Asia-Pacific Allies

[Corinthian]

The funny thing will be is that Vietnam has a better chance of acquiring F-16s and P-3s than the Philippines which is not only a former US colony but arguably the oldest ally of the USA in the region..

[JasonJ]

POW visit to join Obama at Hiroshima cancelled.

 

An American prisoner of war who was invited to accompany U.S. President Barack Obama on his visit to Hiroshima has had his invitation canceled, according to a POW group that set up the visit.

The American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor Memorial Society said Wednesday that the White House canceled the visit with former U.S. Army Sgt. Daniel Crowley, 94, without giving a reason.

“I think it was ludicrous to reach out to me and then not include me,” Crowley said in a statement.

Crowley fought against Japan in the Philippines during World War II and was captured and sent to Japan where he became a forced laborer. The Associated Press reported that the White House did not officially invite Crowley, citing a senior official.

Meanwhile, at least three atomic-bomb survivors will attend a ceremony Friday in Hiroshima where Obama is expected to lay flowers at the Peace Memorial Park as the first sitting U.S. president to visit the atomic-bombed city, sources said Wednesday.

During the ceremony, Obama is expected to make a short statement before an audience of around 100 people, including Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue, Nagasaki Gov. Hodo Nakamura and around 20 high school and university students who acted as special envoys under a Japanese government program in pursuit of a nuclear-free world, the sources said.

Obama is unlikely to have an opportunity to listen to the testimony of the hibakusha during his visit to Hiroshima, but he may spend a short time speaking with them after making the statement, they added.

Obama is also expected to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.

The sources said the Japanese and U.S. governments decided on the attendance of the mayor and governor of Nagasaki as well as hibakusha.

The Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, known as Hidankyo, is selecting the hibakusha to attend. The sources said Sunao Tsuboi and Mikiso Iwasa, who co-chair Hidankyo, will join the event, as will Hidankyo secretary-general Terumi Tanaka.

Hiroshima was devastated by a U.S. atomic bomb on Aug. 6, 1945, in the final phase of World War II.

The U.S. dropped a second nuclear bomb on Nagasaki three days later.

Around 210,000 people are estimated to have died as a result of the attacks by the end of 1945. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, bringing an end to the war.

 

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/05/26/national/politics-diplomacy/four-hibakusha-to-take-part-in-obamas-hiroshima-ceremony/#.V0cACeQXVxN

[JasonJ]

NATIONAL

Full text of Obama’s speech in Hiroshima

MAY 27, 2016

ARTICLE HISTORY

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U.S. President Barack Obama’s speech in Hiroshima on Friday, as transcribed by The Japan Times:

 

Seventy-one years ago, on a bright cloudless morning, death fell from the sky and the world was changed. A flash of light and a wall of fire destroyed a city and demonstrated that mankind possessed the means to destroy itself.

 

Why do we come to this place? To Hiroshima?

 

We come to ponder a terrible force unleashed in a not-so-distant past. We come to mourn the dead, including over 100,000 Japanese men, women and children; thousands of Koreans; a dozen Americans held prisoner. Their souls speak to us. They ask us to look inward, to take stock of who we are and what we might become.

 

It is not the fact of war that sets Hiroshima apart. Artifacts tell us that violent conflict appeared with the very first man. Our early ancestors, having learned to make blades from flint and spears from wood, used these tools not just for hunting, but against their own kind. On every continent the history of civilization is filled with war, whether driven by scarcity of grain or hunger for gold, compelled by nationalist fervor or religious zeal, empires have risen and fallen, peoples have been subjugated and liberated, and at each juncture, innocents have suffered, a countless toll, their names forgotten by time.

 

The world war that reached its brutal end in Hiroshima and Nagasaki was fought among the wealthiest and most powerful of nations. Their civilizations had given the world great cities and magnificent art, their thinkers had advanced ideas of justice and harmony and truth. And yet, the war grew out of the same base instinct for domination or conquest that had caused conflicts among the simplest tribes. An old pattern amplified by new capabilities and without new constraints. In the span of a few years, some 60 million people would die. Men, women and children, no different than us, shot, beaten, marched, bombed, jailed, starved, gassed to death.

 

There are many sites around the war that chronicle this war, memorials that tell of stories of courage and heroism, graves in empty camps that echo of unspeakable depravity. Yet in the image of a mushroom cloud that rose into these skies, we are most starkly reminded of humanity’s core contradiction, how the very spark that marks us as a species — our thoughts, our imagination, our language, our tool-making, our ability to set ourselves apart from nature and bend it to our will — those very things also give us the capacity for unmatched destruction.

 

How often does material advancement or social innovation blind us to this truth? How easily we learn to justify violence in the name of some higher cause.

 

Every great religion promises us a pathway to love and peace and righteousness and yet no religion has been spared from believers who have claimed that their faith is a license to kill. Nations arise telling a story that binds people together in sacrifice and cooperation, allowing for remarkable feats, but those same stories have so often been used to oppress and dehumanize those who are different.

 

Science allows us to communicate across the seas and fly above the clouds, to cure disease and understand the cosmos, but those same discoveries can be turned into ever-more efficient killing machines.

 

The wars of the modern age teach us this truth. Hiroshima teaches this truth.

 

Technological progress without an equivalent progress in human institutions can doom us. The scientific revolution that led to the splitting of an atom requires a moral revolution as well.

 

That is why we come to this place. We stand here, in the middle of this city and force ourselves to imagine the moment the bomb fell. We force ourselves to feel the dread of children confused by what they see. We listen to a silent cry.

