Brought to You by the Members of the U.S. Naval Institute
Japan increasingly finds itself amid an unsettling security environment. The growing capabilities of the Chinese and Russian militaries coincide with intensified air and naval activity against the backdrop of unresolved territorial disputes. On the Korean Peninsula, the erratic regime of Kim Jong-un alarms its neighbors with provocative rhetoric and missile tests. And in Bangladesh and Indonesia, violent Islamic extremism extends its reach with ISIS-supported attacks. Read More
The “Gunslingers” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 105 conduct a flyover during their homecoming at Naval Air Station Oceana, Va. on April 17, 2014. US Navy Photo
The Senate Armed Services Committee passed its version of the Fiscal Year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act on Thursday, laying out a spending plan that falls just short of a bill the House Armed Services Committee passed last month. Read More
People’s Liberation Army troops patrol an island in the South China Sea. PLA Photo
Chinese officials took a rhetorical hard line this week calling U.S. military actions in the South China Sea the “greatest threat” to stability in the region and vowed to increase its own military presence in the region, according to a Wednesday statement from the Chinese military. Read More
USS William P. Lawrence (DDG-110) transits the Philippine Sea on March 30, 2016, US Navy Photo
A U.S. guided missile destroyer came within 12 nautical miles of a contested Chinese artificial island in the Spratly Island chain in the South China Sea on Tuesday, U.S. officials told USNI News on Tuesday morning. Read More
In addition to passing secret information to the People’s Republic of China, a naval flight officer held on espionage charges is also suspected of passing secrets to Taiwan, a U.S. official with information on the case told USNI News on Monday. Read More
The following is the April 1, 2016 Congressional Research Service report, Maritime Territorial and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Disputes Involving China. Read More
Corvette Tuo Jiang sets sail during the handover ceremony in 2014.
The Taiwan Navy (ROCN) announced a major overhaul plan that includes indigenous production of four 10,000-ton destroyers and 10-15 frigates in 2014. Read More
Chinese amphibious warship Changbaishan deploys what appear to be several ZBD-05 infantry fighting vehicles as part of Joint Sea 2015 on Aug. 25, 2015. Chinese MoD Photo
When viewed from the Chinese mainland, a hundred miles of water is a long way away and remains a big obstacle if Beijing intends to take military action anytime soon against Taiwan following the island’s election of a new president and a legislature controlled by pro-independence parties, an international security expert said Tuesday. Read More
USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG-54) in 2012. US Navy Photo
Chinese officials issued several condemnations of the latest U.S. freedom of navigation operation in the South China Sea in which an American guided missile destroyer came within 12 nautical miles of Chinese administered Triton Island in the Paracel Island chain. Read More
USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54) transits the East China Sea in 2013. US Navy Photo
An American guided missile destroyer conducted a freedom of navigation operation within 12 nautical miles of a disputed island claimed by China in the South China Sea Paracel island chain, Pentagon officials confirmed to USNI News on Saturday morning. Read More
