ASIA & THE PACIFIC :

See also Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar 10, by Mark Magnier
India embraces Russia arms
'New Delhi signs five deals, buying fighter jets, an aircraft carrier and nuclear reactors.'

New York Times, 07 Mar 10, by Michael Wines
China Blames U.S. for Strained Relations
'[China's foreign minister] Yang Jiechi, said at a news conference that the administration of President Obama had seriously disrupted the relationship by announcing the sale of weapons to Taiwan and holding a White House meeting with the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, in a three-week period this year.'

Christian Science Monitor, 04 Mar 10, by Kristen Chick
China's military spending slows, on paper
'After more than two decades of double-digit annual growth in defense spending, Beijing announced its budget would grow 7.5 percent in 2010. But analysts say China's military spending is only slowing on paper.'

New York Times, 09 Mar 10, by Martin Fackler
Japan Says It Allowed U.S. Nuclear Ships to Port
'Japan ended decades of denials on Tuesday by confirming the existence of secret cold war-era agreements with Washington that, among other things, had allowed American nuclear-armed warships to sail into Japanese ports in violation of Japan’s non-nuclear policies.'

Christian Science Monitor, 02 Mar 10, by Peter Ford
Japan stymied on US base in Okinawa as deadline nears
'Japan may try again to relocate the Futenma US base in Okinawa to the fishing village of Henoko, ahead of a May deadline to resolve the issue. But both antibase activists and the US have voiced objections to that plan.'

Christian Science Monitor, 02 Mar 10, by Peter Ford
Why some in Japan support US bases in Okinawa
'Japan is host to more than a dozen US bases in Okinawa. Some residents of the island's small port of Henoko, where the US wants to build a controversial military base, say they could use the boost to business.'

Washington Post, 02 Mar 10, by John Pomfret
White House wary of growing military ties between Burma, N. Korea
'The Obama administration is concerned that Burma is expanding its military relationship with North Korea and has launched an aggressive campaign to convince Burma's junta to stop buying North Korean military technology, U.S. officials said.'

Washington Post, 03 Mar 10, by John Pomfret
U.S. floats plan to lift ban on training Indonesia's Kopassus unit
'As President Obama prepares to travel to Indonesia, his administration is seeking to reverse a 12-year-old ban on training an elite unit of the Indonesian military whose members have been convicted of beatings, kidnappings and other abuses.'

Christian Science Monitor, 01 Mar 10, by Simon Montlake
Why Thailand still uses discredited bomb detectors
'The governments of Thailand and Britain have deemed the GT200 bomb detector unreliable, but the Thai military continues to use it to make arrests in the Muslim south.'

New York Times, 19 Feb 10, by Edward Wong
Rift Grows as U.S. and China Seek Differing Goals
'... [Obama's meeting with the Dalai Lama] and the routine announcement last month of American arms sales to Taiwan, were taken as the latest signs that despite China’s rapid ascent, the American government still refused to compromise on issues that China considered sacrosanct: matters of sovereignty and territorial integrity.'

Christian Science Monitor, 18 Feb 10, by Jonathan Adams
Why US ignores China and sells arms to Taiwan
'Riling China, the US's newest $6.4 billion sale includes 60 Blackhawk helicopters, Patriot missiles, and sophisticated command-and-control software.'

Asia Times, 05 Feb 10, by Axel Berkofsky
Okinawa call to shape new US-Japan era
'Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has given his government a deadline of May to decide whether or not Tokyo will stick to a Japan-United States agreement from 2006 on the relocation of US troops in Japan.'

Asia Times, 04 Feb 10, by Peter J Brown
US's strike threat catches China off guard
'The United States plans to unveil later this decade a new conventional "Prompt Global Strike" (C-PGS) system. It will enable the US to instantly carry out a massive conventional attack anywhere in the world in an hour or less.'

Christian Science Monitor, 26 Jan 10, by Simon Montlake
Philippines peace talks regain traction after lengthy hiatus
'The Philippines’ peace talks with the largest insurgency group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, have shown staying power since resuming last month after folding in 2008.'

Washington Post, 19 Jan 10, by Craig Whitlock
Gates meets with Indian leaders on combating terrorism
'On a two-day trip to New Delhi, Gates on Tuesday met with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other officials to bolster U.S.-Indian military ties and discuss a joint approach to combating al-Qaeda and regional terrorist groups.'

New York Times, 20 Jan 10, by Elisabeth Bumiller
Gates, in India, Warns of Interlocking Terror Networks
'Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates warned on Wednesday that a “syndicate of terrorist operators” on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border was working to destabilize the entire region, and that singling out only one extremist group for elimination would not solve the overall problem.'

New York Times, 20 Jan 10, by Choe Sang-Hun
South Korea Warns North on a First Nuclear Strike
'South Korea would launch a pre-emptive conventional strike against the North if there were clear indications of an impending nuclear attack, the South Korean defense minister said Wednesday ...'

Christian Science Monitor, 19 Jan 10, by Simon Montlake
US faces slog against Philippine militants, even with winning strategy
'The US and Philippines can claim many successes since joining forces in counterterrorism after 9/11, but uprooting militancy altogether remains elusive.'

New York Times, 12 Jan 10, by Andrew Jacobs and Jonathan Ansfield
With Defense Test, China Shows Displeasure of U.S.
'China said late Monday that it had successfully tested the nation’s first land-based missile defense system, announcing the news in a brief dispatch by Xinhua, the official news agency. “The test is defensive in nature and is not targeted at any country,” the item said.'

New York Times, 12 Jan 10, by Mark Landler
Clinton Tries to Defuse Asian Tension
'With tensions rising between the United States and both Japan and China, Asia has emerged as a diplomatic hornet’s nest, even beyond the perennial threat of North Korea.'

Washington Post, 14 Jan 10, by Ariana Eunjung Cha and Ellen Nakashima
Google China cyberattack part of vast espionage campaign, experts say
'Computer attacks on Google that the search giant said originated in China were part of a concerted political and corporate espionage effort that exploited security flaws in e-mail attachments to sneak into the networks of major financial, defense and technology companies and research institutions in the United States, security experts said.'

Christian Science Monitor, 03 Jan 10, by Donald Kirk
What's behind North Korea's new 'peace offensive'?
'While North Korea's New Year’s reconciliation message may be a sign of its willingness to return to six-party talks, it bears no clue as to whether the North would give up its nuclear program before attaining a number of other goals.'

See Asia and the Pacific archive for past stories.