Chinese cruise ship detained in S. Korea upsets Beijing
A Chinese passenger cruise ship, the Henna, was detained in South Korea pending the resolution of a hostile legal dispute between the investors and the company that operates the (more…)
Tokyo, Manila make common cause due to China’s maritime demands
With weekly provocations from China against both the Philippines and Japan, Manila and Tokyo are more actively seeking a common response to Beijing’s challenges. Last week, such coalescence gained (more…)
Service restored to military hotline between two Koreas
A military hotline connecting military commands on either side of the DMZ was resumed on Sept. 6 after being disconnected unilaterally by Pyongyang 163 days earlier. On March 27, (more…)
Japan’s move to name hundreds of offshore islands frustrates China
In a move that will surely anger China, the Japanese government announced last week that it would proceed with naming more than 200 offshore islands within Japanese maritime territory (more…)
Japan, Ukraine to launch satellite to monitor nuclear radioactive leaks
The governments of Japan and Ukraine, the only countries with devastating nuclear accidents, i.e., the Chernobyl and Fukushima meltdowns, inked an agreement last week to jointly monitor and test (more…)
Japan beefs up amphibious capability with an eye to the U.S. Marines
With China escalating its military presence in and near the Senkaku islands waters, Japan is planning to beef up its defensive amphibious capability. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet has (more…)
Vietnam orders another batch of Russian fighter jets to counter China
The Vietnamese Defense Minister Gen. Phung Quang Thanh visited Moscow in mid-August and inked a major arms deal with the Russians for the purchase of another 12 units of (more…)
Joint capitalist venture, Kaesong complex, to re-open in N. Korea
The day-long official negotiations between North and South Korea resulted in a joint announcement on Aug. 14 that the largest joint enterprise known as the Kaesong Industrial Park would (more…)
Chad orders halt to drilling by China firm over environmental violations
China’s largest energy company, the state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation or CNPC, was ordered by the government of Chad to halt its operations. The order was issued after the (more…)