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☆ Taiwan monitors Chinese carrier group in sensitive Taiwan Strait
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsTAIPEI, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Taiwan's military has sent forces to keep watch on a Chinese naval formation led by the aircraft carrier Shandong sailing through the sensitive Taiwan Strait, Taiwan's defence ministry said on Thursday. The Shandong participated in Chinese military drills around Taiwan in April, and again entered the Pacific last month. China says the Taiwan Strait is not an international waterway and that it alone has sovereignty there, which both Taiwan and the United States dispute. As of Thursday morning, the Chinese carrier group was continuing to sail northwards, Taiwan's defence ministry said. The Shandong, commissioned in 2019, also sailed through the Taiwan Strait in June.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Ben Blanchard, Christopher Cushing, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, United, Thomson Locations: Rights TAIPEI, Shandong, Taiwan, China, United States, Canadian, South, Taiwan Strait

Details of how Japan is paring back military procurement due to currency fluctuations have not been previously reported. China, which has not ruled out using military force to bring Taiwan under its control, has expressed concern about Japan's military spending plans, accusing it of displaying a "Cold War mentality." In December, defence ministry officials discussed an order for 34 twin-rotor Chinook transport helicopters at roughly 15 billion yen per aircraft, two of the sources said. She declined to comment on whether the defence ministry had dropped an order for the seaplane. A ministry spokesperson confirmed the companies delivered a letter on Oct 25 to Defence Minister Minoru Kihara urging the government to proceed with the defence procurement as planned.

Persons: Tomohiro, Fumio Kishida, Christopher Johnstone, Johnstone, Biden, Kishida, outlays, spender, Nancy Pelosi's, Yoji Koda, Lockheed Martin, Minoru Kihara, Kevin Maher, Nobuhiro Kubo, Takaya Yamaguchi, Tim Kelly, Yoshifumi Takemoto, Katerina Ang Organizations: Defense Force, East Fuji Maneuver, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Reuters, Bank of Japan, Center for Strategic, International Studies, National Security, East, Japan's Ministry of Defence, Embassy, Pentagon, Russian, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Boeing Co, Kawasaki, Industries, Maritime Self Defense Force, Raytheon, Lockheed, Japan Business Federation, NMV Consulting, U.S . State Department's Office, Japan Affairs, Thomson Locations: Japan, Gotemba, Shizuoka, Taiwan, Tokyo, Washington, Beijing, East Asia, U.S, East China, Ukraine, China, U.S .

☆ Russia's Medvedev: Japan's 'militarisation' complicates Asia-Pacific
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Sputnik/Yekaterina Shtukina/Pool via REUTERS /File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 3 (Reuters) - Japan's "militarisation" complicates the situation in the Asia-Pacific region, the deputy chair of the Russian Security Council and former President Dmitry Medvedev said on Sunday. "It is regrettable that the Japanese authorities are pursuing a course towards a new militarisation of the country," the Russian TASS news agency quoted Medvedev as saying. "Troop exercises are taking place near the Kuril Islands, which seriously complicates the situation in the Asia-Pacific region." Russia decided this year to declare Sept. 3 - the day after Japan's surrender in World War Two - a "Day of Victory over Militaristic Japan", spurring a protest from Tokyo. Medvedev said Japan, with help from the United States, was expanding its military infrastructure and increasing its arms purchases.

Persons: Dmitry Medvedev, Medvedev, Lidia Kelly, Ekaterina Golubkova, William Mallard Organizations: Russia's, Scientific, Machine, Sputnik, Russian Security Council, Soviet, Russian TASS, Thomson Locations: Reutov, Moscow, Russia, Asia, Pacific, Japan, Russian, Hokkaido, Northern Territories, Soviet Union, Tokyo, United States, China, North Korea, Melbourne

☆ Japan makes record defence spending request amid tension with China
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Sakura Murakami | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The plan, announced last year, seeks to double defence spending to 2% of gross domestic product by 2027 as it faces an increasingly assertive China and an unpredictable North Korea. The defence ministry plans to set aside more than 900 billion yen for ammunition and weapons, including new ship-based air-defence missiles, according to the budget request. Some 600 billion yen will be used to strengthen logistics capabilities to deploy weapons and resources to southwest island chains during an emergency. Japan will also put 75 billion yen towards jointly developing interceptor missiles with the United States to counter hypersonic warheads, and 64 billion yen for building next-generation fighter jets with Britain and Italy. The record defence spending by the staunch U.S. ally comes after decades of pacifist policies.