 

We remember all the innocents killed across the arc of that terrible war and the wars that came before and the wars that would follow. Mere words cannot give voice to such suffering, but we have a shared responsibility to look into the eye of history and ask what we must do differently to curb such suffering again.

 

Someday the voices of the hibakusha will no longer be with us to bear witness, but the memory of the morning of Aug. 6, 1945, must never fade. That memory allows us to fight complacency. It fuels our moral imagination. It allows us to change. And since that fateful day, we have made choices that give us hope.

 

The United States and Japan forged not only an alliance but a friendship that has won far more for our people than we could ever claim through war. The nations of Europe built a union that replaced battlefields with bonds of commerce and democracy. Oppressed peoples and nations won liberation. And an international community established institutions and treaties that work to avoid war and inspire to constrict and roll back and ultimately eliminate the existence of nuclear weapons.

 

Still, every act of aggression between nations — every act of terror and corruption, and cruelty and oppression that we see around the world — shows our work is never done. We may not be able to eliminate man’s capacity to do evil, so nations and the alliances we have formed must possess the means to defend ourselves.

 

But among the nations, like my own, that hold nuclear stockpiles, we must have the courage to escape the logic of fear and pursue a world without them. We may not realize this goal in my lifetime, but persistent effort can roll back the possibility of catastrophe.

 

We can chart a course that leads to getting rid of these stockpiles. We can stop the spread to new nations and secure deadly materials from fanatics.

 

And yet that is not enough. For we see around the world today how even the crudest rifles and barrel bombs can serve up violence on a terrible scale. We must change our mindset about war itself to prevent conflict through diplomacy and strive to end conflicts after they’ve begun. To see our growing interdependence as a cause for peaceful cooperation and not violent competition, to define our nations not by our capacity to destroy but by what we build.

 

And perhaps above all we must re-imagine our connection to one another as members of one human race.

 

For this too is what makes our species unique. We’re not bound by genetic code to repeat the mistakes of the past. We can learn. We can choose. We can tell our children a different story, one that describes a common humanity, one that makes war less likely and cruelty less easily accepted.

 

We see these stories in the hibukasha. The woman who forgave the pilot who flew the plane that dropped the atomic bomb because she recognized that what she really hated was war itself. The man who sought out families of Americans killed here because he believed that their loss was equal to his own.

 

My own nation’s story began with simple words: All men are created equal and endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

 

Realizing that ideal has never been easy, even within our own borders, even among our own citizens. But staying true to that story is worth the effort. It is an ideal to be strived for, an ideal that extends across continents and across oceans, the irreducible worth of every person, the insistence that every life is precious, the radical and necessary notion that we are part of a single human family. That is the story that we all must tell.

 

That is why we come to Hiroshima, so that we might think of people we love, the first smile from our children in the morning, the gentle touch from a spouse over the kitchen table, the comforting embrace of a parent.

 

We can think of those things and know that those same precious moments took place here 71 years ago.

 

Those who died, they are like us. Ordinary people understand this, I think. They do not want more war. They would rather that the wonders of science be focused on improving life and not eliminating it.

 

When the choice is made by nations, when the choice is made by leaders, reflect this simple wisdom, then the lesson of Hiroshima is done.

 

The world was forever changed here, but today the children of this city will go through their day in peace. What a precious thing that is. It is worth protecting, and then extending to every child.

 

That is a future we can choose, a future in which Hiroshima and Nagasaki are known not as the dawn of atomic warfare, but as the start of our own moral awakening.

 

 

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/05/27/national/full-text-of-obamas-speech-in-hiroshima/#.V0g0wPl97ct

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uqLrcD57Cc

Edited May 27, 2016 by JasonJ

[JasonJ]

An example of the sort of difficulties in joint-training that include both Japan and South Korea. Although in this case, South Korea was the host country, so more flammable stuff than, say, a training location like Hawaii. First article is Asahi (Japanese). The second article is Chosun (Korean) and referred to Asahi at the end of its article. It also has both Korean and Japanese versions of the story, so both languages and two links for it.

 

 

At a joint-training exercise in submarine rescue operations that includes Japan, the US, and South Korea and that started on May 25th, the JMSDF expressed opposition to boarding the Korean amphibious assault ship "Dokdo (Korean for Takeshima)." While on the other side, the South Korean side expressed offense at the JMSDF rescue ship hosting up the normally used rising sun flag, thus revealing the difficulties in Jpn-RoK defense cooperation.

 

6 countries including Japan, the US, and South Korea, participate in training for escape and rescue in an imagined submarine accident. This year being the 7th time and South Korea being the host country, in the beginning, participating members of each country were invited to the large naval vessel with capacity called "Dokdo" that had the role of sequentially explaining the situation of the training.

 

However the JMSDF were negative about boarding Dokdo. It is seen that they disliked giving an impression of conceding to South Korea's claim in the territorial rights dispute. It is said that the Korean side conceded to that by changing the naval vessel.

 

On the other hand, on May 24th, the JMSDF naval ships including the rescue ship hoisted the rising sun flag and entered Jinhae Naval Port in the southern part of South Korea. South Korean news media that views this as a problem aired it over and over. The Hankyoreh news (electronic edition) said regarding the rising sun flag that "it is a symbol of the former Japanese militarism."

