The following is the National Transportation Safety Board recently released Safer Seas Digest 2020 that summarizes major maritime accidents and lessons learned including the 2017 collision of USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) off Japan and the collision of then-under construction USS Delbert Black (DDG-119). Read More
The following is the Japanese Ministry of Defense 2021 White Paper Defense of Japan released this week. Read More
The following is the April 6, 2021 Congressional Research Service report, Japan-U.S. Relations: Issues for Congress. Read More
Ships from the Indian Navy, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) and the US Navy sail in formation during Malabar 2018 on June 14, 2018. US Navy Photo
Australia will join the India-led Malabar 2020 naval exercise next month, operating along with the U.S. and Japan in an exercise meant to send a message to China. Read More
Undated photo of USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) pierside in Japan shortly after accident. US Navy Photo
Federal investigators highlighted an “unexplained course change” by a U.S. guided-missile destroyer as “a critical error” that put the warship on the path to the fatal 2017 collision that would kill seven sailors, according to a new report released Thursday. Read More
Shinzo Abe on April 7, 2020. Japanese Government Photo
Japan’s next prime minister is expected to follow Shinzo Abe’s path in tightening Tokyo’s military ties with the United States and expanding the nation’s definition of “self-defense” to counter China’s and North Korea’s threats, four Indo-Pacific security experts said Tuesday. Read More
USS Mustin (DDG-89) transits the Taiwan Strait on Aug. 18, 2020. US Navy Photo
A guided-missile destroyer conducted a freedom of navigation operation in the South China Sea past the Paracel Island chain on Thursday, one day after China launched missile tests in the South China Sea, U.S. 7th Fleet announced on Thursday. Read More
USS Mustin (DDG-89) transits the Taiwan Strait on Aug. 18, 2020. US Navy Photo
A U.S. guided-missile destroyer transited the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday following an exercise with Japanese Maritime Self Defense Forces, U.S. 7th Fleet said in a statement to USNI News. Read More
USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) departs Huntington Ingalls Industries – Ingalls Shipbuilding’s Pascagoula shipyard to conduct comprehensive at-sea testing on Feb. 3, 2020. US Navy Photo
This post has been updated to clarify where USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) was built. The destroyer was constructed at Bath Iron Works, Maine.
After more than two years of repairs, guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) left the Mississippi coast for sea trials in the Gulf of Mexico, Navy officials announced on Monday. Read More
President Donald J. Trump joined by the Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe arrive aboard the JS Kaga Tuesday, May 28, 2019, in Yokosuka, Japan. White House Photo
When President Donald Trump visited Japan this month, he was taken on board JS Kaga, one of a pair of new Izumo-class helicopter carriers built for the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) set to be retrofitted to fly the F-35B Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter. The carriers represent a new approach to maritime security that is shifting to a more forward defense posture. Read More
