State Department Clears Israeli King Stallions, Javelins for Thailand

State Department Clears Israeli King Stallions, Javelins for Thailand
State Department Clears Israeli King Stallions, Javelins for Thailand

The announcement of the potential sale come as the Israeli government is sending signals to Washington that any renewed deal with Iran should come with more arms for Israel, including items not normally sold to allies.

Army’s SFAB Trainers Go Head To Head With Chinese in Asia, Africa

Army’s SFAB Trainers Go Head To Head With Chinese in Asia, Africa
Army’s SFAB Trainers Go Head To Head With Chinese in Asia, Africa

Brig. Gen. Curtis Taylor acknowledged that  in the Indo-Pacific, “it’s clear that we are in competition with China in every country that we’re going to.” 

Adm. Davidson: China Assaults International Order

Adm. Davidson: China Assaults International Order
Adm. Davidson: China Assaults International Order

The most profound change resulting from China’s military modernization has been in its space capabilities. Back in 2000 China only had 10 satellites in orbit, and this year it will launch more satellites than any other nation on the planet.

Will Trump’s Halt To US-South Korean Exercises Work? Remember The Vietnam Bombing Halt

Will Trump’s Halt To US-South Korean Exercises Work? Remember The Vietnam Bombing Halt
Will Trump’s Halt To US-South Korean Exercises Work? Remember The Vietnam Bombing Halt

President Trump announced that the United States would stop flying bombers over South Korea and suspend exercises there to facilitate diplomatic negotiations with North Korea. This echoes President Johnson’s March 1968 decision to halt the bombing of most of North Vietnam, also done to encourage negotiations. In 1968 the effort succeeded, at least in the short…

SecDef Mattis To Tap Former Army FAO For DASD South Asia

SecDef Mattis To Tap Former Army FAO For DASD South Asia
SecDef Mattis To Tap Former Army FAO For DASD South Asia

WASHINGTON: One of the more important national security jobs in this town, deputy assistant defense secretary for south and southeast asia, will be filled by a former Army officer with extensive foreign affairs and counterinsurgency experience, a well placed source tells us. Retired Col. Joe Felter, who now works at Stanford’s Hoover Institute, “led the…

1914 Redux? Growing Asia-Pacific Tensions Demand New US Strategy

1914 Redux? Growing Asia-Pacific Tensions Demand New US Strategy
1914 Redux? Growing Asia-Pacific Tensions Demand New US Strategy

American Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is paying his first visit to Asia this week. Just before he left, Acting Assistant Secretary of State Susan Thornton told reporters the Trump Administration “will have its own formulation” of the Pacific pivot, or the rebalance to Asia declared by the Obama Administration. “Pivot, rebalance, etcetera — that was a word that was…

US Ships, Planes Challenge 22 Countries’ Claims — Not Just China’s

US Ships, Planes Challenge 22 Countries’ Claims — Not Just China’s
US Ships, Planes Challenge 22 Countries’ Claims — Not Just China’s

WASHINGTON: In 2016, the Defense Department flew aircraft or steamed ships through territories claimed by Albania, Brazil, Italy, Japan, Malta, and, well, China, according to the Pentagon’s annual report released today. So should Beijing be relieved it was not the sole focus of American Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPS) or should it feel slighted that it…

SASC Puts Meat On Pacific Pivot’s Bones: $100M Annually For Partners

SASC Puts Meat On Pacific Pivot’s Bones: $100M Annually For Partners
SASC Puts Meat On Pacific Pivot’s Bones: $100M Annually For Partners

UPDATE: CSIS’ Mira Rapp-Hooper Praises Move CAPITOL HILL: The Pentagon wants to help our friends in the Pacific. It’s a core mission given America’s pivot back to the Pacific. But it’s hard to do. You can help their forces train with Foreign Military Financing, but it takes two years or so to get something going, and who gets what is really decided by the State…

Army Communications In Pacific Stretched, Tested

Army Communications In Pacific Stretched, Tested
Army Communications In Pacific Stretched, Tested

PENTAGON: As the US Army deploys more troops to the Pacific, it’s running into the limits of its long-range communications systems. The shortfall in comms capacity is not only becoming an issue as the service ramps up its “Pacific Pathways” exercises with Asian partners: It is also raising concerns about the network’s resiliency against a…

Allies Offer US Strong Advantages, And Some Risk, In China Rivalry

America counts heavily on a cordon of allies stretching from Japan to the north down to Thailand, and across to India, in the highly unlikely event of war with China. But these same allies could draw the U.S. into strictly local disputes in which America does not always have a clear security interest and which…

Knighthawks Head to First Foreign Customer, Thailand

Washington: For the first time, the Navy’s MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter is heading to a foreign military. The two helos delivered to the Thai navy today will give those forces the same combat search and rescue to troop transport capabilities as their U.S. Navy counterparts, said Michael Sears, the Navy’s international deputy program manager for the…