News Report: USS Ronald Reagan Supercarrier to Conduct Exercises Off Korean Peninsula

The US Navy has announced that the nuclear-powered supercarrier USS Ronald Reagan will be deployed to the Korean Peninsula to participate in joint exercises with the South Korean Navy as part of a continued American military buildup in the region as it faces off against North Korea.

The entire USS Ronald Reagan strike group, which includes four destroyers and two submarines, will be participating in exercises alongside South Korean ships in late October. The Pentagon claims that the exercises have been in the works for a long time, and are not a response to current tensions with Pyongyang.

On Friday, the 100,000-ton Reagan conducted drills with Japanese warships south of the Korean Peninsula as a response to the twin North Korean ballistic missile tests in August and September.

Then on Saturday, a pair of US B-1B Lancer strategic bombers flew within miles of the North Korean border. North Korea did not issue an official response to the mission, leading South Korean intelligence to claim that Pyongyang only found out about the bombers when the Pentagon told them.

News Report: Teeth of the Dragon - China Conducts Missile Defense Test Next to Korean Border

China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) carried out large-scale defensive military exercises on Tuesday morning, mere miles from their border with North Korea. The Chinese military reported that the exercise, which seems to have come out of the blue, was itself a series of “rapid response” drills in case of “surprise attacks.”

The exercises included anti-aircraft defense battalions around the Bohai Sea, a Beijing-controlled gulf bordering the larger Yellow Sea, which separates China from the Korean Peninsula. The troops practiced shooting down low-altitude missiles crossing the Bohai Sea, and Beijing claimed success in the operation.

"The troops' rapid response capabilities and actual combat levels have effectively been tested," reported 81.cn, a Chinese military website. The test was also meant to see if the soldiers could handle unexpected events, such as a simulated chemical attack.

"In the past, our strategies and guidelines focused on territorial air defense. Now we are shifting our attention to honing our ability in terms of long-range strategic projection and long-range strike," said Lieutenant General Ding Laihang, commander of the PLAAF, to 81.cn.

News Report: What Russia's Strategic Bombers and 'Flying Radars' Were After in Asia

Su-35 (Flanker-E) fighter

Amid the US-South Korean Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) joint military drills in South Korea, Russia's strategic aircraft performed routine flights in the area. In doing so, Russia "simply and concisely showed its interests and capabilities" near the Korean Peninsula, according to Russian political commentator Alexander Khrolenko.

On Thursday, the Russian Defense Ministry's press service said that Russia's Tu-95MS strategic bombers carried out routine flights over international waters above the Sea of Japan, Yellow and East China seas.

The long-range planes were accompanied by a Su-35S fighter of the Eastern Military District and an A-50 Airborne Early Warning and Control Aircraft of the military-transport aviation.

It was very unusual for Russia's Tu-95MS to fly around the Korean Peninsula with an escort of such powerful aircraft, Alexander Khrolenko wrote in his op-ed for RIA Novosti.

At certain points along their route, the Russian strategic bombers were accompanied by aircraft of the South Korean Air Force and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force.

News Report: Russia's Tu-95MS Bombers Perform Routine Flight Over Int'l Waters in Asia

Russian Tu-95MS Bomber (Image: Wiki Commons)

Russia's Tu-95MS strategic bombers have carried out routine flights over international waters of the Sea of Japan, Yellow and East China seas, the Russian Defense Ministry's press service said Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The long-range planes were accompanied by a Su-35S fighter of the Eastern Military District and A-50 Airborne Early Warning and Control Aircraft of military-transport aviation.

During the flight, Tu-95MS crews performed aerial refueling, according to the ministry.

The ministry noted that at certain stages of the route, the Russian strategic bombers were accompanied by aircraft of the Korean Air Force and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force.

Russian Tu-95MS strategic bombers have taken part in Russia's air campaign in Syria successfuly launching strikes against the terrorist group Daesh operating in the Middle East.

Russia’s military jets regularly carry out patrol flights over the neutral waters of the Arctic region, Atlantic Ocean, Black Sea and Pacific Ocean, the ministry said. All such flights are carried out in strict accordance with the international law regarding the use of neutral waters airspace, without violating borders of other states.

This story first appeared on Sputnik & is reposted here with permission.

News Story: Defense minister orders resolute and confident response to N.K. provocations

SEOUL, Aug. 12 (Yonhap) -- Minister of National Defense Song Young-moo on Saturday ordered the military to fight back "resolutely and confidently" against any North Korean provocation, the ministry said.

