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March 26, 2025
 

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PLA

Soldiers take part in the first day of the annual Han Kuang military drills in Taoyuan, Taiwan, in July last year.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 19, 2025
Taiwan defense drills identify 2027 for potential China invasion for first time
The Taiwanese Defense Ministry unveiled the date in a document released Tuesday to brief lawmakers on upcoming war games simulating an attack by the Chinese military.
A Taiwanese military honor guard holds Taiwanese flags during an open day event for the public at the Keelung port on the island Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 18, 2025
China sends most military aircraft near Taiwan since October
Beijing's military move came days after the democratic island’s president called it “a foreign hostile force.”
The Virginia-class fast attack submarine USS Minnesota is seen off the coast of Western Australia on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 17, 2025
U.S. starts to build submarine presence on strategic Australian coast under AUKUS
U.S. Navy personnel are due to arrive by the middle of the year at Western Australia's HMAS Stirling base to prepare for the Submarine Rotational Force West.
Officials from Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR), the Ministry of National Defense’s research arm, say the lessons from the Ukraine conflict are clear for the democratic island: drones and other autonomous systems are crucial for its defense.
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Mar 14, 2025
Drones, budgets and infighting: Taiwan's daunting defense challenges
In bridging its military gap with China, Taiwan needs to both overcome key technical challenges of asymmetric warfare.
People hold a Ukrainian flag and a Taiwan flag during a protest to mark the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Taipei on Feb. 23.
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Mar 11, 2025
‘We are not Ukraine’: Top Taiwan officials temper comparisons after U.S. U-turn
Top Taiwanese officials believe the U.S. will stay invested in the island's security as Washington remains united on the need to counter China.
People rest inside the sports hall of an elementary school that was transformed into temporary accommodations for people fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in Przemysl, Poland, in March 2022. Geography and geopolitical interests mean that Japan could find itself assuming a supporting role similar to Poland's should China ever attack Taiwan.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 10, 2025
Poland’s role in Ukraine war offers lessons for Japan, top envoy says
Geography and geopolitical interests mean that Tokyo could find itself assuming a supporting role similar to Warsaw’s should China ever attack Taiwan.
Military delegates arrive for the opening session of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 5, 2025
China says it will boost defense spending by 7.2% this year
The 1.78 trillion yuan ($246 billion) budget was revealed at the annual session of China’s National People’s Congress on Wednesday.
Elbridge Colby appears at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee to be undersecretary of defense for policy at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 5, 2025
Trump Pentagon policy pick pushes Japan and Taiwan to boost defense spending
Tokyo should boost its defense budget to 3% of GDP "as soon as possible,” said Elbridge Colby, Trump's pick for the top policy job at the Pentagon.
Taiwanese Defense Minister Wellington Koo gives a short speech during a media briefing in Taipei on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 4, 2025
Taiwan says U.S. will 'not abandon' Asia-Pacific region
The remarks by Taiwan's defense minister came days after U.S. President Donald Trump's fiery clash with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's destroyer Akizuki (far left) leads the MSDF fleet during a naval review in Sagami Bay, south of Tokyo, in October 2012.
JAPAN
Mar 3, 2025
Japanese destroyer passes through Taiwan Strait for just second time
The solo passage last month by the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Akizuki comes amid warming ties with Beijing, but also follows ramped-up military pressure by China.
China's recent naval exercises near Australia and New Zealand, though legal, highlight Beijing’s growing reach and willingness to test other nations' responses.
EDITORIALS
Feb 28, 2025
China pushes the military envelope with power projections
This week, Chinese ships conducted military exercises, including live-fire drills, in waters near Australia and New Zealand. While legal, the moves expose its hypocrisy.
U.S. President Donald Trump, flanked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio (left) and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, attends a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 27, 2025
Trump declines to say if U.S. would protect Taiwan from Chinese invasion
Trump's refusal to comment stood in stark contrast to his predecessor, Joe Biden, who repeatedly hinted that Washington would come to Taipei’s aid.
A Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy helicopter is seen from aboard a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) aircraft in the skies above Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea on Feb. 18.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 26, 2025
Standoff in the skies: Witnessing an unsafe intercept over the South China Sea