 

 

日米韓などが参加して韓国近海で２５日から始まった潜水艦救出訓練で、海上自衛隊が韓国軍揚陸艦「独島（トクト）（竹島の韓国名）」への乗艦に難色を示した。一方、韓国側では海自の救難艦が通常使う旭日旗を掲げたことに反発する声も出て、日韓防衛協力の難しさを改めて見せつけた。

 

　日米韓など６カ国が参加し、潜水艦の遭難事故を想定した脱出と救助の訓練を行う。７回目の今年は韓国がホスト国で、当初は大型艦で収容能力がある「独島」に各国の参加者を招き、訓練の状況を逐次解説する方針だった。

 

　だが、海自は独島への乗艦に消極的だった。領有権争いで韓国の主張に譲歩した印象を持たれることを嫌ったとみられる。これには韓国側が譲歩し、別の艦船に変更されたという。

 

　一方、海自の救難艦などは２４日、旭日旗を掲げて韓国南部の鎮海（チネ）海軍基地に入港。これを問題視する韓国メディアの報道が相次いだ。ハンギョレ新聞（電子版）は旭日旗について「かつての日本軍国主義の象徴だ」とした。

 

 

http://www.asahi.com/articles/ASJ5V3SLYJ5VUHBI010.html

 

 

 

It became known by May 27th that the JMSDF who is participating in a multi-national joint-training in the South Sea (East China Sea) notified the South Korea side of their position of not being able to participate in training which the Korean Navy's large landing ship "Dokdo" (standard weight 14,500 tons) =picture= is joining in. This means that Japan, who calls Dokdo by Takeshima, doesn't want to acknowledge the Korean Navy vessel named "Dokdo" as a training partner under the situation of claiming territorial rights. On this time's training, the JMSDF hoisted the rising sun flag (SDF naval flag), a symbol of the former militarism in South Korea, and entered Jinhae Naval Base. They then boycotted training with Dokdo while raising a critical voice.

 

The 6 countries of South Korea, the US, Japan, Australia, Singapore, and Malaysia are carrying out "the 7th Pacific Submarine Rescue Training 'Pacific Reach 2016'" starting from May 25th in the sea near Jinhae and Jeju island. The training is divided into a 1st half and a 2nd half with training at sea to start on May 29th. It is said that immediately after receiving the training schedule, JMSDF notified the South Korean Navy that they will not participate in the 1st half where "Dokdo" is acting as the training command ship.

 

Due to this, without Japan, the remaining 5 countries and observing 12 countries are participating in the 1st half. Only South Korea, the US, and Japan will participate in the 2nd half and it is planned that instead of "Dokdo", the submarine rescue ship "Cheonghaejin" (4,300ton class) will be charged with being the command ship. A participant with the Korean Navy said that "Japan hasn't made clear why they boycotted the 1st half of the training" and also that "the SDF has never boarded "Dokdo", not even once."

 

Related to this, Asahi News said that "However the JMSDF were negative about boarding Dokdo. (Omission) It is said that the Korean side conceded to that by changing the naval vessel." However the Korean Navy explained that "Since the beginning, the training was separated into a 1st half and a 2nd half, and that there were no plans of the Japanese side boarding "Dokdo."

 

 

南海（東シナ海）で行われている多国籍海上合同訓練に参加している海上自衛隊が、韓国海軍の大型輸送艦「独島」（排水量1万4500トン級）＝写真＝が加わる訓練には参加できないという立場を韓国側に通知したことが27日までに分かった。これは、日本が独島を竹島と呼び、領有権を主張している状況で、「独島」という名前の韓国の軍艦を訓練のパートナーとして認めたくないという意味だ。海上自衛隊は今回の訓練で、韓国ではかつての軍国主義の象徴とされる旭日旗（自衛艦旗）を掲げて鎮海海軍基地に入港したのに続いて「独島」との訓練もボイコットし、非難の声が高まりつつある。

 

　韓国・米国・日本・オーストラリア・シンガポール・マレーシアの6カ国は、今月25日から鎮海・済州島付近の海域で「第7回西太平洋潜水艦救難訓練（パシフィック・リーチ2016）」を行っている。海上訓練は29日から、前半部と後半部に分けて実施される。海上自衛隊は、訓練日程の通知を受けた直後、「独島」が訓練指揮艦として投入される前半部には参加しないと韓国海軍に通知したという。

 

　これにより前半部の訓練には、日本を除く残り5カ国とオブザーバー12カ国が加わる。後半部には韓米日のみが参加するが、この時は「独島」ではなく救助艦「清海鎮」（4300トン級）が指揮艦を務める予定だ。韓国海軍の関係者は「日本は、前半部の訓練をボイコットする理由を明らかにしなかった」と述べつつも「自衛隊はこれまで一度も、『独島』に乗船したことがない」と語った。

 

　これについて、27日付の朝日新聞は「海自は独島への乗艦に消極的だった。（中略）これには韓国側が譲歩し、別の艦船に変更されたという」と報じたが、韓国海軍は「訓練は当初から前半部と後半部に分かれており、日本側が独島に乗船する計画はなかった」と説明した。

 

 

남해에서 진행되는 다국적 해상 연합 훈련에 참가 중인 일본 해상자위대가 우리 해군의 대형 수송함인 독도함(1만4500t급·사진)이 참가하는 훈련에는 참여할 수 없다는 입장을 우리 측에 통보한 것으로 27일 알려졌다. 이는 일본이 독도를 다케시마(竹島)로 부르며 영유권을 주장하는 상황에서 '독도함'이란 이름의 우리 군함을 훈련 파트너로 인정하지 않겠다는 의미다. 일본 해상자위대는 이번 훈련에서 일제 군국주의 상징인 '욱일기'를 달고 진해 해군기지에 입항한 데 이어 독도함과 훈련도 보이콧하며 논란을 키우는 모양새다.

