News Story: S. Korea, U.S. to end joint military exercise

SEOUL, Aug. 31 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States will wrap up their combined defense drills on Thursday as scheduled amid renewed tensions on the peninsula, officials said.

The annual Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) exercise, which started on Aug. 21, has involved more than 50,000 South Korea troops and around 17,500 American service members, including 3,000 from overseas bases.

Seven other member states of the United Nations Command -- Australia, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, New Zealand, the Netherlands and Britain -- also took part in it.

The command post practice has focused on war games based on the allies' Operational Plan 5015 for an emergency situation on the peninsula and joint deterrence strategies.

The North has protested the training with a series of provocations. It fired a ballistic missile on Tuesday that flew over Japan following the launch of three short-range rockets.

Read the full story at YonhapNews

News Story: S. Korea, U.S. in military drills amid N. Korea's threats

By Lee Chi-dong

SEOUL, Aug. 21 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean and U.S. militaries on Monday started their first major combined training since North Korea's test-firing of two long-range missiles and threat to shoot ballistic missiles toward Guam.

The Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) exercise will run through next Thursday, focusing on a "tailored joint deterrence strategy" based on the Operational Plan 5015 of the Combined Forces Command, officials said.

In an unusual gesture, three top U.S. military commanders -- Pacific Command chief Adm. Harry Harris, Strategic Command head Gen. John Hyten and Missile Defense Agency Director Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves -- will observe the command-post exercise in person.

It involves tens of thousands of South Korean soldiers. In a press statement, the Ministry of National Defense did not specify the number. Ministry officials said the size is similar to that of last year, roughly 50,000.

The U.S. has reduced the number of its participating service members to 17,500 from 25,000, according to the Pentagon. The troops include some 3,000 coming from off-peninsula.

Seven other member states of the United Nations Command -- Australia, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, New Zealand, the Netherlands and Britain -- are also taking part in it.

There's no report of the U.S. dispatching such high-profile weapons as aircraft carriers, nuclear-powered submarines or strategic bombers to the training.

"UFG is computer simulated defensive exercise designed to enhance readiness, protect the region and maintain stability on the Korean peninsula," it said.

Officials from the two countries denied speculation that links the decrease in the number of U.S. participants to an effort to cool down tensions on the peninsula.

Read the full story at YonhapNews

News Story: S. Korea, U.S. begin military drills amid N. Korea's threats

SEOUL, Aug. 21 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean and U.S. militaries on Monday started their first major combined training since North Korea's test-firing of two long-range missiles and threat to shoot ballistic missiles toward Guam.

The Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) exercise will run through next Thursday, focusing on a "tailored joint deterrence strategy" based on the Operational Plan 5015 of the Combined Forces Command, officials said.

In an unusual gesture, three top U.S. military commanders -- Pacific Command chief Adm. Harry Harris, Strategic Command head Gen. John Hyten and Missile Defense Agency Director Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves -- will observe the command-post exercise in person.

It involves tens of thousands of South Korean soldiers. In a press statement, the Ministry of National Defense did not specify the number. Ministry officials said the size is similar to that of last year, roughly 50,000.

The U.S. has reduced the number of its participating service members to 17,500 from 25,000, according to the Pentagon. The troops include some 3,000 coming from off-peninsula.

Seven other member states of the United Nations Command -- Australia, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, New Zealand, the Netherlands and Britain -- are also taking part in it.

Read the full story at YonhapNews

USA: Exercise to Strengthen Efforts in Defense of South Korea, Mattis Says

By Lisa Ferdinando 

DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Aug. 20, 2017 — A joint U.S.-South Korean computer-simulated defensive exercise set to kick off tomorrow is meant to strengthen joint efforts for the defense of South Korea, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said today.

Ulchi Freedom Guardian, which runs to Aug. 31, is focusing on command post operations for the integration of efforts, Mattis told reporters traveling with him while en route to Jordan on the first leg of an overseas trip.

