Japan holds unprecedented military exercise in U.S. amid tensions with China

Japanese troops will converge on California’s southern coast in the next two weeks as part of an unprecedented military exercise with U.S. troops aimed at improving that country’s amphibious attack abilities.

India, Japan join hands to break China’s ‘string of pearls’

TOKYO: Despite Beijing’s fulminations, India and Japan on Wednesday lifted their strategic convergence to a new level by vowing to work together for ensuring stability in the Asia-Pacific region in the face of growing muscle-flexing by China.

As Japan pledged financial assistance for big-ticket projects like the Chennai-Bangalore industrial corridor and third line of Mumbai Metro and displayed willingness for early conclusion of India’s effort for civil nuclear cooperation, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe spoke of a partnership of the two democracies against use of force to change the order in Asia: diplomatic shorthand for Chinese attempt to arm-twist Japan and other nations into making territorial concessions.

Tokyo, Seoul hold ‘ugly’ nuclear option

Should Japan choose to go nuclear, it would only be a matter of months before an ICBM can be deployed. The technology, delivery systems and the material are all there. South Korea would likely have some roadblocks going nuclear, but shouldn’t be too far behind with help from neighbors who have the same security needs.

North Korea’s nuclear weapons program is undermining regional stability in Northeast Asia, with the present crisis on the Korean Peninsula again prompting the neighboring states into seriously reconsidering their national security policies. This is particularly the case for Japan, against which North Korea has deployed, or so it is widely believed, approximately 200 Nodong missiles.

Abe warns of possible military response to intruder subs

TOKYO — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Tuesday Tokyo could mount a military response if foreign submarines enter its territorial waters while underwater, as Japan and China continue to squabble over islands.

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“These are serious acts. If submarines enter our territorial waters while underwater, we would have to implement maritime security action,” Abe told the Diet.

‘Get ready to fight’: China shifts from Deng’s ‘low profile’ to Mao’s aggression

Nothing illustrates better the conservative turn that Chinese politics and foreign policy have taken under the Xi Jinping administration than the way ministers and senior cadres are reviving the credos – and familiar sayings – of Chairman Mao Zedong.

Consider the reaction of the new Chinese ambassador to the United States Cui Tianhai to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s statement earlier this week that Washington supported Tokyo’s administrative rights over the contested Senkaku Islands (known as the Diaoyus in China).

PAC3 missile interceptors deployed in Tokyo

Japan’s Defense Ministry has deployed surface-to-air interceptor missiles at its premises in central Tokyo to prepare for a possible missile launch by North Korea.

The measure is part of Japan’s Self Defense Force contingency preparations. However, details of the plan are being kept confidential for security reasons.

N. Korea moves intermediate-range missile to east coast

SEOUL, April 4 (Yonhap) — North Korea has recently moved an intermediate-range missile to its east coast in a display of military power or a preparatory move for an imminent liftoff, multiple sources in Seoul said Thursday.

The North’s apparent missile relocation has prompted the United States to move its advanced missile defense system to its base on the Pacific Ocean island of Guam along with radar systems.

Game of Drones — China stepping up drone deployment

China’s military is expanding its unmanned aerial vehicle forces with a new Predator-like armed drone and a new unmanned combat aircraft amid growing tensions with neighbors in Asia, according to U.S. intelligence officials.

New unarmed drone deployments include the recent stationing of reconnaissance and ocean surveillance drones in Northeast Asia near Japan and the Senkaku islands and along China’s southern coast. Drones also are planned for the South China Sea where China has been encroaching on international waters and bullying nations of that region in asserting control over international waters, said officials familiar with intelligence reports.

China navy seeks to “wear out” Japanese ships in disputed waters

China’s naval and paramilitary ships are churning up the ocean around islands it disputes with Tokyo in what experts say is a strategy to overwhelm the numerically inferior Japanese forces that must sail out to detect and track the flotillas.

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It wasn’t until China became embroiled in the high stakes territorial dispute with Japan late last year that its secretive military opened up.

Now, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is routinely telegraphing its moves around the disputed islands, known as Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese.

China “fully prepared” for currency war: banker

A top Chinese banker said Beijing is “fully prepared” for a currency war as he urged the world to abide by a consensus reached by the G20 to avert confrontation, state media reported on Saturday.

Yi Gang, deputy governor of China’s central bank, issued the call after G20 finance ministers last month moved to calm fears of a looming war on the currency markets at a meeting in Moscow.

U.S. early-warning radar system to be installed near Kyoto

TOKYO — Tokyo and Washington plan to install a U.S. early-warning radar system at a coastal base near Kyoto to bolster defenses against the North Korean missile threat, reports said Sunday.

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The X-band radar system will be built in an Air Self-Defense Force base in Kyotango, northwest of Kyoto, on the coast of the Sea of Japan, or East Sea, Kyodo News and Jiji Press agencies reported, citing unnamed sources.

Japan has right to develop pre-emptive strike capability: defense chief

It’s already known that Japan can go nuclear within months, being they have the technology and the industry to produce. It’s also possible that they might even possess a nuclear weapons in pieces which could be assembled within weeks. Nevertheless, as this article shows, Japan seems ready to flex its muscles against China. How it will now handle Russia who is now entering the fray and doubling pressure remains to be seen. With both combined, we’re talking about going against the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

TOKYO — Japan has the right to develop the ability to make a pre-emptive strike against an imminent attack given a changing security environment although it has no plan to do so now, the defence minister said on Thursday, days after North Korea conducted a third nuclear test.

Any sign that Japan was moving to develop such a capability in response to North Korea’s nuclear program could upset neighbors China and South Korea, which have reacted strongly in the past to suggestions it might do so.

“When an intention to attack Japan is evident, the threat is imminent, and there are no other options, Japan is allowed under the law to carry out strikes against enemy targets,” Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera told Reuters in an interview.