While everyone’s anxiously watching and analysing the events unravelling in the South China Sea, there’s another resource conflict involving China that also deserves attention. In the Himalayas, China and India are competing for valuable hydropower …
Sea State The Taiwanese Navy will procure eight to ten MH-60R Seahawk anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopters in a US$700–800 million deal under the US Foreign Military Sales program, with a letter of acceptance expected in …
Sea State It’s been an interesting week for anyone following the developments in the South China Sea. US Commander of the Pacific Fleet Admiral Scott Swift took a trip in one of the USN’s newest …
Sea State In a move that’s shocked the Asia–Pacific and rattled the US, Thailand’s military government has announced that it will purchase Chinese submarines. There are several likely reasons for this decision, which effectively moves …
During Asia-Pacific security dialogues such as the Shangri-La Dialogue and ASPI’s recent Northeast Asian Forum, the lack of trust between major players is commonly identified as a reason for limited regional cooperation on strategic and defence …
Sea State The two-week long Talisman Sabre exercise began on Sunday, with 40 Japanese personnel joining Australian, New Zealand and American forces for the first time. John Lee, a China specialist from the University of …
Sea State Despite recent diplomatic tensions, two Indonesian navy vessels have docked in Darwin for annual Australian–Indonesian joint maritime exercises. Also known as AUSINDO CORPAT, the drills are designed to improve coordinated maritime security between …
Sea State Japan’s Defense Ministry plans to build two new destroyers armed with Aegis’ upgraded Ballistic Missile Defence system, which is capable of shooting down both high-altitude ballistic missiles and low-altitude anti-ship missiles. The first …
Sea State The Friday before last, Defence Minister Kevin Andrews announced that the panel overseeing the competitive evaluation process for Australia’s future submarine project will be headed by Professor Donald Winter—a former secretary of the …
Sea State The 2015 Shangri-La Dialogue ran over the weekend, and maritime security issues featured prominently in the wake of escalating tensions in the South China Sea. In his keynote address, US Secretary of Defense …
Sea State Last week, TKMS opened its dockyards in Kiel to visiting Australian defence writers to discuss its submarine and surface fleet operations. The Germans have displayed a transparency in the competitive evaluation process that …
Sea State At last week’s MAST Asia 2015 conference on maritime defence and security technology in Yokohama, it became apparent that Japan’s two largest defence manufacturers—Mitsubishi and Kawasaki—are awaiting the Japanese government’s lead on two …