"This right now is an exercise to make certain that we're ready to defend South Korea and our allies over there," he said, adding that "because of the specific circumstance, we want it to be a command post-heavy, command post exercise."

The exercise is defensive in nature, Mattis said, noting that joint exercises have been going on for decades. The exercise operates transparently and is carefully planned out to prevent any misinterpretation on what is occurring, he said.

"It's calculated to not allow for miscalculation," he added. The number of troops involved is because of the focus of this year's exercise -- command and control -- and not in response to any factor from North Korea, he explained.

News Report: Pyongyang - US, South Korean Military Drills Pushing Peninsula 'Into Nuclear War'

Joint military exercises by the US and South Korea are only "adding fuel to the fire" on the Korean Peninsula, Pyongyang said on Sunday.

The Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercises set to start on Monday, plus the new sanctions on North Korea by the US and the UN, are making things worse instead of easing tensions on the peninsula, the Pyongyang organ Rodong Sinmun said in a Sunday editorial, Yonhap reports.

Indeed, the exercises are "reckless behavior driving the situation into the uncontrollable phase of a nuclear war," Rodong Sinmun warned.

"The joint exercise is the most explicit expression of hostility against us, and no one can guarantee that the exercise won't evolve into actual fighting," the paper warned. "If the United States is lost in a fantasy that war on the peninsula is at somebody else's door far away from them across the Pacific, it is far more mistaken than ever."

At least 75,000 troops will take part in the 10-day war games, a huge-scale, computer-simulated drill designed to help American and South Korean forces practice defending South Korea against an invasion, according to the US Defense Department. Washington insists that the drills are "defensive," but Pyongyang sees them, and military drills that practice taking out North Korean leadership, as provocations.

USA: DoD Announces Start of Exercise Ulchi Freedom Guardian

DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Aug. 18, 2017 — South Korea and U.S. Combined Forces Command will hold the annual Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise Aug. 21-31, defense officials announced today.

Ulchi Freedom Guardian is a computer-simulated defensive exercise designed to enhance readiness, protect the region and maintain stability on the Korean Peninsula, defense officials said. About 17,500 U.S. service members will participate, with about 3,000 coming from installations outside South Korea, the officials said.

Multinational Participation

U.S. forces will join military forces from major South Korean units representing all services, as well as South Korean government participants. In addition, United Nations Command forces from seven nations, including Australia, Canada, Columbia, Denmark, New Zealand, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, will participate in the exercise.

Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission observers will monitor the exercise to ensure it complies with the 1953 armistice agreement, defense officials said. Training exercises like Ulchi Freedom Guardian are carried out in the spirit of the Oct. 1, 1953, South Korean-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty and in accordance with the armistice, the officials added.

"These exercises also highlight the longstanding military partnership, commitment and enduring friendship between the two nations, help to ensure peace and security on the peninsula, and reaffirm U.S. commitment to the alliance," the defense officials said.

US DoD

News Story: Netherlands, Australia selected to house F-35 parts

By: Aaron Mehta

WASHINGTON — The Netherlands and Australia will serve as regional centers of F-35 equipment as part of the fifth-generation fighter’s global footprint, the Pentagon announced Wednesday.

The move is part of a broader plan, launched in 2014, to create service hubs around the world for the various F-35 users. Countries have bid on the right to host parts of the sustainment program — such as Italy having a final assembly and check-out facility, or Japan having a heavy maintenance facility — because of the impact such facilities could have on local economies.

This particular aspect of the sustainment network will handle inventory management for Europe and the Pacific. Parts and supplies will be held and organized at these hubs, then shipped to various nations in the region, as opposed to those parts being shipped from manufacturers around the globe in what the program office says will be a cost-saving measure.

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Story: (Philippines) Joma defends attack on PSG

New People’s Army (NPA) Rebels

By Jose Rodel Clapano

MANILA, Philippines - Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Ma. Sison defended yesterday the rebel attack last week on a convoy of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) in Arakan, North Cotabato.

“There is no ceasefire, no prior identification, no permission for the other side to be on the spot. Whether there is a ceasefire or not, there has to be some kind of clearance,” Sison, who is living in exile in the Netherlands, told ANC. 

