Tag - military

 
 

MILITARY

ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 19, 2016
Beijing says Manila exaggerating tensions with aircraft claim
China accused the Philippines on Tuesday of deliberately trying to scare people by saying China had warned a small civilian plane carrying Philippine officials it was trespassing as they inspected an island in the disputed South China Sea.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 19, 2016
North Korean propaganda drops into defector's yard in South
The irony wasn't lost on Lee Min Bok when he spotted propaganda leaflets fluttering down in front of his home just south of the border dividing the Korean peninsula: it was airborne pamphlets flown the other way that convinced him to defect from the north more than two decades ago.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 19, 2016
Australian leader urges China to avoid territorial moves that could spur conflict with U.S.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has called on China to avoid actions in pursuit of territorial claims in Asia that could make conflict with the United States more likely.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 19, 2016
Nuclear test seen as move to boost Kim's legitimacy as Pyongyang readies for rare party congress
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's recent nuclear weapon test was designed to boost his domestic legitimacy ahead of a rare ruling party conference in May that could formalize market-based economic experiments in the isolated country, analysts say.
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Jan 19, 2016
After signing of nuclear deal, Iran moves from being pariah state to regional power
Iran's release from sanctions testifies to its new relationship with the United States as it moves from pariah state to regional power, a status that could come at the cost of Saudi Arabia, Washington's chief Arab ally.
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Jan 18, 2016
South China Sea? For Beijing, Taiwan is the No. 1 security issue
For China, whose President Xi Jinping is already taking an increasingly muscular approach to claims in the East and South China seas, the question of Taiwan trumps any other of its territorial assertions in terms of sensitivity and importance.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 15, 2016
China seeks investment for disputed islands, plans to launch flights
China will invite private investment to build infrastructure on islands it controls in the disputed South China Sea and will this year start regular flights to one of them, state media said Friday, moves likely to anger other claimants.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 14, 2016
Shipping unscathed as China flights raise South China Sea tensions
China's growing military presence in the South China Sea has drawn warnings from the United States that Beijing is seeking to exert control over one of the world's most important sea lanes, but so far the shipping industry seems less concerned.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 14, 2016
Philippines urges patrols with U.S. amid maritime dispute with China
The Philippines has asked the United States to hold joint naval patrols, a Defense Ministry spokesman said Thursday, amid a territorial dispute with China in the South China Sea.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 14, 2016
Don't believe all the myths about North Korea
Before figuring out what can be done about North Korea and its seemingly crazy dictatorship, we mustn't fall prey to four common myths about the hermit kingdom.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 14, 2016
Wrong way to show resolve
When it comes to North Korea, the United States and South Korea fundamentally misunderstand what it means to demonstrate resolve.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 14, 2016
Japan, S. Korea, U.S. to push for new sanctions against North
Top nuclear envoys from Japan, South Korea and the United States have agreed to push for "meaningful and new sanctions" in response to North Korea's latest globally condemned nuclear test, according to U.S. envoy Sung Kim.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 13, 2016
Japan-South Korea anti-piracy drill went ahead unannounced before 'comfort women' talks
Japan did not announce an anti-piracy drill it conducted with South Korea in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia in late December due to concerns that doing so could impede bilateral negotiations to resolve the so-called "comfort women" issue, a senior Japanese government official said Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Jan 13, 2016
U.S.-Philippine military deal ruling likely to bolster Tokyo's ties with Manila
A top-court ruling may bolster Manila's security ties with Tokyo as it grapples with an increasingly bellicose Beijing.
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Jan 13, 2016
North Korea turns more erratic as Kim's inner circle shrinks
Days after North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test, its official television network showed the No. 2 man in the regime, 60-something Gen. Hwang Pyong So, kneeling and covering his mouth to address leader Kim Jong Un, who nodded in his seat as he turned his face away.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 13, 2016
Some Iranians in U.S. prisons hope for early release as relations thaw
Vahid Hosseini struggled to make it in the United States after he left Iran 25 years ago. A trained engineer, he hauled trash, delivered pizza and worked in landscaping.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 13, 2016
China fleet blurs line between navy and coast guard with giant new floating fortress
China has nearly finished a giant coast guard ship and will probably deploy it armed with machine guns and shells in the disputed South China Sea, the Global Times reported, dubbing the vessel "The Beast."
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 12, 2016
China sets up new military units, including graft-busting team
China's military has set up 15 new units — covering everything from logistics to equipment development, political work and fighting corruption — as part of an ongoing drive to modernize the world's largest armed forces, the Defense Ministry said.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 12, 2016
Analysis finds North Korea faked footage showing submarine-launched missile test
Footage of a North Korean submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) test released by Pyongyang two days after it announced it had conducted the country's fourth nuclear test last week was faked, according to an analysis by a California-based think tank.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 12, 2016
U.S. official says Washington may send strategic assets, but no warheads, to South Korea
The United States and South Korea are discussing deploying more U.S. "strategic assets" to the region after North Korea's atomic test last week but not restoring U.S. nuclear arms to the South, a U.S. official said Monday.

Longform

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals