DefenceTalkFor reasons a senior defense official said included North Korean provocations, treaty commitments to Japan and U.S. national security interests, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said today that the United States will send Japan two more Aegis-equipped ballistic-missile defense ships by 2017. The ships are designed to intercept ballistic missiles post-boost phase and before reentry. When […]https://www.defencetalk.com/hagel-us-sends-2-more-aegis-ships-to-japan-59247/

DefenceTalkThe Japanese Ministry of Defence has ordered four Bushmaster vehicles for deployment with the Japan Ground Self-Defence Force (JGSDF). The vehicles, all troop carrier variants, will be manufactured at the company’s facility in Bendigo, Victoria in Australia, for delivery in late 2014. Thales Australia CEO Chris Jenkins said: “This new export order demonstrates the ongoing […]https://www.defencetalk.com/japan-buys-thales-bushmasters-59251/

DefenceTalkJapan on Tuesday lifted a self-imposed ban on weapons exports, introducing new rules covering the arms trade in a move supporters say will boost Tokyo’s global role, but which unnerved China. The cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe approved a new plan that replaces the 1967 blanket ban, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/japan-lifts-own-blanket-arms-export-ban-59198/

DefenceTalkChief of Staff of the Army Gen. Ray Odierno said a military training relationship with China is possible as the U.S. strengthens its presence in the Asia-Pacific theater. Odierno met with leaders of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army last week to discuss mil-to-mil opportunities and said some guidelines were outlined. Speaking at the Center for […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-considers-military-relationships-with-china-59072/

DefenceTalkJapan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has drawn up plans to overhaul the pacifist country’s self-imposed ban on arms exports, an official said Thursday, in a move that could anger China. The government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has delivered the blueprint to lawmakers in his party and coalition partner New Komeito, according to an […]https://www.defencetalk.com/japan-draws-up-overhaul-of-arms-export-ban-59014/

DefenceTalkChinese state-run media said Thursday the nation’s defence budget would keep expanding but was not evidence of a mounting threat, after the government announced a 12.2 percent rise for 2014. “China has no intention of overturning the current international security pattern,” the Global Times, which is close to the ruling Communist Party, said in an […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-will-not-stop-increasing-military-spending-media-58954/

DefenceTalkSecretary of State John Kerry vowed Friday that the United States would defend Japan against attack including over islands claimed by China as tensions boil between the Asian powers. Kerry, who said he would visit China next week, met in Washington with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and reaffirmed the 1960 treaty that commits the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-vows-to-defend-japan-against-china-50681/

DefenceTalkChina has accused Japan of heightening regional tensions with “rumors” that Beijing planned to declare a new air defense zone over the South China Sea. Foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said right-wing forces in Japan had repeatedly made such allegations with the intention of shifting international attention from the “plot” to change Japan’s pacifist constitution, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-accuses-japan-of-stoking-tensions-with-air-defense-rumors-50234/

DefenceTalkTwo men died after their fishing boat collided with a Japanese naval vessel in waters between two of the country’s main islands, a report said Thursday. Television footage showed the upturned hull of a small fishing boat in the Seto Inland Sea off Hiroshima after what the coastguard said was a collision at around 8:00 […]https://www.defencetalk.com/two-dead-after-japan-navy-collision-report-50129/

DefenceTalkDue to a lack of security agreements and codes of conduct, East Asian countries continue their naval arms race, increasing the risk of a military confrontation as rapidly expanding economies vie for scarce resources. The first of six Russian kilo-class submarines arrived at Cam Ranh naval base just in time for the New Year. The […]https://www.defencetalk.com/southeast-east-asia-build-up-naval-capabilities-50107/