Persons: Fumio Kishida, Joe Biden, Yoon Suk, Camp David, Evelyn Hockstein, Fumio, Sakura Murakami, Robert Birsel, Gerry Doyle Organizations: U.S, South, REUTERS, Rights, Ministry of Finance, Thomson Locations: Camp, Thurmont , Maryland, U.S, China, North Korea, Japan, United States, Britain, Italy, Taiwan, Ukraine, Asia

☆ US deploys B-1B bombers for separate drills with South Korea, Japan
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Hyunsu Yim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

US Air Force B-1B bombers, F-16 fighter jets and South Korean Air Force F-35A take part in a joint air drill, South Korea, March 19, 2023. South Korean Defence Ministry/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY./File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSEOUL, Aug 30 (Reuters) - The United States separately deployed B-1B bombers for joint drills with South Korea and Japan on Wednesday, as the three allies have stepped up responses to threats from North Korea. A U.S. B-1B flew alongside South Korean FA-50 jets and U.S. Air Force F-16 fighters as part of ongoing Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, South Korea's defence ministry said. The U.S.-led bomber drills came days after North Korea attempted a satellite launch that ended in failure. Japan also participated in a trilateral naval missile defence exercise with the U.S. and South Korea on Tuesday.

Persons: 1Bs, Kim Jong Un, Kim, Hyunsu Yim, Kantaro Komiya, Gerry Doyle Organizations: US Air Force, South Korean Air Force, South Korean Defence Ministry, Rights, United, South, South Korean FA, . Air Force, North, U.S . Air Force, South Korea, U.S ., Wednesday, U.S, Thomson Locations: South Korea, Rights SEOUL, United States, Japan, North Korea, U.S, American, Camp, Seoul, Tokyo

☆ North Korea conducts missile launch into sea after US bomber drills
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A North Korean flag flutters at the propaganda village of Gijungdong in North Korea, in this picture taken near the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, South Korea, July 19, 2022. The launch comes a day before South Korea and the U.S. wrap up 11 days of combined military drills, which Pyongyang has denounced. The B-1B bombers conducted separate air drills with warplanes from South Korea and Japan earlier on Wednesday. North Korea's ballistic missiles are banned by United Nations Security Council resolutions that have imposed strict sanctions on the nuclear-armed country. Kirby said Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu had recently travelled to North Korea to try to convince Pyongyang to sell artillery ammunition to Russia.

Persons: Kim Hong, John Kirby, Kirby, Sergei Shoigu, Joe Biden, Yoon Suk Yeol, Fumio Kishida, Chang, Ran Kim, Josh Smith, Alison Williams, Alex Richardson, Josie Kao Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Korea's, Chiefs, Staff, United Nations, White House, Russian, Korean, . Space Force, . U.S, South Korean, Korea, Thomson Locations: Gijungdong, North Korea, Panmunjom, South Korea, Rights SEOUL, TOKYO, U.S, Korea, United States, Pyongyang, Japan, Russia, The U.S, ., Tokyo, Seoul

KCNA via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsSEOUL, Aug 31 (Reuters) - North Korea conducted a simulated "scorched-earth" nuclear strike on targets across South Korea, state media reported on Thursday, in reaction to allied exercises that it said amounted to plans for a preemptive nuclear attack by the United States. ROK is the initials of South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea. North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea on Wednesday, South Korea's military said, hours after the U.S. deployed B-1B bombers for allied air drills. South Korea's presidential office convened a security meeting after North Korea's late-night launch, which followed its second failed attempt last week to put its first spy satellite into orbit. Japan will intercept North Korea's missiles if they fly over Japan's territory, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said.

Persons: North Korea's, Fumio Kishida, Hirokazu Matsuno, Kim Jong Un, KCNA, Kim Jong, Kim, Soo, hyang Choi, Josh Smith, Kantaro Komiya, Kiyoshi Takenaka, Satoshi Sugiyama, Stephen Coates, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Korean People's Army, North, Korean Central News Agency, Reuters, KCNA, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, ROK, U.S, Thomson Locations: North Korea, Rights SEOUL, South Korea, United States, Republic of Korea, Japan, Pyongyang, U.S, Korea, Seoul, Kantaro, Tokyo

☆ North Korea denounces 'gang bosses' of US and allies amid drills
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Soo-Hyang Choi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the Naval Command of the Korean People's Army (KPA) on the occasion of the Navy Day, in North Korea, in this picture released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and obtained by Reuters on August 29, 2023. KCNA via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsSEOUL, Aug 29 (Reuters) - The United States, South Korea and Japan staged joint naval missile defence drills off the Korean peninsula on Tuesday, as North Korea denounced the "gang bosses" of Washington and its allies for increasing the risk of nuclear war. The three nations staged exercises in international waters off South Korea's southern Jeju island to improve their ability to detect and track targets, and share information in the event of provocation by Pyongyang, South Korea's military said. The drills come as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for "radically" modernising the weapons and equipment of his country's naval forces, criticising an increased presence of U.S. strategic assets in the region. South Korea and the United States last week began the Ulchi Freedom Shield summer exercises, designed to enhance their joint responses to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.

