on Dec. 13, 2022. U.S. Navy Photo

China has not responded to any of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s requests to establish direct communication channels between its commander and the commanders of China’s main military commands, Adm. John Aquilino said Thursday. Read More

Army and Navy Cancelled March Hypersonic Test Due to Battery Failure

Army and Navy Cancelled March Hypersonic Test Due to Battery Failure

A common hypersonic glide body (C-HGB) launches from Pacific Missile Range Facility, Kauai, Hawaii, at approximately 10:30 p.m. local time, March 19, 2020, during a Department of Defense flight experiment. US Navy photo.

The Army and Navy scrubbed their latest hypersonic test flight due to a battery failure during a pre-launch check, the Navy’s top officer for strategic programs said Friday. Read More