한국·미국·일본·호주·싱가포르·말레이시아 등 6개국은 지난 25일부터 진해와 제주도 부근 해역에서 '서태평양 잠수함 탈출 및 구조 훈련(Pacific Reach 2016)'을 진행 중이다. 해상훈련은 29일부터 전반부와 후반부로 나뉘어 실시된다. 일본 해상자위대는 훈련 일정을 통보받은 직후 독도함이 훈련 지휘함으로 투입되는 전반부에는 참가하지 않겠다고 우리 해군에 통보했다고 한다.

이에 따라 전반부 훈련은 일본을 뺀 나머지 5개 참가국과 12개 옵서버 국가가 참여한 상태에서 진행된다. 후반부에는 한·미·일만 참가하는데, 이때는 독도함 대신 구조함인 청해진함(4300t급)이 지휘함 역할을 할 예정이다. 해군 관계자는 "일본은 전반부 훈련의 보이콧 이유를 밝히진 않았다"면서도 "일본 자위대는 지금까지 단 한 차례도 독도함에 승선한 적이 없었다"고 말했다.

이날 일본 아사히(朝日) 신문은 일본 해상자위대가 독도함 승선을 거부하자 한국 측이 양보해 해상자위대가 승선할 배를 변경했다고 보도했으나 우리 해군은 "사실과 다르다"고 말했다. 해군 측은 "훈련은 처음부터 전반부와 후반부로 나뉘어 있었고, 일본 측은 독도함 승선 계획이 없었다"고 말했다.

 

 

http://www.chosunonline.com/site/data/html_dir/2016/05/28/2016052800465.html

http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2016/05/28/2016052800247.html

Edited May 28, 2016 by JasonJ

[JasonJ]

 

 

Mine-countermeasures support ship "Uraga" and minesweeper "Takashima" of the JMSDF made a port call on May 29th at the strategically important international port in Cam Ranh Bay in the central part of Vietnam. This is the second time JMSDF naval vessels have stopped at Cam Ranh Bay port.

 

Japan and Vietnam are strengthening defense cooperation with the backdrop of alert to military bases being built in the South China Sea by China. This year in April, two JMSDF destroyers made a port call at Cam Ranh Bay, which made it the first time for JMSDF naval vessels.

 

According to the Japanese embassy in Vietnam, the purpose for "Uraga" and "Takashima" making the port call was for supplies and rest while on their way back from the international mine-sweeping training event at Bahrain. There are no plans for establishing joint-training or such with the Vietnamese Navy.

 

 

海上自衛隊の掃海母艦「うらが」と掃海艇「たかしま」が２９日、ベトナム中部の軍事要衝カムラン湾の国際港に寄港した。海自艦船のカムラン湾寄港は２回目。

 

日本とベトナムは、中国による南シナ海の軍事拠点化への警戒を背景に防衛協力を強化。今年４月には海自護衛艦２隻が海自艦船として初めてカムラン湾に寄港した。

 

在ベトナム日本大使館によると、「うらが」と「たかしま」はバーレーンで実施した国際掃海訓練からの帰途に補給と休養の目的で寄港した。ベトナム海軍との共同訓練などの実施は予定していない。

 

 

http://www.sankei.com/world/news/160529/wor1605290023-n1.html

[JasonJ]

Duterte's cabinet.

 

OFFICIAL FAMILY President-elect Rodrigo Duterte presents newly appointed members of his Cabinet during a press conference at Malacañang of the South in Panacan, Davao City. TARRA QUISMUNDO

 

DAVAO CITY—Saying he chose people “with integrity and honesty,” President-elect Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday presented members of his Cabinet for the first time, a “hardworking” roster he handpicked to address his top governance priorities such as red tape, corruption and crime.

 

Emerging from a three-hour meeting at the presidential guesthouse here, Duterte announced new appointees to critical positions in the security cluster.

 

“It’s not a simple job looking for the composition of the Cabinet. I am reminded of the man holding a lamp during daytime. He was asked why are you bringing a lamp in the daylight when you can see everything? The man said ‘because I am looking for an honest man,’” Duterte said in an evening press conference.

 

“It took me several days. When I’m not around the public eye, it’s because I’m reviewing papers of recommendees, and I can assure you that we are all men of integrity, honesty,” he said.

 

He said none of his appointees were “tainted.”

 

Among Duterte’s new appointees are former South Cotabato Gov. Ismael Sueño as interior secretary, and retired Maj. Gen. Delfin Lorenzana, who heads the Office of Veterans Affairs at the Philippine Embassy in the United States, as defense secretary.

 

Ex-PNP officials

 

He also appointed former police officials to prime posts: Philippine National Police Director for Operations Alex Monteagudo to the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, former PNP Director Isidro Lapeña to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, former National Capital Region Police Office Director Edgar Galvante to the Land Transportation Office, and former Davao police chief Jaime Morente as immigration chief.

 

A former Army Fifth Infantry Brigade chief, Brig. Gen. Ricardo Jalad, was appointed head of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, while rebel Marine Capt. Nicanor Faeldon was named head of the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

 

National Bureau of Investigation’s Davao regional director, Dante Gierran, was promoted head of the agency, while lawyer Cesar Dulay was appointed head of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). Martin Delgra was named head of the Land Transportation, Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

 

Duterte also formalized the appointments of two leftists recommended by the National Democratic Front of the Philippines: former sectoral representative and current Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas chair Rafael Mariano to the Department of Agrarian Reform, and former political prisoner and associate professor Judy Taguiwalo to the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

 

Duterte said he would not meddle with his appointees’ work and allow his Cabinet to work, joking: “They go ahead and work. I just go sleep. It’s not easy to campaign, you know.”

