DefenceTalkThe Avenger class mine countermeasure ships USS Pioneer (MCM 9) and USS Chief (MCM 14) were loaded onto the ocean-going heavy lift ship as final preparations are made to get underway for their new homeport in Sasebo, Japan, May 31, 2014. Pioneer and Chief will be part of forward deployed naval forces (FDNF) assigned to […]https://www.defencetalk.com/mine-countermeasures-ship-replacements-depart-for-japan-59808/

DefenceTalkChina denounced Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Sunday for “provocative” remarks accusing Beijing of destabilizing actions in contested Asian waters. Lieutenant General Wang Guanzhong, deputy chief of the general staff of the People’s Liberation Army, told an Asian security forum in Singapore that strong comments made by Abe […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-hits-back-at-us-japan-for-provocative-remarks-59743/

DefenceTalkJapan on Sunday accused China of “dangerous” manoeuvres above disputed areas of the East China Sea, saying a Chinese fighter flew within roughly 30 metres (100 feet) of a Japanese military aircraft. A defence ministry spokesman said a Chinese Su-27 jet on Saturday flew close to a Japanese OP-3C surveillance plane above the waters where […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-fighters-in-dangerous-brush-with-japanese-planes-59704/

DefenceTalkJapan is to establish new military outposts on remote islands, a report said Monday, as Tokyo looks to bolster its defence amid a territorial dispute with China. Up to 350 troops each could be stationed on three islands in the far southwest, close to the Senkakus, which Beijing claims as its own under the name […]https://www.defencetalk.com/japan-to-establish-island-military-posts-report-59636/

DefenceTalkUnmanned aerial vehicles will monitor military build-ups as well as missile and nuclear development programs, but they are likely to be criticized by Beijing and Pyongyang for contributing to regional tensions. The US Air Force is to transfer two of its state-of-the-art Global Hawk drones to its air base at Misawa, in northern Japan, before […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-japan-prepare-to-deploy-surveillance-drones-59607/

DefenceTalkA Japanese man suspected of possessing guns made with a 3-D printer has been arrested, reports said Thursday, in what was said to be the country’s first such detention. Officers who raided the home of Yoshitomo Imura, a 27-year-old college employee, confiscated five weapons, two of which had the potential to fire lethal bullets, broadcaster […]https://www.defencetalk.com/japan-makes-first-arrest-over-3d-printer-guns-reports-59540/

DefenceTalkThe islands at the centre of a corrosive row between Tokyo and Beijing are covered by the US-Japan defence alliance, Barack Obama told a newspaper ahead of his arrival in Tokyo Wednesday. Obama, whose tour of Asia will also take in South Korea, the Philippines and Malaysia, is the first sitting US president to explicitly […]https://www.defencetalk.com/dispute-islands-within-scope-of-us-japan-alliance-obama-59387/

DefenceTalkJapan bolstered its military surveillance capabilities in the southern island region of Okinawa over the weekend, reports said, as territorial tensions with China simmer. The nation’s armed forces, called the Self-Defence Forces, launched a squadron of four E-2C early warning planes at its air base in Naha on the main Okinawan island Sunday, the Jiji […]https://www.defencetalk.com/japan-steps-up-surveillance-posture-against-china-59362/

DefenceTalkJapan’s defence minister said Sunday there have been an “abnormal” number of flights by Russian military aircraft close to Japanese islands in recent days. The country’s air defence force scrambled fighter jets for seven days in a row through Saturday after spotting Russian military planes flying along the Japanese archipelago, according to the defence ministry. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/japan-defense-chief-puzzled-by-russian-warplanes-59360/

DefenceTalkJapan has ordered a destroyer in the Sea of Japan to strike any ballistic missiles that may be launched by North Koreain the coming weeks after Pyongyang fired a Rodong medium-range missile over the sea, a government source said on Saturday. According to the Reuters report citing an unidentified government source, Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori […]https://www.defencetalk.com/japan-shoot-down-north-korean-ballistic-missile-test-59256/