China Base Sparks ‘Very Significant Security Concerns’

China Base Sparks ‘Very Significant Security Concerns’
China Base Sparks ‘Very Significant Security Concerns’

WASHINGTON: For the first time, an important United States military base, one where a great deal of highly classified communications, intelligence and operations occur, sits within a few miles of a military competitor, China. Where? Djibouti, the tiny African state that sits on the Horn of Africa across from Yemen and sits astride the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. It…

US Must Do More In South China Sea, Urges Sen. McCain

US Must Do More In South China Sea, Urges Sen. McCain
US Must Do More In South China Sea, Urges Sen. McCain

SINGAPORE: In a clear message to the Obama Administration, our Pacific partners and to China, Sen. John McCain says the US military is not doing enough to challenge Chinese claims in the strategic South China Sea. Nor is the US doing enough to ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact, a vital economic objective in the…

Carter Evasive On South China Sea While China Targets Philippines

Carter Evasive On South China Sea While China Targets Philippines
Carter Evasive On South China Sea While China Targets Philippines

In its eagerness to avoid offending the Chinese, is the administration giving them a green light in the disputed South China Sea? This afternoon, on the eve of his departure for the Philippines and India, Defense Secretary Ash Carter carefully tiptoed around ongoing Chinese national security provocations. Several experts I spoke to were not reassured. Carter…

US Will Push Chinese Harder On Territorial Claims: PACOM

US Will Push Chinese Harder On Territorial Claims: PACOM
US Will Push Chinese Harder On Territorial Claims: PACOM

UPDATE: USS Wilbur sails through Paracel Islands Friday WASHINGTON: The United States will keep challenging Chinese claims in the South China Sea, the head of Pacific Command said this afternoon. Such Freedom of Navigation operations will grow in frequency, complexity, and scope, said Adm. Harry Harris. And Harris defended the first such FON operation” since 2012, last October’s cruise of the…

US Bombers, Tankers May Operate From Australia

US Bombers, Tankers May Operate From Australia
US Bombers, Tankers May Operate From Australia

WASHINGTON: While I hear there are still difficult details to be ironed out, the United States and Australia appear close to agreeing to regularly fly strategic bombers and airborne tankers from Darwin and Tindal air base in Australia. Gen. Lori Robinson, the commander of Pacific Air Forces, told reporters at a Defense Writers Group breakfast this morning that…

‘Absolute Nightmare’ As Chinese Destroy South China Reefs; Fish Stocks At Risk

‘Absolute Nightmare’ As Chinese Destroy South China Reefs; Fish Stocks At Risk
‘Absolute Nightmare’ As Chinese Destroy South China Reefs; Fish Stocks At Risk

UPDATED: Obama Calls On China To Halt Reclamation On Reefs WASHINGTON:  China is destroying swaths of coral reefs in one of the most important fisheries in Asia and causing enormous environmental damage as it builds the fake islands it is putting up in the South China Sea, To get some idea as to just how extensive China’s…

Summits Over Substance: Obama Yields To Chinese President Xi

Summits Over Substance: Obama Yields To Chinese President Xi
Summits Over Substance: Obama Yields To Chinese President Xi

  As Washington gears up for the visit of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, right on the heels of the Pontiff, there is a growing urgency for the United States to make clear to Beijing that its behavior is leading to increased tension at both the bilateral and regional level. But, there appears little appetite for…

Rivet Joint Crew Reports ‘Unsafe’ Move By Chinese Jet;  McCain Weighs In

Rivet Joint Crew Reports ‘Unsafe’ Move By Chinese Jet;  McCain Weighs In
Rivet Joint Crew Reports ‘Unsafe’ Move By Chinese Jet; McCain Weighs In

WASHINGTON: Timing matters in war and diplomacy. A Chinese JH-7 pilot performed an “unsafe” maneuver in close proximity to an RC-135 Rivet Joint surveillance aircraft on Sept. 15, the Pentagon confirmed today. With Chinese President Xi Jinping arriving in Seattle tomorrow, one wonders whether the pilot is being praised as a champion of Chinese sovereignty…

The Pope Boasts Many (Unarmed) Divisions, Great Intel

The Pope Boasts Many (Unarmed) Divisions, Great Intel
The Pope Boasts Many (Unarmed) Divisions, Great Intel

WASHINGTON: The Vatican remains one of the world’s great powers. Pope Francis can’t deploy divisions, so Stalin might dismiss him and his organization. However, I’ve never forgotten a comment by Doug Simon, one of my Drew University political science professors at a semester I spent studying the United Nations. “Who do you think has the best intelligence organization in…

SecDef Carter Tells McCain Chinese Can Come To RIMPAC

SecDef Carter Tells McCain Chinese Can Come To RIMPAC
SecDef Carter Tells McCain Chinese Can Come To RIMPAC

WASHINGTON: Defense Secretary Ash Carter — for now — is resisting congressional calls to uninvite China from the biggest naval exercise in the world, known as RIMPAC. In a July 16 letter to Senate Armed Services Committee chairman John McCain, Carter goes to some lengths to avoid offending China, on the one hand, and, on the…