Four PSG members were wounded while a militiaman was killed in the attack by the New People’s Army (NPA) in North Cotabato. 

President Duterte had been asking the NPA to stop attacks on government forces. The NPA responded with attacks that killed policemen in Mindanao.

Duterte has flip-flopped on the peace talks with the National Democratic Front (NDF), Sison said yesterday

Read the full story at PhilStar

Related Link: Rody to Joma - Have mercy on Norway, kill yourself

News Report: Fret Not - Japan Seeks Military Agreement With Germany, But Remains Constrained

Germany and Japan have signed an inter-government agreement to cooperate on military equipment and underlying technologies. While the eighth pact signed by Tokyo with a foreign nation since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe revised legal restrictions on defense sharing, the agreement is significant – and potentially controversial – for a number of reasons.

While the agreement is yet to be officially confirmed by either side, and sources close to the matter suggest specifics of the deal await cementation, it's likely the relationship will include a joint development program of some kind. 

Whatever the nature of the agreement, it will likely prove contentious in some quarters — for one, the move marks the first time the pair have entered into a formal military relationship since World War II, when Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany were broadly tethered.

While direct cooperation and coordination between the ostensible allies was minimal, and both modern countries bear almost less than zero relation politically, ideologically or militarily to their 1940s incarnations, the specter of the duo's infamous wartime alliance could well loom large in the minds of some critics — especially given the potential for technological collaboration on advanced military technology. 

News Story: Talks between Philippine gov't, leftist rebels to resume next month

MANILA, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Talks between the Philippine government and the leftist rebels to end the decades-long insurgency in the country will resume next month, the chief negotiator of the Philippine government said Tuesday.

Government chief negotiator Silvestre Bello III said he had talked with Fidel Agcaoili, chief negotiator of the National Democratic Front (NDF) of the Philippines, on Sunday and agreed to hold the talks in August.

"We will probably have the fifth round (of the talks in) the second or third week of August," Bello told a news conference at the Malacanang presidential palace.

However, Bello said that the resumption of the formal talks will depend on the results of the informal talks that both sides plan to hold before the formal round of talks.

"There will be an informal meeting and they will discuss mainly on the issue of socioeconomic reforms and the possible interim unilateral ceasefire."

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Report: India to Seek US Support for Its Nuclear Suppliers Group Membership

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will try to win support for his country's bid for the membership of Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) during his upcoming visit to Portugal, the US and the Netherlands.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — India's quest for NSG membership will be of prime concern when the Indian Prime Minister will be in the US for bilateral talks. In fact, India wants to ensure same support from the Trump administration which Obama administration gave for India's membership for the NSG. Further, India will also persuade the present US administration to use its influence to seek support for India's membership for the NSG.

Similarly, during his visit to Portugal and Netherlands, Prime Minister Modi will try to garner support for India's bid for NSG membership.

News Story: (Philippines) Gov’t, NDF iron out kinks to save peace talks

New People’s Army (NPA) Rebels

By Ghio Ong

MANILA, Philippines -  The government and the National Democratic Front are ironing out issues for the peace negotiations to resume, following the Duterte administration’s decision to suspend talks with the NDF over the continued attacks of its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA).

The government and the NDF panels yesterday tackled issues hampering the resumption of peace talks.

Before this, the government and NDF panels attended a mass held at a hotel in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. Bishop Sergio Utleg read a statement from Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines president Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, urging both parties to go on with the peace negotiations.

The fifth round of talks scheduled from May 27 to June 1 is originally intended for the creation of a Comprehensive Agreement on Socio-Economic Reforms or CASER.

Senators backed the move of the Duterte administration to suspend talks with the NDF.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: Government panel suspends peace talks with Reds

New People’s Army (NPA) rebels

By Jose Rodel Clapano and Christina Mendez 

MANILA, Philippines - Peace negotiations between the government and the Communist Party of the Philippines-National Democratic Front (CPP-NDF) were suspended anew yesterday due to the continuous attacks by rebel forces against government troops in the countryside.

