DefenceTalkTaiwan began two days of military drills Tuesday simulating an attack by China as the government sought to reassure the public in the face of deteriorating relations with Beijing. The island’s armed forces gathered in central Taiwan for annual drills that saw troops practice combat skills with tanks, attack helicopters and artillery. “The military has […]https://www.defencetalk.com/taiwan-simulates-china-attacks-as-tension-rises-68838/

DefenceTalkChina is running out of patience with Donald Trump’s stance on Taiwan, state media said Monday, and will “take the gloves off” if he keeps challenging the One China policy. The US president-elect told the Wall Street Journal over the weekend the longstanding policy was up for negotiation, in his latest comment on the issue. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-will-take-the-gloves-off-over-taiwan-media-68818/

DefenceTalkPresident Vladimir Putin said Russia would strive to reach an elusive deal on a territorial dispute and normalise relations with Japan ahead of his visit to the country later this week. Putin will arrive in Japan on Thursday for talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the hope of breaking the ice on an agreement […]https://www.defencetalk.com/putin-calls-for-peace-treaty-with-japan-ahead-of-visit-68674/

DefenceTalkChina offered its sternest rebuke yet to Donald Trump, saying anyone who challenges Beijing’s interests in Taiwan will “lift a rock only to crush his own toes”. “If he tries to sabotage the One China policy or harm China’s core interests, ultimately he will lift a rock only to crush his own toes,” Chinese foreign […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-warns-trump-of-crushing-his-own-toes-on-taiwan-68672/

DefenceTalkNew satellite imagery shows China has apparently installed “significant” defensive weapons on a series of artificial islands it built in the South China Sea, a US-based think tank said Wednesday. Beijing has created seven islets in the Spratly Islands in recent years, built up from much smaller land protuberances and reefs. Although Beijing has said […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-boosts-defenses-on-s-china-sea-islets-us-experts-68667/

DefenceTalkChina should “significantly” increase military spending and build more nuclear weapons as a response to US President-elect Donald Trump, an editorial in the nationalistic Global Times newspaper said Thursday. China should “build more strategic nuclear arms and accelerate the deployment of the DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missile” to protect its interests, should Trump attempt to corner […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-should-build-more-nuclear-arms-to-prepare-for-trump-media-68654/

DefenceTalkChina’s newest warplane, the J-20 stealth fighter, will make its first public flight at the Zhuhai Air Show, its manufacturer announced on Monday, as Beijing flexes its long-range military muscles. The J-20, “which military enthusiasts at home and abroad have watched closely”, will make its first public flight demonstration, said Tan Ruisong, the president of […]https://www.defencetalk.com/with-new-j-20-warplane-china-all-set-to-flex-its-long-range-military-muscle-68529/

DefenceTalkEfforts to convince North Korea to give up its nuclear program and “denuclearize” the Korean Peninsula are bound to fail, US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said Tuesday. The United States is set to deploy its THAAD missile defense system to South Korea as soon as possible, despite opposition from China, in an effort […]https://www.defencetalk.com/denuclearizing-north-korea-a-lost-cause-us-intel-chief-says-68483/

DefenceTalkPhilippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s fiery rhetoric and deadly crime war are becoming a growing concern around the world, the top US envoy for Asia warned on Monday in Manila. US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel met the Philippines’ defence and foreign ministers on Monday, after Duterte last week […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-warns-philippines-duterte-over-rhetoric-crime-war-68481/

DefenceTalkPhilippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Saturday he would not sever his nation’s alliance with the United States, as he clarified his announcement that he planned to “separate”. “It’s not severance of ties. Severance is to cut diplomatic relations. I can not do that. Why? It’s in the best interests of my country that I don’t […]https://www.defencetalk.com/philippines-duterte-says-will-not-sever-us-ties-68466/