asiatimes.com —  5+ hour, 18+ min ago

...It connects the South China Sea to the Western Pacific. ... ...It is important for commercial shipping and cable communications that provide important links among Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia.... ...the Luzon Strait and the Bashi Channel within it.   ... ...Other straits bordering the South China Sea like the Malacca, Sunda and Balabac Straits are too narrow and shallow for submarines to pass through...

asiatimes.com —  1+ day ago

...Based on these achievements, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) initiated the H3 launch vehicle program in 2013 to replace the H-2A.... ...Japan is proud to be one of the most advanced spacefaring nations, with a more than 50-year record of space launches.... ...The agency also redesigned its production methods to incorporate the production-line concept and reduce overall production costs.... ...There are currently no commercially available alternatives in Japan....

asiatimes.com —  18+ hour, 1+ min ago

...David Woo writes that markets have largely disregarded the debt ceiling negotiation as a major risk due to the growth of passive investing and a... ...David Goldman assesses how declining foreign deposits at US banks, signalling a global squeeze on dollar credit, could potentially lead to increased... ...Russians strategize offensive options after the fall of Bakhmut James Davis details how the war in Ukraine has entered a phase of increased uncertainty... ...China declares Micron a cyber threat while the long-term outlook favors Korean chipmakers Scott Foster delves into China"s move to ban the use of...

asiatimes.com —  1+ day ago

...The military relationship between Taiwan and the US expanded significantly during former president Donald Trump"s administration.... ...Washington approved major arms sales, increased cooperation with the Taiwanese military, and conducted more naval patrols in the Taiwan Strait to... ...Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).... ...Its military currently only has 169,000 active members and an estimated 300,000 combat-ready reservists, according to Wang Ting-yu of Taiwan"s ruling...

asiatimes.com —  4+ day ago

...Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently said that June 1, 2023, is a “hard deadline” for raising the debt limit, currently set at US$31.38 trillion...

asiatimes.com —  15+ hour, 55+ min ago

...General Valerii Zaluzhny, appointed in July 2021 to be Ukraine's chief of the armed forces, also became a member of Ukraine's National Security Council... ...There were many rumors about Zaluzhny.... ...Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland says that the US collaborated with Ukraine on the plans and operations for the coming offensive.... ...So is the Zaluzhny video. Stephen Bryen is a senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy and the Yorktown Institute. ...

asiatimes.com —  1+ day ago

...The United States announced a new military agreement with Papua New Guinea, the most populous Pacific island country, on May 22, 2023.... ...The deal came shortly after US President Joe Biden announced plans to visit the small island country – the first US president ever to do so.... ...The one exception to that is when the US gives money to support militaries in countries that are part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (... ...And the United States" military support and training to Papua New Guinea itself could be a further way for the US military to gain influence on the...

asiatimes.com —  1+ day ago

...President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ruled Turkey for the last 21 years.... ...general election.... ...Erdogan also showed off Turkey"s new multipurpose amphibious assault ship and a new Turkish armed drone, capable of taking off from aircraft carriers... ...He unveiled plans for Turkey to send its first astronaut to the International Space Station by the end of the year....

asiatimes.com —  1+ day ago

...Breaking Defense reported that the UK Ministry of Defense (MOD) announced the first-of-its-kind AI and autonomy trial for aerial and ground vehicles... ...decisive in a Taiwan Strait conflict.... ...These assets, the Breaking Defense notes, include UK Blue Bear Ghost and Australian Insitu CT220 drones, UK Challenger 2 tanks, Warrior armored vehicles... ...Breaking Defense notes that the event was spearheaded by the UK"s Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL), which included “live retraining...

asiatimes.com —  1+ day ago

...Dennis B Desmond is a lecturer on cyber-intelligence and cybercrime investigations at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia... ...This week the Five Eyes alliance – an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and the United States –...