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Vladimir Putin boasted yesterday that Russia had the power to launch an 'unpreventable strike' against its enemies in a show of strength following the confrontation with Britain in the Black Sea. The Russian president told a navy day parade in St Petersburg: 'We are capable of detecting any underwater, above-water, airborne enemy and, if required, carry out an unpreventable strike.' It comes as military officials announced tests of advanced new weapons – some of which come from an arsenal Mr Putin has described as 'invincible'. He added: 'The Russian navy today has everything it needs to guarantee the protection of...

A RUSSIAN vessel fired warning shots British warships while a fighter jet dropped "warning bombs", Vladimir Putin's defence ministry has claimed. Moscow has alleged the Russian ship and aircraft were scrambled after HMS Defender allegedly crossed into its territorial waters in the Black Sea. HMS Defender was reportedly sailing in the Black Sea Russian state media reports the Royal Navy Type-45 destroyer crossed the border near Cape Fiolent at 11.52am local time and was warned to stand down. The destroyer is alleged to have kept its course and a Russian border patrol vessel opened fire at 12.06pm and 12.08pm. And...

A British warship transited the Taiwan Strait as China continues its military pressure upon Taiwan.The Royal Navy’s HMS Richmond announced on Twitter its latest whereabouts on Sept. 27. “After a busy period working with partners and allies in the East China Sea,” it said, “we are now en route through the Taiwan Strait to visit Vietnam and the Vietnam People’s Navy.”The brief post drew a rebuke from the Chinese military’s Eastern Theater Command the same day.The spokesperson for the command, Shi Yi, criticized the passage on its official WeChat account as a “public hype-up,” saying the UK “just validated its...

China has warned Britain is 'a bi*ch... asking for a beating' if British warships challenge Beijing's claim to the South China Sea. The HMS Queen Elizabeth and her carrier group arrived in the disputed waters on Thursday and are set to sail through Beijing's backyard alongside eight other vessels in a show of strength to Chinese President Xi Jingping. But Chinese state media has warned any move seen as a challenge to islands which Beijing lays claim to would mean Britain 'is being a bi*ch' and 'asking for a beating'.... ....'To say it precisely, if the UK wants to play...

China has warned Britain is 'a bi*ch... asking for a beating' if British warships challenge Beijing's claim to the South China Sea. The HMS Queen Elizabeth and her carrier group arrived in the disputed waters on Thursday and are set to sail through Beijing's backyard alongside eight other vessels in a show of strength to Chinese President Xi Jingping. But Chinese state media has warned any move seen as a challenge to islands which Beijing lays claim to would mean Britain 'is being a bi*ch' and 'asking for a beating'. Editor-in-chief of the state-run Global Times Hu Xijin said China...

In an almost unprecedented move, Germany has joined the US and UK in bolstering its military presence in the South China Sea, on Monday sending a warship to contested waters to counter China’s expanding territorial ambitions for the first time in two decades. Reuters cited defense officials in Berlin who said “the German navy will stick to common trade routes,” who further described that “The frigate is not expected to sail through the Taiwan Strait either, another regular U.S. activity condemned by Beijing.”German Navy’s F 217 FGS Bayern“Nevertheless, Berlin has made it clear the mission serves to stress the fact...

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — U.S. Navy early on Thursday (May 14) posted pictures of one of its warships sailing through the sensitive Taiwan Strait for the sixth time this year. The passage took place on Wednesday (May 13), when the guided-missile destroyer USS McCampbell (DDG 85) steamed through the 180-kilometer-wide strait separating Taiwan and China as "part of ongoing operations in the Indo-Pacific," according to the post on the U.S Pacific Fleet Facebook page. The vessel was sailing southward off Taiwan's west coast but did not make known its destination. Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense later issued a statement, noting...

President Ma Ying-jeou presided Tuesday over the unusually public test firing of 19 surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles, but about a quarter missed their targets, earning his dismay and raising new questions about Taiwan's readiness to defend itself against Chinese attack. The exercise followed last week's successful test flight of China's next generation J-20 stealth aircraft, a system expected to further widen its growing edge over Taiwan's own equipment-starved air force. Ma's presence at the base in southern Taiwan where the missile test was conducted was meant to underscore his commitment to the maintenance of an effective Taiwanese deterrent, but the...

During the 1995–1996 Taiwan Strait crisis, the United States intervened by deploying two carrier groups in response to Chinese missile tests near major Taiwanese ports. These tests were a means of coercively influencing pro-independence elements during the Taiwan presidential election and were considered by China to be an "internal" matter. The U.S. action therefore triggered enormous nationalistic resentment, rooted largely in historical humiliations and infringements on Chinese sovereignty by foreign powers. They also fueled a determined drive to mitigate or prevent such infringements on Chinese sovereignty in the future. The national security strategy of China is built upon the concepts...

Taiwan is to test a missile for the first time that could hit Beijing, a report said Wednesday. The island's defence ministry immediately denied the report on the medium-range surface-to-surface missile, but said research was being carried out on "various weapons systems". The missile, designed to hit targets up to 2,000 kilometres (1,240 miles) away, will be launched Thursday and Friday from Chiupeng, a tightly-guarded base in southern Taiwan, Taipei-based Next Magazine said. If successful, the weapons project codenamed "Ching Sheng" would move into mass production stage, according to the usually well-informed magazine. The defence ministry plans to deploy 150...