A Chinese military helicopter edged dangerously close to a Philippine plane on patrol over the flash point Scarborough Shoal, an incident witnessed by The Japan Times.
Taiwanese Air Force Indigenous Defense Fighter aircraft taxi for takeoff during a scramble as part of a combat readiness exercise at the Ching Chuan Kang Air Base in Taichung, Taiwan, on Jan. 7.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 26, 2025
China holds 'shooting' drills off Taiwan's coast, vows 'reunification' push
Taipei said the exercises endanger the safety of international flights and shipping and are a "blatant provocation" to regional peace and stability.
The People's Liberation Army Navy's Jiangkai-class frigate Hengyang, part of a flotilla sailing inside Australia's exclusive economic zone on Wednesday, is seen at an undisclosed location in this image taken on Feb. 11.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 26, 2025
'Provocative' Chinese warship near Australia puts Japan on notice
Canberra surmised that China's military moves were intended to “shape the responses of those in the region and observe and learn from our reactions.”
Sailors on board the Royal Australian Navy ship HMAS Arunta observe the People's Liberation Army Navy Fuchi-class replenishment vessel and Weishanhu Jiangkai-class frigate Hengyang in the Tasman Sea. Australia's foreign minister voiced concern on Friday over live-fire drills conducted by three Chinese warships sailing off the country's east coast.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 25, 2025
Chinese navy drill in Tasman Sea forced 49 flights to change paths
Authorities had been alerted to the rare live-fire exercise in international waters by an airline pilot, the head of Australia's air traffic control agency says.
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles listens during an AUKUS meeting in London on Sept. 26, 2024.
WORLD
Feb 23, 2025
New Zealand says China navy held another live-fire drill in international waters
Similar drills a day earlier had forced airlines in the area to divert some flights.
The U.S. State Department has dropped the phrase "we do not support Taiwan independence" from a fact sheet on the democratic island on its website.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 16, 2025
U.S. drops website wording on not supporting Taiwan independence
The page has also added a reference to Taiwan's cooperation with a Pentagon technology and semiconductor development project.
China has accused Australia of deliberately provoking it with a patrol in the South China Sea this week.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 14, 2025
China accuses Australia of deliberate provocation in South China Sea
Australia defends its patrol after China condemns its actions in disputed waters, calling the mission a lawful operation.
The U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson conducts routine operations in the South China Sea last August. The vessel, along with survey ship USNS Bowditch, carried out a “routine” transit through the Taiwan Strait from Monday to Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 12, 2025
U.S. warship sails through Taiwan Strait for first time since Trump inauguration
China's military said the move had "sent the wrong signals" and "increased security risks” in the strategic waterway.
Ozeki Onosato on doorstep of yokozuna promotion after latest title
Onosato celebrates after winning the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka on Sunday.
Japan's first foreign swordsmith opens workshop in Hiroshima Prefecture
Johan Leutwiler checks a sword he made at his workshop studio in the Kui district of Mihara, Hiroshima Prefecture.
Tokyo court strips Unification Church of religious corporation status
Nobuya Fukumoto (far left), a lawyer for the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, known as the Unification Church, is surrounded by the media at the Tokyo District Court on Tuesday after it ordered the group to be stripped of its religious corporation status.
Japan launches new Joint Operations Command to unify SDF branches
The head of the Self-Defense Forces' new Joint Operations Command, Gen. Kenichiro Nagumo, inspects an honor guard Monday morning at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo.
Applications for forgery-proof passports start in Japan
New Japanese passports will be printed using laser technology based on banknote printing techniques, making forgery more difficult.
Cherry blossom season kicks off in Tokyo after warm weekend
Blooms are seen on the Meteorological Agency's sample cherry tree at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Monday.
Japanese wages likely to rise more than 5% again this year
Wages are set for another big increase this year as annual negotiations secure generous agreements.
Stay at home if Mount Fuji erupts, government panel says
Mount Fuji in November. For the first time, the government has released specific guidelines on how residents should act in the event that Mount Fuji erupts.
In pictures: Tokyo's weeklong celebration of baseball's best
Shohei Ohtani belts a home run in the fifth inning of the second game of the Tokyo Series between the Dodgers and Cubs.
What's the fuss over Ishiba's gift vouchers?
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba waits for a session of the House of Councillors Budget Committee to begin in Tokyo on Friday.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The sun shines from behind a waving Philippine flag at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial.
Eighty years after the Battle of Manila, old foes forge new ties
By Anton L. Delgado

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