 

Not a micromanager

 

Duterte has yet to make appointments to the health, trade, tourism and environment departments, but said that his Cabinet will be “inclusive,” even looking at appointing one from the Moro sector.

 

While he preferred to work only starting 1 p.m., Duterte said his Cabinet would stick to regular office hours.

 

“I won’t micromanage. They just have to answer me when there’s trouble,” he said.

 

“I will really level the playing field. I will not meddle. I just want that people won’t have anything to complain about,” Duterte said.

 

But, he said, he will make “some recommendations.”

 

For instance, he said, he wants to get rid of lines in government agencies. That people have to queue to get government services is “abusive,” Duterte said. “That’s how miserable the Filipinos are.”

 

“I do not want people queuing, I do not want people spending money to get something from government, because they are paying us already,” Duterte said.

 

No heroics

 

“I don’t want to be heroic here, I just want honesty and good faith in dealing with the public,” he said.

 

He repeated his vow to get rid of corruption, saying such abuse is a fact in the PNP, BIR, BOC,

 

LTFRB and the Department of Public Works and Highways.

 

“The people don’t like [corruption] anymore. And they have shown it through their votes,” Duterte said.

 

That more than 16 million Filipinos voted for “just a mayor of a small city in Mindanao” known for his staunch stance against crime and corruption is a sign that people are fed up with corrupt officials, he said.

 

“It could only mean one thing: There’s a message there, that people really do not want corruption, they do not want their money being put inside pockets of workers in government,” he said.

 

Duterte said he would be “harsh against corruption,” and that he planned to ask the Supreme Court to stop the practice of temporary restraining orders.

 

Duterte earlier appointed to Cabinet positions Las Piñas Rep. Mark Villar (public works), Perfecto Yasay (foreign affairs),

 

Vitaliano Aguirre II (justice), Emmanuel Piñol (agriculture), Alfonso Cusi (energy), Carlos Dominguez (finance), Arthur Tugade (transportation and communications), Leonor Briones (education), and Benjamin Diokno (budget and management).

 

Noncommital

 

Under the Office of the President, Duterte designated Leoncio Evasco (secretary to the Cabinet), Salvador Panelo (presidential spokesperson), Jesus Dureza (presidential adviser on the peace process), Salvador Medialdea (executive secretary) and Hermogenes Esperon (national security adviser).

 

Duterte again reiterated that he remains “noncommittal” to a possible appointment for Vice President-elect Leni Robredo, baring for the first time that his deference to defeated vice presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is part of the reason.

 

“There’s really none… There’s no compelling reason. I know Bongbong Marcos. He is my friend. I don’t want to hurt him,” Duterte said.

 

Duterte’s father, Vicente, was an appointee of the senator’s father, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. With a report from Germelina Lacorte, Inquirer Mindanao

http://m.inquirer.net/newsinfo/788529

[JasonJ]

The Self-Defense Forces will visit the Palauan island of Peleliu in mid-August as part of an annual U.S.-led humanitarian assistance exercise, the Defense Ministry said Wednesday.

 

It will be the SDF troops’ first visit to the Pacific island, one of the fiercest battlefields of World War II. An event to commemorate the war dead will also be held on the island.

 

The Pacific Partnership exercise, held since 2007, is aimed at enhancing ties between participating Asia-Pacific nations through the humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission.

 

Australia, Britain, Canada, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and South Korea will also take part.

 

The SDF will dispatch 70 members as well as the Maritime SDF’s transport vessel Shimokita.

 

The SDF will take part in activities in Timor-Leste, Vietnam, Palau and Indonesia for a three- to 18-day span each. They will be in Peleliu on Aug. 11 and 12.

 

In 1944, the U.S. forces advanced to Japanese-occupied Peleliu where some 10,000 Japanese troops and over 1,000 U.S. soldiers were killed during the two-month battle.

 

 

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/06/01/national/sdf-to-visit-peleliu-for-u-s-led-humanitarian-exercise/#.V076M_l97ct

[Corinthian]

Another flip flop by President-elect FIMD. While he now says he won't micro manage, he basically said he will a few weeks ago.

 

Every time I see an article on FIMD, I cringe, expect the worst, and worsens my dismay. And when I do read it, I cringe more, see my expectations were exceeded, and makes me want to commit suicide to just end it all.

 

FIMD = Foot In Mouth Disease

Edited June 2, 2016 by Corinthian

[JasonJ]

Everything isn't bad. Out last him.

[JasonJ]

Snowden talking about NSA in Japan.

 

Edward Snowden, a fugitive and former U.S. National Security Agency contractor who leaked information from the agency in 2013, warned Saturday that all people in Japan are subjected to mass surveillance initiated by the U.S. government.

 

Snowden lived in Japan from 2009 to 2011. At the time, he was an employee with computer giant Dell Inc. contracted out to the NSA, where he worked on a surveillance program at the U.S.s Yokota airbase in Fussa, Tokyo.

 

They know your religious faith. They know whom you love. They know whom you care about This was our job to establish the pattern of life of any individuals, he said.

 

Snowden made the comments via video conferencing from Russia, where he resides to avoid U.S. criminal prosecution, during a symposium Saturday in Tokyo on surveillance in contemporary society.

 

More than 200 people, including lawyers, journalists, and others, attended the discussion held in an auditorium on the University of Tokyo campus. Snowden, 32, said all the information that people input via cellphones or computers can be legally collected by the U.S. intelligence agency for analysis.

