U.S. carrier conducts joint drill with ROK navy near China in the Yellow Sea
The nuclear-powered super carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, sailed to within a couple hundred miles of the Chinese coast on Oct. 15 and took part in a joint naval (more…)
Seventh Japanese citizen executed in China on drug charges
The Japanese government is outraged by the unobserved execution earlier this month of a Japanese citizen convicted by a Chinese court for his involvement in the alleged illegal sale (more…)
Seoul weighs re-introduction of U.S. nukes that were withdrawn in 1991
A South Korean presidential advisory agency has advised President Park Geun-Hye to explore the re-deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea. During much of the Cold War, the (more…)
Japan to expand lone overseas military base – in Djibouti – to counter China
Japan has officially unveiled a plan to expand its military base in Djibouti on the Horn of Africa overlooking the Red Sea and the Sea of Aden. The move (more…)
China, South Korea maritime brawls fuel mounting bilateral tensions
How times have changed. Only a year ago, Beijing and Seoul seemed united on a major strategic partnership, threatening to break up the pivotal Washington-led mutual defense alliance system (more…)
Wave of senior North Korean diplomatic defections continue, this time in Beijing
At least two senior North Korean diplomats stationed in Beijing fled with their family members to the Japanese embassy to seek political asylum, according to South Korean newspaper reports (more…)
Japanese defense chief reaches comprehensive security agreements on U.S. visit
Japan’s Defense Minister Tomomi Inada, a hardline female defense hawk, has visited the U.S. in recent weeks in what was a consequential trip. She achieved an unprecedented and unambiguous (more…)
U.S. warships drop anchor at Vietnam’s Cam Ranh Bay for first time since the war
On Oct. 2, the U.S. Navy’s USS Frank Cable, a submarine tender, and the USS John S. McCain, an Arleigh Berke class guided missile destroyer, made history by becoming (more…)
China breaks precedent, allows publication of article criticizing Kim Jong-Un
Although China was forced to go along with the UN Security Council resolutions against North Korea, there had been no record of any official Chinese media outlet criticizing Kim (more…)