Persons: Kim Jong Un, Kim Jong, Kim, KCNA, Soo, hyang Choi, Kantaro Komiya, Chang, Ran Kim, Grant McCool, Michael Perry, Nick Macfie Organizations: Naval Command, Korean People's Army, Navy, North, Korean Central News Agency, Reuters, KCNA, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, South Korea, Thomson Locations: North Korea, Rights SEOUL, United States, South Korea, Japan, Washington, Jeju, Pyongyang, South, Camp David , Maryland, U.S, Republic of Korea, Korea, SEOUL, TOKYO

☆ Japan says cannot confirm leakage after report says China hacked defence networks
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File PhotoTOKYO, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Japan cannot confirm if any security information has been leaked, the top government spokesperson said on Tuesday when asked about a Washington Post report on Chinese hacking into its defence cyber networks. Chinese military hackers gained access to a classified defence network in Japan beginning in 2020, accessing information about the U.S. ally's military capabilities, plans and assessments of shortcomings, the Washington Post reported on Monday, citing senior officials. Speaking at a regular press briefing on Tuesday, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said Japan and U.S. have always been in close communication on various levels. Matsuno also said that cyber security is the foundation for maintaining the Japan-U.S. alliance, and that Japan will continue to work to keep its network firm and secure. Meanwhile, Japan's slow response to improve its cyber network could impede greater intelligence sharing between the Pentagon and Japan's Defence Ministry, the Washington Post said, citing officials.

Persons: Kacper, Hirokazu Matsuno, haven't, Matsuno, Mariko Katsumura, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: REUTERS, Washington Post, U.S . National Security Agency, Pentagon, Japan's Defence Ministry, Thomson Locations: Japan, Tokyo, U.S, Beijing

☆ North Korea fires two missiles after U.S. submarine arrives in South
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, July 25 (Reuters) - North Korea fired two ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast late on Monday, South Korea's military said, hours after a U.S. nuclear-powered submarine arrived in a naval base in the South. Japan's defence ministry also reported the launch of what it said could be a ballistic missile by North Korea. North Korea has reacted angrily, saying such deployment could meet the criteria for its use of nuclear weapons. Earlier on Monday, a nuclear-powered U.S. submarine entered a naval base in South Korea's southern island of Jeju, to load military supplies while on an unspecified operational mission, the South Korean navy said. Last week, North Korea conducted ballistic missile tests, that time after a nuclear-armed U.S. submarine arrived at a South Korean port for the first time since the 1980s.

Persons: Jack Kim, Chang, Ran Kim, Alison Williams, Andrew Heavens Organizations: South Korean, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, North Korea, South Korea, United States, U.S, Korea, South, Jeju, Korean, Seoul, Tokyo

☆ Japan says Russian warships spotted near Taiwan, Okinawa islands
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, July 1 (Reuters) - Japan's defence ministry said late on Friday it had spotted two Russian Navy ships in the waters near Taiwan and Japan's Okinawa islands in the previous four days, following a similar announcement this week from Taiwan. Taiwan's defence ministry said on Tuesday it had spotted two Russian frigates off its eastern coast and send aircraft and ships to keep watch. Japan's government said last month that repeated Russian military activity near Japanese territory, including joint drills with Chinese forces, posed "serious concern" for Japan's national security. The Japanese ministry said two Steregushchy-class frigates were first spotted 70 km (40 miles) southwest of Japan's westernmost island of Yonaguni, in Okinawa prefecture neat Taiwan, on Tuesday morning. The vessels sailed back and forth through the waters between Yonaguni and Taiwan, moved eastward and were last spotted on Friday in the waters between Miyako and Okinawa islands, it said, adding Japan dispatched two vessels to monitor the Russian ships.