 

Serious issues facing Japan are its lack of citizen engagement on privacy controls and weak civil controls over the government, he said.

 

A prime example of a threat to Japanese society, according to Snowden, is the controversial state secrecy law enacted in 2013, which he said is fundamentally dangerous to democracy.

 

Officially known as the Act on the Protection of Specially Designated Secrets, which went into effect in 2014, the law gives ministries and agencies discretion to classify information in areas such as defense, counterterrorism and diplomacy as state secrets. Leakers, including civil servants, could face up to 10 years in prison and those who instigate such leaks, including journalists, could be subjected to five-year prison terms.

 

The law was steamrolled through the Diet in 2013 by the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe despite a mass public outcry over the obscure nature by which information will be designated as a state secret.

 

In an interview with the weekly magazine Sunday Mainichi in its Tuesday edition, Snowden said the enactment of the controversial law was requested and designed by the U.S. government to facilitate the NSAs espionage activities in Japan.

 

To counter the government surveillance and control of information, Snowden called for solidarity in the media.

 

The purpose of a free press in open society is not to simply write down what the government wants to say, but to actively challenge its authority, he said.

 

Snowden said he wants to return to his home country if possible, but only under the condition that the U.S. offers a fair trial over his whistleblowing.

 

I dont want to live in the world where everything is tracked and monitored, he said, adding people today need to work towards establishing a surveillance-free society for future generations.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/06/04/national/nsa-whistleblower-snowden-says-u-s-government-carrying-out-mass-surveillance-in-japan/#.V1O0rHgay0c

Edited June 5, 2016 by JasonJ

[JasonJ]

Malabar 2016 underway.

 

 

 

New Delhi: India, Japan and the US on Friday kicked off their marine war games, Malabar Exercise, close to the South China Sea as they focus on deeper military ties and greater interoperability amid rising tensions in the region.

The Indian Navy said that their ships Satpura, Sahyadri, Shakti and Kirch are participating in the 20th edition of the naval exercise in consonance with India's 'Act East Policy' and growing ties among the three countries.

The exercise will support maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region and benefit the global maritime community, the navy said.

The exercise assumes significance as it is being conducted close to South China Sea at a time when Chinese assertiveness in the region is a raging issue.

India and the US have regularly conducted the annual exercise since 1992. Since 2007, Malabar has been held alternatively off India and in the Western Pacific. Last year, it was conducted off Chennai and included participation of Japan.

While the harbour phase of the exercise started today at Sasebo, the sea phase in the Pacific Ocean will be held from 14 to 17 June.

"The primary aim of this exercise is to increase interoperability amongst the three navies and develop common understanding of procedures for Maritime Security Operations," the statement said.

Indian ships participating in the exercise are from the Eastern Fleet and include INS Sahyadri and INS Satpura, indigenously built guided missile stealth frigates, INS Shakti, a modern fleet tanker and support ship, and INS Kirch, an indigenous guided missile corvette.

The US Navy will be represented by aircraft carrier USS John C Stennis (CVN 74), Ticonderoga class Cruiser USS Mobile Bay and Arleigh Burke class destroyers USS Stockdale and USS Chung Hoon, all carrying helicopters.

In addition, one nuclear-powered submarine, carrier wing aircraft and long-range maritime patrol aircraft will also participate in the exercise.

Japan will be represented by Hyuga, a helicopter carrier with SH 60 K integral choppers and long-range maritime patrol aircraft, besides other advanced warships for specific parts of the exercise.

Additionally, the Special Forces (SF) of the three navies will also interact during the exercise.

 

http://www.firstpost.com/world/india-japan-and-us-begin-malabar-exercise-near-south-china-sea-2827184.html?utm_source=FP_CAT_LATEST_NEWS

[JasonJ]

SM-3 Block IIA second flight test.

 

 

 

 

The Japan Ministry of Defense (MOD) Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency (ATLA) and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA), in cooperation with the U.S. Navy, announced the successful completion of a Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IIA flight test from the Point Mugu Sea Range, San Nicolas Island, California. This test, designated SM-3 Block IIA Cooperative Development Controlled Test Vehicle-02, was a live fire of the SM-3 Block IIA. The missile successfully demonstrated flyout through kinetic warhead ejection. No intercept was planned, and no target missile was launched.

 

http://www.mda.mil/news/gallery_internationalcoop_aegisbmd.html

 

 

WASHINGTON — A new missile co-developed by the United States and Japan is expected to participate in two intercepts tests later this year, Raytheon executives said Jan. 13.

The Standard Missile (SM)-3 Block 2A interceptor, developed under an agreement signed in 2006, is a bigger and more capable version of the Raytheon-built SM-3 Block 1A and 1B interceptors.

Designed to be fired from ships or from land, the Block 2A features second and third stages that are wider, at 53 centimeters, than those on the current SM-3 variants. That feature gives the missile the range and velocity needed to engage medium and intermediate-range ballistic missiles. The interceptor also allows for more software updates to improve the missile’s capability and effectiveness.

In 2015, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency used the Block 2A variant in two flight tests but an intercept was not planned as part of either exercise.

MDA has scheduled two intercepts tests of the missile for the second half of 2016, said Amy Cohen, the director of Raytheon’s SM-3 program. In both tests, the SM-3 Block 2A would aim to destroy a medium-range ballistic missile target.

Full-rate production of the interceptor is targeted for as early as 2017. That would be followed by deployment on land and at sea in 2018, government and industry officials have said.

The SM-3 Block 2A is a key part of the European Phased Adaptive Approach (EPAA) for defending NATO allies, which is centered around the Lockheed Martin-developed Aegis Weapon System, the SM-3, and a network of ground-, air- and space-based sensors.

