News Story: S. Korean military to share anti-chemical expertise with OPCW members

SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's military unit tasked with chemical, biological and radiological (CBR) defense said Monday it will offer international training this week in partnership with a relevant global agency.

Fifteen delegates from a dozen Asian member states of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) will join the five-day program to open here later in the day, according to the CBR Defense Command.

The countries include Nepal, Pakistan, Iran and the Philippines, it added.

Under the annual training program launched in 2005, an advanced member of the OPCW provides developing ones with education and technology related to the fight against possible CBR attacks.

Read the full story at YonhapNews

Think Tank: Sea, air, land and space updates (4-Jul-2017)

HMS Queen Elizabeth (File Photo)

Zoe Glasson, Sophie Qin, Madeleine Nyst and Patrick Kennedy

Sea state

After a tricky few weeks, HMS Queen Elizabeth’s cyber security resilience has been called into question after photos taken during a tour of the ship appeared to show computer screens running the out-dated Windows XP operating system—the same system targeted by the recent WannaCry ransomware attack. In response, the Ministry of Defence said that Windows XP wouldn’t be used ‘when the ship becomes operational’, but many still criticised the claim that the system wasn’t vulnerable to attack. In defence of the carrier’s cyber capabilities, Commander Mark Deller said the crew included a specialist cyber team and that, with respect to naval procurement, we should ‘think more NASA than NHS’.

After Boaty McBoatface set off on its maiden mission earlier in the year, scientists have reported that it has obtained ‘unprecedented data’ from the Orkney Passage, about 800 km from the Arctic Peninsula. Water flow speed, underwater turbulence and temperature data collected by Boaty (from as deep as 4,000 m) will improve scientists’ understanding of ‘the complex ways that mixing ocean waters affect climate change’.

Also, Australia may soon get its very own Boaty McBoatface—the Australian Antarctic Division is running a competition for school students to name Australia’s new Antarctic icebreaker. Any suggestions?

USA: Possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of India for CBRN support equipment

WASHINGTON, May 11, 2017 - The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of India for CBRN support equipment. The estimated cost is $75 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on May 10, 2017.

The Government of India (GoI) has requested a possible sale of 38,034 M50 general purpose masks; Joint Service Lightweight Integrated Suit Technology (JSLIST), which consists of 38,034 each: suits, pairs of trousers, pairs of gloves, pairs of boots and NBC bags; 854 aprons; 854 alternative aprons; 9,509 Quick Doff Hoods; and 114,102 M61 filters. Also included in the potential sale is training; technical data; U.S. Government technical assistance; staging/consolidation; transportation; and other related elements of logistics support. The estimated cost is $75 million.

News Report: Chemical Weapons Could Be Used Against India in War, Indian Army Chief Warns

Indian Army chief becomes second person in military establishment to talk of possible chemical or biological weapon attack.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — The Indian Army chief has asked Indians to be prepared for chemical and biological weapons in the event of aggression by either Pakistan or China. This is the second time that such a senior person in the military establishment has warned of biological and chemical weapons.

"Although chemical weapons have been banned by the United Nations, it could be used by an adversary," Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat said at an event where the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) handed over the Nuclear, Biological, Chemical Reconnaissance Vehicle (NBCRV) and medicines to the Indian Army.

Earlier, India's Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar had also expressed concern over possible use of these weapons in a limited war. "In southern and northern parts of Afghanistan, I have seen photographs of local population suffering from blisters. At this moment, I don't have confirmation on this, but the photos were quite disturbing," Parrikar had said.

News Story: Indonesian suspect says knowing no plan about DPRK man killing in Kuala Lumpur airport

Kim Jong-Nam (Image: Flickr User - Conecta Abogados)

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Indonesian woman suspect believed to be the one carrying out the deadly attack on a man from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) at the Kuala Lumpur airport told Indonesian officials Saturday that she thought she was doing a prank using "baby oil".

Siti Aisyah, a 25-year-old girl from Indonesia's Serang, was allowed to meet Indonesian diplomats for the first time on Saturday at a detention center in Cyberjaya.

Andriano Erwin, Indonesia's deputy ambassador to Malaysia, told reporters after the meeting that Siti said she did not know any kind of plans involving an attack or an assassination of the DPRK man.

Siti also said she was paid 400 ringgit (90 U.S. dollars) to join a reality show, Andriano told the press.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Malaysian expert warns of risks following radioactive equipment theft

Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Malaysian security expert Andrin Raj on February 14 warned of risks following theft of two projectors containing radioactive substance Iridium-92.

Iridium-92 has been sought by terrorist groups, including the self-claimed Islamic State (IS), to create bombs, Raj said, adding that the discovery of Iridium-92 in Klang, Selagor state, showed that Malaysia is becoming a main entrepot and a base for extremists.

He stressed that the incident posed a warning to Malaysia as the radioactive substance can be found easily in this country, while it is impossible in other ASEAN nations.

The expert added that the danger of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives (CBRNe) has become new threats in the Southeast Asia.

Read the full story at VietnamPlus