Presidential adviser on the peace process Jesus Dureza said the government peace panel would not participate in the scheduled fifth round of peace talks unless the CPP ensures that it can stop its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA), from launching offensives.

Two civilian auxiliary officers were wounded yesterday in an attack by suspected NPA guerrillas in Bukidnon.

The fifth round of talks was set from May 27 to June 1 in Noordwijk in the Netherlands.

This was the second time that the peace talks hit a snag. In February, President Duterte suspended the talks after the NPA violated the unilateral ceasefire and launched attacks which killed several soldiers and police officers.

NDF senior adviser Luis Jalandoni first told journalists that the government panel had cancelled the talks.

Jalandoni said the government cited the continuing NPA offensives for calling off the talks. “But they did not mention the concrete reality on the ground that requires the NPA to defend the people on the ground,” he said.

Dureza and government peace panel chairman Silvestre Bello III denied Jalandoni’s claims, saying the government will wait for the CPP-NDF to recall the NPA offensives before they would return to the peace table.

“We are not cancelling the peace talks. We are waiting for the recall of the NPA intensified attacks,” Dureza said.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Report: UN Court Orders Pakistan Not to Execute Indian Officer

On Thursday, the International Court of Justice ordered Pakistan to stay the execution of Kulbhushan Jadhav, who Pakistan claims to be an Indian spy, until the case is heard in full by the court in The Hague, the Netherlands. It also asked Pakistan to give India full consular access to Jadhav.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — The order came as a major relief to millions of Indians who were glued to the television and other media for the verdict. Pakistan claims that Jadhav is an Indian spy. He was arrested in Balochistan last year when he had an Indian passport in the name of Mubarak Hussein Patel.

"Pakistan shall take all measures at its disposal to ensure that Jadhav is not executed pending the final decision in these proceedings and shall inform the court of all the measures taken in implementation of the present order. The court also decides that, until it has given its final decision, it shall remain seized of the matters which form the subject-matter of this order," court President Ronny Abraham said, after rejecting Pakistan’s argument that the court did not have jurisdiction over the matter.

“The ICJ order has come as a great relief to the family of Kulbhushan Jadhav and people of India. I assure the nation that under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi we will leave no stone unturned to save Kulbhushan Jadhav,” Sushma Swaraj, India’s Minister for External Affairs, said.

News Story: (Philippines) Government, NDF peace talks to resume

By Jose Rodel Clapano

MANILA, Philippines -  The government peace panel and the National Democratic Front (NDF) will meet for their fifth round of peace talks from May 27 to June 1.

Norwegian Ambassador Erik Førner said the fifth round of talks would be held in Noordwijk in the Netherlands. Formal negotiations resumed in August 2016. 

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: Philippines' Duterte says no peace agreement with rebels until attacks stop

MANILA, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte Tuesday said he would not agree or sign any peace agreement with the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) unless the local rebels put a stop to their ambushes and attacks, ahead of their fifth round of peace talks that will resume in the Netherlands on May 27.

The president, in a press conference after arriving from his official visit to Cambodia and China, said that as the commander-in-chief, he had to assure the safety of his soldiers.

"For me, for as long as they are killing government security forces I will not sign anything. I cannot do anything. I have to protect my soldier. I am the Commander-in-Chief," Duerte said.

He also reiterated his call on CPP founding chairman and peace talk panel consultant Jose Maria Sison to return to the country along with his offer to shoulder his hospital expenses.