The EPAA currently relies on sea-based SM-3 Block 1A and Block 1B interceptors, but subsequent phases will see SM-3 variants deployed on land in Poland and Romania.

Raytheon is under contract to co-produce 17 Block 2A interceptors for developmental testing.

Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is working as a sub-contractor to Raytheon to provide the interceptor’s second- and third-stage motors and nose cone.

Meanwhile, Kenyon Hiser, a Raytheon missile defense executive, said that when an SM-3 Block 1B interceptor failed to hit a medium-range ballistic missile Oct. 31 as part of a complex test, it was a “one-off” situation. An MDA investigation is ongoing.

 

http://spacenews.com/new-sm-3-variant-faces-two-intercept-tests-this-year/

Edited June 13, 2016 by JasonJ

[JasonJ]

 

Around 500 Australian Army, United States Marine Corps and Japanese Ground Self Defence Force soldiers conducted a combined attack on an urban facility during Exercise Southern Jackaroo 16 at Shoalwater Bay in May. The Battle Group took six hours to clear the urban facility, sector by sector, using blank ammunition against enemy forces. Exercise Southern Jackaroo 16 is a tri-lateral training activity between Australia, the United States and Japan that enables participating nations to train and share skills.

[JasonJ]

Paratroopers assigned to the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne, Spartan Brigade), 25th Infantry Division, U.S. Army Alaska, and the 1st Airborne Brigade, Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) execute an airborne proficiency operation, and coordination for follow-on training at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, during Exercise Arctic Aurora 2016.

Arctic Aurora is a yearly bilateral training exercise involving elements of the US Army Spartan Brigade and the JGSDF 1st Airborne Brigade, which focuses on strengthening ties between the two by executing combined small unit airborne proficiency operations and basic small arms marksmanship.

[JasonJ]

MANILA, Philippines – A United States (US) Navy aircraft arrived at Clark Air Base in Pampanga on Wednesday for the training with FA-50 aircraft pilots of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)

 

The newly arrived EA-18G Growler aircraft is part of the first temporary detachment of the US Navy, according to a report from the US Pacific Fleet.

 

The Growler aircraft will also perform routine operations to enhance regional maritime domain awareness and assure that there is access to air and maritime domains in accordance with international law.

 

The detachment consists of four aircraft and 120 personnel assigned to the expeditionary squadron based at the Naval Air Station in Whidbey Island, Washington.

 

The Philippine government approved the detachment which is part of a US Contingent established by the US Pacific Command which seeks to promote interoperability and security operation.

 

According to the report, the AFP offered to host the US Air Contingent in Clark to train with the FA-50 fighter pilots and support the units located in the air base.

 

Earlier this year, US Defense Secretary Ash Carter revealed that at least 200 American servicemen will stay behind in the Philippines after the Balikatan joint exercises.

 

The American military units will maintain presence in the Philippines for joint air and maritime patrols in the disputed South China Sea.

 

The initial US Air Contingent included five A-10C Thunderbolt aircraft, three HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters and approximately 200 personnel deployed from multiple Pacific Air Forces units.

 

 

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/06/16/1593564/us-navy-aircraft-arrives-training-afp-pilots

[chino]

Please do not depend on Singapore as we are in reality pro-China, and really don't give a shit if The Philippines, Vietnam nor even our close friends Brunei lose a few more far-flung submerged islets to China that they do not have the capability to defend anyway.

[JasonJ]

Would make things more interesting if they go all out pro-China.

[chino]

Please do not depend on Singapore as we are in reality pro-China, and really don't give a shit if The Philippines, Vietnam nor even our close friends Brunei lose a few more far-flung submerged islets to China that they do not have the capability to defend anyway.

Amazing what one will say after 2 Bloody Marys and about, oh... 5 whiskys.

[JasonJ]

 

Please do not depend on Singapore as we are in reality pro-China, and really don't give a shit if The Philippines, Vietnam nor even our close friends Brunei lose a few more far-flung submerged islets to China that they do not have the capability to defend anyway.

 

Amazing what one will say after 2 Bloody Marys and about, oh... 5 whiskys.

[JasonJ]

Malabar 2016 finished.

 

Looks like 20 naval vessels sailing together. A lot more than what was reported to participate in the exercise before the exercise started.

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CsaU5Wtqa8

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwSwHM6F-Zk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9_EzOal1K8

[Panzermann]

 

 

Please do not depend on Singapore as we are in reality pro-China, and really don't give a shit if The Philippines, Vietnam nor even our close friends Brunei lose a few more far-flung submerged islets to China that they do not have the capability to defend anyway.

 

Amazing what one will say after 2 Bloody Marys and about, oh... 5 whiskys.

in vino veritas

 

in maria sanguineum veritas

 

in aqua vitæ veritas

 

in chino veritas

 

 

But yes really, as long as Singapore can act as trade hub and banking centre they won't much care what else is going on I think.

[Panzermann]

 

 

this article says that Malaysia is the lever china uses to cement its foothold in the spratleys and break asean. using china town as its fifth column?

 

Malaysia is Chinas Weak Link in Checkmating ASEAN

Posted on June 15, 2016 By Philip Bowring Headline , Malaysia, Politics

 

 

Beijing uses 1MDB to manipulate Putrajayas foreign policy to its advantage Malaysia is succumbing to Chinas efforts to undermine the solidarity of other littoral states in standing up to Chinas aggressive claim to almost the whole South China Sea.