Song made the remark during his visit to Yeonpyeong Island, a Yellow Sea island close to the inter-Korean border. The minister visited military units and paid his respects at monuments in memory of South Korean soldiers killed in the 2002 inter-Korean naval skirmish near the island, and victims of North Korea's shelling of the island in 2010.

"The defense of northwestern islands and the Northern Limit Line is the core of national security," Song was quoted by the ministry as saying, referring to the de facto maritime border.

"In case there's a provocation from the enemy, (the military) has to fight back resolutely based on an offensive operational strategy and completely destroy the enemy for a victory," he said.

Read the full story at YonhapNews

News Report: Beijing Signals It’s Ready for Battle Off Korean Peninsula

In the wake of the announcement of a $1 billion sanctions program targeting North Korea’s coal, lead and iron exports, Beijing is staging almost a dozen military exercises in the Yellow Sea.

The navy drills surely send a signal that the Chinese “will be effective in any conflict if war is to break out,” Malcolm Davis of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute told the South China Morning Post.

However the message isn’t intended for Pyongyang alone, Collin Koh of Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University says. “States do this because they want to send a signal … it’s not just targeted at North Korea,” Koh said.

China’s naval strength is increasing significantly. Last week, the Chinese added yet another monster ship to their fleet, which the Royal United Service Institute’s Peter Roberts has described as growing at a pace that seems to be unequalled "in any navy across history." 

The drills will include live-fire testing, offensive and defensive mobilization rehearsals, and the integration of efforts by surface vessels, submarines and aircraft. “Dozens of types of missiles” will also be launched during more than 10 tests, SCMP noted.

The People’s Liberation Army Navy’s Shen Jinlong and other top Chinese military officials will oversee the four-day battle simulations, state media reported. It’s unclear when the exercises will start. 

This story first appeared on Sputnik & is reposted here with permission.

News Report: China to Flex Military Muscle at Second Naval Drill in Two Weeks

Chinese Navy Warships (File Photo)

China is set to stage a second naval drill off the coast of the Korean Peninsula on Saturday, only a week after conducting its last exercise.

Following North Korea’s July 28 ballistic missile launch, thought by many to have tested an intercontinental ballistic missile, Beijing’s four-day drill is widely seen as a show of strength to Washington, Pyongyang and the Asia Pacific region in general. 

The live-fire drill will take place in a sectioned-off area roughly the size of the US state of West Virginia, off the coast of Qingdao and east of the city of Lianyungang.

Notices from the Shandong Maritime Safety Administration and the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) were scant on details, other than saying the exercise will be conducted Saturday through Tuesday, following a three-day Yellow Sea exercise held from July 27 to July 29.

The first drill was held as part of a celebration for PLAN’s 90th anniversary on August 1, and included a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Zhurihe in Inner Mongolia to watch war games at Asia’s largest military base.

News Story: China closes east seas for military drills

Chinese Navy Warships

BEIJING — China has closed off a swath of ocean off its east coast for military activities, but has said little about what the exercises entail.

A notice from the government of the eastern port city of Lianyungang says a roughly 40,000-square-kilometer (15,000-square-mile) section of the Yellow Sea was off-limits to commercial shipping from Thursday through Saturday.

The notice sourced to the People’s Liberation Army says only that “large-scale military activities” are being held between Lianyungang in Jiangsu province and the Shandong province port of Qingdao that is home to the Navy’s North Sea Fleet.

Read the full story at DefenseNews

USA: USS Stethem completes patrol in Western Pacific

By MC2 Ryan M. Harper, USS Stethem Public Affairs

USS Stethem (DDG 63) steams alongside USS Barry (DDG 52) during a formation exercise as part of MultiSail 2017 in March. (U.S. Navy/MC2 William McCann) >>

YOKOSUKA, Japan - The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Stethem (DDG 63) returned to Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan, May 28.

Stethem departed Yokosuka in January to begin its 2017 patrol in the Western Pacific.

“Over the past four months, our operations provided maritime presence in the Indo-Asia Pacific region and strengthened our relationships with key allies,” said Cmdr. Doug Pegher, Stethem's commanding officer.

While on patrol, Stethem participated in the bilateral exercise MultiSail 2017, Foal Eagle 2017, and conducted operations in the Sea of Japan, the Philippine Sea, the South and East China Seas, and the Yellow Sea.

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.