News Report: Military Buildup - China Installs Anti-Frogman Guns in South China Sea

China's Artificial Island built on Fiery Cross Island (Sep 2015)

China has reportedly further militarized a disputed reef in the South China Sea, just days after agreeing to minimize tensions with Vietnam.

China’s increasing military capabilities are proudly on display: according to Chinese state-run newspaper the Defense Times, Norinco CS-AR-1 55mm rocket launchers have been installed on the Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands. The defense systems are able to detect and engage enemy combat divers.

Frogmen are mainly used by Special Forces divisions since underwater divers and small-scale vehicles are notoriously difficult for to target. They have been used by Vietnam since 2014 to install particular fishing nets throughout the South China Sea.

News Report: In Sign of Closer Sino-Philippine Ties, US Naval Exercises Skip a Disputed Sea

Ralph Jennings

TAIPEI — Annual exercises held by the Philippine and U.S. navies are skipping the South China Sea this year as the Southeast Asian nation’s leader takes another step toward a stronger political and economic relationship with China, the sea’s most ambitious claimant.

The “Balikatan” military exercises May 8-19 include a disaster drill off Aurora province on the Pacific Ocean side of the main Philippine island, Luzon. They have kept clear of disputed tracts in the South China Sea. Beijing’s maritime claims overlap Manila’s in the South China Sea off the west Luzon coast.

Avoidance of the disputed sea advances Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s friendship with China after four years of open disagreement that had landed in a world arbitration court.

“President Duterte has never been a true geopolitical person, which means that foreign policy is about economic policy, and you can see this in the way he actually justifies or explains the approach to China,” said Herman Kraft, a political scientist at University of the Philippines Diliman.

News Story: US admiral - North Korea's actions 'recipe for disaster'

TOKYO (AP) -- The top American military officer in the Pacific said Wednesday that North Korea's recent military actions are "a recipe for a disaster" and warned against a sense of complacency in the face of increasing tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Adm. Harry Harris Jr. made the remarks at a lecture for a Tokyo think tank after meeting with Japanese leaders that he said focused on North Korea's missile and nuclear programs.

North Korea test-launched a missile on Sunday that many experts believe could be its most advanced yet, flying higher and longer than any previous missile.

"Combining nuclear warheads with ballistic technology in the hands of a volatile leader like Kim Jong Un is a recipe for a disaster," Harris said. "Kim Jong Un is not afraid to fail in public and every test he makes is a success because it takes North Korea one step closer to being able to deliver a nuclear-equipped missile anywhere in the world."

Read the full story at The Mainichi

News Story: Amid watered down statement, ASEAN ministers share South China Sea concern with Tillerson

By Patricia Lourdes Viray

MANILA, Philippines — Some Southeast Asian nations remain concerned over the militarization and land reclamation activities of Beijing in the South China Sea, according to the US Department of State.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson recently hosted a meeting with foreign ministers of member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Washington.

The meeting comes a few days after the conclusion of the 30th ASEAN Leaders' Summit in Manila.

US Department of State spokesperson Heather Nauert said that Tillerson and the ASEAN foreign ministers reaffirmed their adherence to a rules-based order in the Asia Pacific and to the common principles stipulated in the 2016 joint statement of the US-ASEAN Special Leaders' Summit.

"The Secretary noted shared concerns by many in the region regarding militarization and land reclamation in the South China Sea," Nauert said in a statement released Friday (Manila time).

In the "Sunnylands Declaration" issued in February last year, former US President Barack Obama and ASEAN leaders expressed stronger commitment to keeping peace in the South China Sea.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Report: Satellite Images Show North Korea Building Islands for Launching Missiles

Reports surfaced Wednesday that North Korea is constructing three islands in the Yellow Sea for the purpose of establishing military bases for missile launches.

The Los Angeles Times obtained satellite images indicating that since 2012, at least three islands have been built with rectangular lots, paved roads and other markers of a military installation. 

"We can't make definitive statements as to what these islands are being used for," Ryan Barenklau, an executive with intelligence firm Strategic Sentinel, told the Times. "Military use is likely. Roads on the islands feature wide turns, indicating that they could be used for various military vehicles." 

Barenklau also suggested that light patches could indicate heat-resistant cement ideal for launch pads, and noted observation areas, possibly for the use of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.