The following is the Republic of China National Defense Report 2023. Read More
Category Archives: China
Australia, Philippines Commit to Strategic Partnership, Pledge Joint Patrols
HMAS Anzac sails with BRP Conrado Yap during Exercise LUMBAS as part of a regional presence deployment on June 17, 2023. Royal Australian Navy Photo
Australia and the Philippines agreed to joint patrols in the South China Sea on Friday as the two countries elevated their ties to a strategic partnership. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Philippine President Bongbong Marcos inked several agreements and a joint declaration during their first-ever bilateral meeting in Manila amid tensions with China. Read More
Chinese Aircraft Carrier Strike Group Operating Again Near Japan
CNS Shandong (17) underway on Sept. 10, 2023. JMSDF Photo
Five months after it made its first deployment to the western Pacific, People’s Liberation Army Navy carrier CNS Shandong (17) is back conducting drills, according to Taiwan Ministry of National Defense. Also on Monday, Japan’s Ministry of Defense reported a total of eight PLAN ships transited the Miyako Strait to enter the Philippine Sea. Read More
U.S., Canadian Warships Transit Taiwan Strait
Boatswain’s Mate 3rd Class George Wilson, from Bolivar, Missouri, stands watch on the flight deck aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson (DDG-114) on Sept. 9, 2023. US Navy Photo
An American guided-missile destroyer and a Royal Canadian Navy frigate sailed through the Taiwan Strait in a tandem Saturday transit, U.S. 7th Fleet announced. Read More
Chinese Warships Shadow Canadian, U.S., Japanese Warships in East China Sea, the Philippines Resupply Second Thomas Shoal
HMCS Ottawa (FFH-341), JS Izumo (DDH-183) and USS Ralph Johnson underway in the East China Sea. JMSDF Photo
A Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy guided-missile destroyer shadowed U.S., Japanese and Canadian warships as they conducted a trilateral exercise in the East China Sea on Wednesday according to an report by Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Meanwhile, on Friday, the Philippines successfully carried out a resupply mission to its outpost at Second Thomas Shoal in the disputed Spratly Islands, despite opposing actions by China Coast Guard and Chinese Maritime Militia ships. Read More
Short-Term Problems are Prime Focus of New Pentagon Drone Initiative
Two unmanned surface vessels, a Devil Ray T-38 and Saildrone Explorer, operate in the Gulf of Aqaba, Sept. 10, during Eager Lion 2022. US Navy Photo
Solving short-term problems for military commanders in the Pacific and Europe is driving the Pentagon’s push to accelerate production of attritable air, sea and ground drones powered by artificial intelligence, USNI News has learned. Read More
Japanese, U.S., the Philippines Drill in the South China Sea; China Contests U.S. Position on Territorial Disputes
JS Izumo (DDH-183), destroyer JS Samidare (DD-106) and an Oyashio class submarine. JMSDF Photo
Japanese naval units carried out antisubmarine warfare drills in the South China Sea on Monday while the U.S and Philippine navies conducted a joint sail in the South China Sea the same day. Meanwhile, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and Royal Thai Navy (RTN) commenced the joint naval and marine forces drill Blue Strike 2023 on Sunday, which takes place around the Gulf of Thailand and Eastern Thailand. Read More
U.S. Allies Key to Deterring Russia, China, Financially a ‘Mixed Bag,’ Experts Say
Marines with the Battalion Landing Team 1/6, 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) (MEU(SOC)) Bravo Command Element engage targets while training with Italian Marines San Marco Brigade, during an integrated live-fire sniper range part of a Norwegian Bilateral Exercise in Setermoen, Norway, Aug. 12, 2023. Marine Corps Photo
America’s more than 60 allies and partners remain its greatest security asset in deterring conflict with China and Russia as well as its greatest commitment if war breaks out,” the author of “How to be a ‘Cheap Hawk’ in the 2020s” said Wednesday. Read More
Threats in Western Pacific Drawing South Korea, Japan Closer Together, Experts Say
Sailors aboard a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense ship in formation with USS Benfold on Aug. 28, 2023, JMSDF Photo
Joint Chinese-Russian naval exercises near Japan and recent North Korea firing missiles underscore the importance of the historic agreement recently reached at Camp David between the U.S., Japan and South Korea, the White House’s former top official for the Indo-Pacific said Tuesday. Read More
U.S., Australia, Japan Drill with the Philippines in South China Sea; China Flies Military Drone Near Taiwan
HMAS Canberra (L02) with JS Izumo (DDH-183) on Aug. 24, 2023. JMSDF Photo
The U.S., Australia, Japan and the Philippines carried out a joint exercise in the waters off Manila on Thursday involving the Australian and Japanese large-deck ships on deployment in the region. Meanwhile, Chinese bombers flew near Japan while a Chinese unmanned air vehicle conducted a flight off Taiwan’s east coast, according to Japan Ministry of Defense press releases. Read More