Read the full story at Xinhua

Think Tank: Sea, air, land and space updates (18-Apr-2017)

Boeing WC-135 Constant Phoenix (Image: Wiki Commons)

Zoe Glasson, Sophie Qin, Madeleine Nyst and Patrick Kennedy

Sea State

Some worthy new analysis on the future of the US Navy surfaced last week. The crux of the analysis in Foreign Policy is that the three Congress-commissioned proposals for naval force structure—mentioned recently in this feature—‘are all overwhelmingly preoccupied with China’ and only tangentially address the threats posed by Russia and Iran. The author argues that Congress should be advised whether those proposals believe ‘a Navy built for the Spratly Islands will play just as well in the Black Sea.’ And, a Politico piece sets out ‘How Trump Can Build a 350-Ship Navy’. The writers acknowledge that growing the naval fleet will present both industrial and fiscal challenges, but nevertheless argue that taking bold actions now is the only way to meet President Trump’s goal of a highly-capable 350-ship Navy—by the end of his second term…

New research is challenging the traditional “bludgeoning” method of icebreaking, used by Russia in the Arctic to speed up melting and create clear shipping lanes. The research shows that using submarines and ‘flexural gravity-wave resonance’ would offer a faster and more elegant approach. Data demonstrates that, by using this method, a submarine could forge a passage through ice ten times faster than America’s heavy icebreaker, Polar Star. Read all about it in The Economist.

News Story: NPA - Ongoing military operations prevent POW release

New People's Army (NPA) "Soldiers"

By Kristian Javier

MANILA, Philippines — Continuing offensive military and police operations in the Socskargen area are preventing the New People's Army from releasing two "prisoners of war", NPA spokesperson Jorge "Ka Oris" Madlos said on Wednesday.

Sgt. Solaiman Calucop and Pfc Samuel Garay, whom the NPA considers prisoners of war,  were supposed to be released to third-party facilitators in a turnover ceremony on Tuesday, Madlos said. 

The event, however, was cancelled due to the military and police operations in the South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani Province and General Santos region. Madlos said the operations placed the lives of the POWs, their families and the third-party facilitators at risk.

The NPA custodial unit, in cooperation with third-party facilitators, planned to release the captured soldiers in time for Easter in line with the joint statement signed by the National Democratic Front and the Philippine government on April 6.

"The AFP and PNP, however, have stubbornly refused to heed the clamor for their units to stand down and suspend offensive operations to provide the opportunity for such a turnover," Madlos said.

He urged the Philippine government to order its military and police forces to suspend offensive operations in the Socskargen region for the safe release of the POWs.

He also said that the group is set to release three more captives in Bukdinon and the CARAGA region.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: Government, Reds agree on joint interim ceasefire

New People's Army (NPA "Soldiers"

By Jose Rodel Clapano

MANILA, Philippines - The government and the National Democratic Front (NDF) yesterday agreed on a joint interim ceasefire.

In the fourth round of talks held in the Netherlands, the government peace panel led by its chairman Silvestre Bello III and the NDF represented by Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founding chairman Jose Ma. Sison agreed on a joint interim ceasefire as they discuss the conditions that will be included in the bilateral ceasefire agreement.

“We welcome the openness of NDF to undertake a forging of this round of talks of an agreement on joint interim ceasefire that will accompany our peace negotiations throughout,” Bello said.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: NPA to blame for slow peace progress – Rody

New People’s Army (NPA) "Soldiers"

By Alexis Romero

MANILA, Philippines - It’s the New People’s Army (NPA) that is to blame for the delays in the peace negotiations between the government and communist rebels, President Duterte said yesterday.

“We are facing so many fronts. We are facing the NPAs. We are having talks in the Netherlands. They have not made any progress because I have some conditions to impose before we go back to (the talks),” the President said in remarks before officials and selected members of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines at Malacañang. “Eh sino ba (Who was responsible)? We did it eh sinira naman nila ’yung usapan (they did not comply with the agreement),” he added.

Duterte was apparently referring to his decision to terminate the peace talks last February following a series of NPA attacks against government troops.

The President agreed to resume the talks last month but insisted on the crafting of clear parameters for a ceasefire. He also demanded that the rebels release the people they had kidnapped, stop the burning of farm and public works equipment, the collection of so-called revolutionary taxes and the claiming of certain territories.

Government and communist negotiators have resumed formal negotiations in the Netherlands, where they are expected to discuss a bilateral ceasefire agreement as well as social and economic reforms.

Read the full story at PhilStar