The Diplomat Magazine, 2013: At a Washington, DC breakfast on Monday, Air Force Gen. Herb Carlisle, the USAF’s top commander in the Pacific, basically stated that the U.S. plans to encircle China with its most capable aircraft over the next few years. Over at Breaking Defense, Colin Clark reports that Carlisle said that the first Air Force F-35’s will be deployed to the Pacific, and are likely to be stationed at bases in Misawa, Japan; Kadena, Japan; Osan Air Base, Korea; and Kunsan Air Base, Korea. Singapore will also purchase the F-35s. Clark also quotes the general as saying the USAF will send fighters, tankers, and at some point in the future, maybe bombers on a rotational basis, to a base in Darwin, Australia. Meanwhile, John Reed of Foreign Policy reports that Carlisle also said (in Reed’s words) that the USAF will also be, sending jets to Changi East air base in Singapore, Korat air base in Thailand, a site in India, and possibly bases at Kubi Point and Puerto Princesa in the Philippines and airfields in Indonesia and Malaysia. As Reed sums it up, This means the Air Force will sen[d] large numbers of F-22 Raptors, F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, and B-2 stealth bombers to the region. [...] Times of India reports that the Ministry of Defense in Delhi is seizing upon an inter-service spate within India’s military to try and undermine proposals for the armed forces to create its own joint chiefs of staff. India can agree that it should offer Vietnam—which it is joint exploring for energy in the South China Sea with—a US$100 million line of credit so Hanoi can buy four patrol boats, according to The Hindu. China is not taking its neighbors and the U.S. balancing against it lying down. It is once again conducting joint military exercises with Russia, and is considering expanding military ties with the United Kingdom. Over at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Peter Jennings and Tobias Feakin have a new report which argues that after the 2013 general elections, the new Australian government should publish a new whitepaper on cybersecurity within a year.
Posted on: Sun, 21 Dec 2014 05:05:01 +0000
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