Persons: Kantaro Komiya, William Mallard Organizations: Russian Navy, United, Russian Pacific Fleet, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Taiwan, Okinawa, Japan, United States, Russia, Ukraine, Japan's, Yonaguni, Miyako, Russian, Philippine

☆ North Korea fires two short-range missiles after warning of response to allied drills
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, June 15 (Reuters) - North Korea fired two short-range missiles off its east coast on Thursday, the South Korean military said, less than an hour after Pyongyang warned of an "inevitable" response to military drills staged earlier in the day by South Korean and U.S. troops. The latest action by North Korea came as U.S. President Joe Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, was in Tokyo for meetings with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts. The government was due to hold a National Security Council meeting, Kyodo news reported separately. North Korea's ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programmes are banned by United Nations Security Council resolutions that have sanctioned the country. South Korea sued North Korea on Wednesday for $35 million in compensation for a liaison office that North Korea blew up in 2020, in a case highlighting the breakdown of ties between the neighbours as the North presses on with its weapons programmes.

Persons: Joe Biden's, Jake Sullivan, Cho Tae, Takeo Akiba, Yoon Suk, Heekyong Yang, Josh Smith, Tim Kelly, John Stonestreet, Alex Richardson, Chizu Organizations: South Korean, Korean, South, National, National Security Council, Kyodo, North Korea's Ministry of National Defence, United Nations, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, North Korea, Pyongyang, U.S, Tokyo, Japan, Hegura, Ishikawa prefecture, South Korea, Korea, Seoul

[1/5] A concept model of the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP)'s fighter jet is displayed at the DSEI Japan defense show at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, east of Tokyo, Japan March 15, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-HoonTOKYO, March 15 (Reuters) - Britain and Japan are set to dominate a three-nation project with Italy to build an advanced jet fighter, with Rome set to pay around only a fifth of the overall development cost, two sources said. "The cost of the project will likely be around 40% each for Japan and Britain," one of the people with knowledge of discussions told Reuters. Japan's defence ministry said that discussions were ongoing and declined to comment on the cost sharing ratios. Details of which companies will build what components are being hammered out in regular talks between more junior government officials and contractors in Britain, Japan and Italy, the sources said.

☆ Japan, Britain, Italy defence ministers to meet in Tokyo this week
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, March 14 (Reuters) - Britain and Italy's defence chiefs will visit Japan this week to hold meetings with their local counterpart, Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada, Japan said on Tuesday. Hamada will host a trilateral meeting with British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto on Thursday, Japan's defence ministry said. He will also hold bilateral meetings with them. The three nations will discuss the jet fighter project, which marks Japan's first major industrial defence collaboration beyond the United States since World War Two. Reporting by Kaori Kaneko Editing by Chang-Ran KimOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Japan told China violation of airspace by balloons is unacceptable, spokesman says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Japan told China that violations of its airspace by uncrewed surveillance balloons were absolutely unacceptable, a spokesman for the government said on Wednesday. Japan's Defence Ministry said on Tuesday that it "strongly suspects" Chinese surveillance balloons had entered Japanese territory at least three times since 2019. read more"As a result of further investigation of specific balloon-shaped flying objects that were confirmed in Japan's airspace in the past, it is strongly suspected that they were unmanned surveillance balloons from China," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters. Japan's government is considering relaxing requirements on the use of weapons to defend against intrusions of its airspace, the Kyodo news agency reported on Wednesday. Attention to past intrusions of Japan's airspace has heightened since the United States shot down a Chinese balloon this month and briefed officials from 40 nations about the object. read moreReporting by Rocky Swift; Editing by Tom Hogue and Gerry DoyleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

SEOUL, Dec 31 (Reuters) - North Korea fired three ballistic missiles toward the sea east of the Korean Peninsula on Saturday, the South Korean military said. The three short-range ballistic missiles were fired from around 8 am local time (2300 GMT) from North Hwanghae Province, south of the capital Pyongyang, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. South Korean military also said the missiles flew about 350 km. Relations between North Korea and U.S.-ally South Korea have grown more tense since South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol's conservative government took over in May, promising a tougher stance toward the North. Not counting Saturday's launches, North Korea has fired around 70 ballistic missiles this year, Yonhap news agency said, including about eight intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM).

[1/2] Participants look around Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force's vessel at a recruiting event in Yokosuka, Japan December 10, 2022. The five-year plan unveiled on Friday will double Japan's defence spending and add new capabilities, including long-range missiles and an expanded cyber warfare unit. "It is just a paper plan and that should be corrected," said Yoji Koda, a retired navy admiral, who commanded the Japanese fleet in 2007-2008. Koda said the plan would limit Japan's ability to fight in situations such as land invasions and sea battles, giving its foes an advantage. Japan's defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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