Taiwan on Tuesday put into service its first missile boats featuring what the navy described as "stealth" technologies, aimed at boosting defence capabilities against rival China. The squadron of 10 guided-missile boats, seen by top brass as a major improvement on Seagull vessels which have been in service for the past 20 years, joined the navy at the Tsuoying naval base in the south of the island. "Its combat capabilities are much superior to the 50-tonne Seagull-class missile boats," the navy said in a statement released ahead of a ceremony in Tsuoying. "The new home-made weapons system is expected to...

For much of the Cold War, China's navy was little more than an elaborate coast guard. It was barely a blip on the maritime horizons of Japan and Southeast Asia. Today the Chinese armed forces are in the midst of an intense and sustained modernization program, and the navy has emerged as a key service for protecting and advancing national interests. It gets more than one-third of the declared military budget. China's navy, like those of other leading nations, aims to protect vital trade routes, project power and influence, and deter potential adversaries. What makes the Chinese navy significantly different...

The U.S. government has gradually upgraded military relations with Taiwan over the past decade and now has an unofficial "embassy" in Taipei with functioning if not formal military attaches due to the limitations of existing diplomatic ties with China, according to U.S. officials. The most significant upgrade in military ties took place six years ago when the Pentagon shifted its policy from posting only retired military officers in Taipei as liaisons to the Taiwanese military to using active duty officers. The use of active duty military officers, including those with the most senior rank of full colonel, was based on...

The growing capacity of China military force tip the balance in the regional stability of the Asia Pacific area including Taiwan Strait and Southeast Asia, noted Admiral Robert F. Willard, the current Commander of the U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM), while adding that in a broader context, the biggest challenge to US navy in the Pacific Ocean is China, according to Liberty Times report. “In response to China’s immense presence in the Pacific Ocean, the PACOM will step up its efforts to maintain the regional stability,” said Willard at an interview by the Straits Times, a Singaporean news media. China is...

China now has eight battalions of S-300PMU2 anti-aircraft missile systems, on the coast opposite Taiwan. These missiles have a range of 200 kilometers, and are positioned to fire on Taiwanese fighters as soon as they begin to cross the 180 kilometer wide Taiwan straits. This deployment dismayed most Taiwanese, although Taiwanese military leaders pointed out that they have Patriot anti-aircraft missiles deployed along the island coast. But the Patriot only has a range of 70 kilometers, and no one wants to talk about any electronic countermeasures Taiwan might have, that could neutralize the S-300 radars and missiles. It gets worse....

The top commander of US military forces in the Pacific on Thursday confirmed reports that the Chinese army has been upgrading and deploying larger numbers of missiles across the Taiwan Strait. “The PLA has focused considerable effort on building up its integrated air defense capabilities and has deployed an increasing number of upgraded Russian SA-20 PMU 2 along the Taiwan Strait,” Admiral Robert Willard said, ­confirming ­earlier reports by a Canadian defense magazine that said China has deployed eight battalions of advanced missile systems in Fujian Province. Willard also said that Taiwan must someday improve upon its existing fighter jets...

Field training for the annual Hankuang war games this year will be brought forward to late April to allow the troops to be deployed to help combat possible flooding in the coming typhoon season later in the year, a spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense (MND) announced Tuesday at a news conference. Lee Yue-chang, assistant deputy chief of the General Staff for Operations and Planning under the MND, said the field training will be held in late April instead of in the traditional July-October period so that the troops can be better trained in May and June in preparation...

Defense: The Air Force airborne laser program successfully completes a simulated kill from a plane able to find, track and destroy a live ballistic missile. We can shoot down enemy missiles. Instead, we're shooting down the laser program.The Aug. 10 effort was the third such test — sort of like a sniper sighting the target with the red dot of a laser without actually pulling the trigger. In early June, the airborne laser (ABL) program engaged two un-instrumented missiles. This was the first in-flight test against an instrumented target missile. A modified Boeing 747-400F aircraft took off from Edwards Air...

…ambivalence has suddenly reemerged. Various officials, members of Congress and the media are attacking China's policies, from the exchange rate to military buildup The rise of China -- and of Asia -- will, over the next decades, bring about a substantial reordering of the international system Military imperialism is not the Chinese style. Clausewitz, the leading Western strategic theoretician, addresses the preparation and conduct of a central battle. Sun Tzu, his Chinese counterpart, focuses on the psychological weakening of the adversary. China seeks its objectives by careful study, patience and the accumulation of nuances U.S. policy in Asia must not...

Beijing Feb.20 -- The United States and Japan has listed in an unprecedented joint statement that Taiwan is their common security concern, and easing tensions in the Taiwan Strait was among their "common strategic objectives." Senior officials of the two countries also talked about China's military investment in the past years, urging China "to improve transparency of its military affairs". Earlier, CIA director Goss said that China's growing defense buildup might "tilt the balance of the Taiwan Strait" and threaten U.S. troops in the Asian region. Chinese Government and people resolutely opposes the United States and Japan in issuing...