Just at the point when China seems likely to face a judgment against it in the case brought by the Philippines in the Court of Arbitration in The Hague. Although China claims vast areas of sea within Malaysias 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone and the Spratly Islands, some of which are occupied by Malaysia, Chinas purchase of assets from the scandal-ridden 1MDB has enabled it to manipulate Malaysian foreign policy to its advantage.

 

ASEAN Solidarity is also being eroded by the election process in the United States, which is bringing into question the American trade and strategic commitments to East Asia, without which none of the ASEAN countries will resist Chinese pressure for long.

 

On the face of things, ASEAN foreign ministers took a firm line with China at their just-ended meeting in Kunming. Their statement after the meeting said they express their serous concern over recent and ongoing developments that have eroded trust and confidence, increased tension and which may have the potential to undermine peace, security and stability in the South China Sea.

We stressed the importance of maintaining peace, security, stability, safety and freedom of navigation in and overflight above the South China Sea, the ministers said. This, they said, was in accordance with universally recognized principles of international law including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

 

ASEAN retraction

 

However, the statement was then retracted by the ministers in an amazing about turn engineered by Beijing with the help not merely of its usual client states, Cambodia and Laos, but also Malaysia. The retraction was also an astonishing embarrassment for Singapore and its foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan. Singapore is current coordinator of the ASEAN-China dialogue.

The Malaysian move followed a remarkable article in The Star newspaper a day earlier by the Chinese ambassador to Kuala Lumpur, Huang Huikang. Huang used this platform for an open attack on the Philippines, supposedly a friend and ally of Malaysia. President Benigno S. Aquino III was described as having acted as a pawn in an outsiders political strategy and described the arbitration case as a farce. Aquinos political legacy will only be a pile of pills from the tribunal.

Huang went on to praise Malaysia, describing relations with China the best in history and urging the incoming Philippine president to follow its example in dealing with China.

President-elect Rodrigo Duterte is wavering in his attitude to China. He clearly wants Chinese money for infrastructure projects that would be forthcoming if he gives ground the sea issue and agrees to bilateral talks, and possible joint resource development. On the other hand, he can hardly walk away from any decision in Philippines favor, nor go back on his commitment to the Philippines claim on the Scarborough Shoal, which lies just 120 nautical miles off the coast of Luzon.

 

Arrogant abuse

 

The arrogance of Huang in abusing his diplomatic position to attack the president of a neighbor and ASEAN partner should have drawn immediate condemnation from Malaysia.

But Huang is accustomed to getting away with this kind of behavior, which suggests he already regards Malaysia as a Beijing tributary and himself as the proconsul. In September 2015, Huang made a highly publicized walk through KLs Chinatown to indicate that China would look after the interests of its ethnic brethren in Malaysia.

Beijing has thereby reversed Chinas longstanding commitment not to interfere in other countries internal affairs or use ethnic Chinese minorities for its own political purposes.

These are now being used to enhance Chinese interests in claiming a sea whose coastline is only about 25 percent Chinese.

Beijing views Malaysia as the weakest link in the solidarity of maritime states partly by using the position of the Chinese minority as leverage, and partly through the power of money to influence decisions made by the UMNO-led government. The 1MDB case arose at a particularly opportune moment for Beijing, enabling China to come to the rescue of embattled Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Beijing has long focused its military attentions on Vietnam and, more recently with its seizure of Scarborough Shoal, the Philippines. Malaysia has been left alone for now. But Chinese claims are now less of a threat, encompassing as they do waters already exploited by Malaysia as well as others with oil and gas potential, not to forget islands such as Layang-Layang where Malaysia has an airstrip and dive resort. But do not imagine an UMNO government cares about national interests over its own power and money needs.

 

Hollow Washington

 

Meanwhile, the US provides little encouragement for a reliable and long-term ally. The emergence of Donald Trump as the Republican presidential nominee is a poor advertisement for western democracy. His anti-Muslim attitudes are offensive to much of Asia, Malaysia included. And his isolationist attitudes suggest that his presidency would see a reduction in the US presence in the region and the withering of the network of cooperation with countries from Japan to Australia and India and including many ASEAN members. President Obamas rebalance Asian rather than Middle East interests would be forgotten.

A US turn away from its traditional promotion of free trade is also a concern. Not merely is Trump critical of free trade agreements but Hillary Clinton too now says she opposes the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), one of the cornerstones of the US tilt towards Asia to meet the challenge of Chinas rising influence.

http://www.asiasentinel.com/politics/1mdb-behind-malaysia-asean-capitulation-to-china/

[JasonJ]

 

 

 

Please do not depend on Singapore as we are in reality pro-China, and really don't give a shit if The Philippines, Vietnam nor even our close friends Brunei lose a few more far-flung submerged islets to China that they do not have the capability to defend anyway.

Amazing what one will say after 2 Bloody Marys and about, oh... 5 whiskys.

in vino veritas

 

in maria sanguineum veritas

 

in aqua vitæ veritas

 

in chino veritas

 

 

But yes really, as long as Singapore can act as trade hub and banking centre they won't much care what else is going on I think.

 

 

Das macht Sinn!

 

But I don't like wine so much. I prefer these:

 

 

我喜歡啤酒。

[Panzermann]

that would be in cervesia veritas.

 

 

 

For chino it is probably this other japanese malt product:

 

 

For relaxing times, make it Suntory time.

 

 

Looks like it has worked for chino.

[JasonJ]

他喜歡威士忌酒

 

 

 

Suntory beer is also good. I like it a little more than the Asahi dry but it costs about 20 yen more, so not as often as Asahi.