DefenceTalkThe US State Department has approved the potential sale to Taiwan of $2.2 billion in arms, including Abrams tanks and Stinger missiles, the Pentagon said on Monday. The announcement is likely to anger Beijing, which views Taiwan as part of its territory and has previously expressed “serious concerns” about the possible sale. Congress has been […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-approves-possible-2-2-billion-arms-sale-to-taiwan-72371/

DefenceTalkKaigun Kare, directly translated as “Navy Curry” in English, is the hearty, mildly sweet and spicy gravy dish served up in mess halls and ship galleys every Friday in the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), or the former Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). While the exact time of when having Kaigun Kare in the Japanese Navy […]https://www.defencetalk.com/kaigun-kare-japanese-navy-curry-66417/

DefenceTalkTaiwan has made a formal request to the United States for new fighter jets to defend itself against increasing Chinese threats, Deputy Defence Minister Shen Yi-ming told reporters Thursday. “We made the request to purchase (fighter jets) because China has been increasing its military strength and we are starting to have an imbalance of power […]https://www.defencetalk.com/taiwan-asks-us-for-new-fighter-jets-to-defend-against-china-72192/

DefenceTalkFrench aircraft carrier the Charles de Gaulle set sail on Tuesday from the Mediterranean port of Toulon following two years of refurbishments and upgrades for a deployment that will see it travel to the Indian Ocean and Singapore. “There are departures that leave a bitter taste in one’s mouth, but not yours. Yours already has […]https://www.defencetalk.com/frances-charles-de-gaulle-aircraft-carrier-sets-off-for-asia-72178/

DefenceTalkTaiwan’s navy showed off its latest long-range surveillance drone on Thursday (Jan 24) as the island’s outgunned armed forces push to counter China’s increasingly muscular rhetoric and military exercises. China still sees Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunified, despite the two sides being ruled separately since they split in 1949 after a […]https://www.defencetalk.com/taiwan-unveils-new-drone-as-china-tensions-mount-72080/

DefenceTalkRoyal Navy warship HMS Argyll joined the US Navy for a two-day combined workout in the South China Sea. The Plymouth-based frigate linked up with American destroyer McCampbell, underlining the Royal Navy’s return to the Pacific Rim as Britain looks to broader horizons after Brexit. After spending Christmas just outside Tokyo in the US Navy’s […]https://www.defencetalk.com/royal-navy-frigate-joins-us-destroyer-in-south-china-sea-72056/

DefenceTalkNorth Korea still poses a “serious and imminent threat”, Japan said Tuesday in its first annual defence review since an outbreak of diplomacy on the Korean peninsula. Japan’s 2018 defence white paper also took aim at China’s rise as a military power, saying Beijing was sparking “strong security concerns in the region and international community, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/north-korea-still-serious-and-imminent-threat-japan-71822/

DefenceTalkThe Pentagon is not considering cutting back the joint US-South Korean military exercises that have drawn angry condemnation from Pyongyang ahead of a planned US-North Korea summit, an official said Thursday. “There’s been no talk of reducing anything. There’s been no talk of changing our scope,” Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said. The exercises “are defensive […]https://www.defencetalk.com/no-plans-to-cut-back-us-south-korea-drills-pentagon-71702/

DefenceTalkChina’s domestic Z-19E armed helicopter has completed firing flight tests, its developer the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) said Wednesday. “The Z-19E has shown its maneuverability and operational capability in the just concluded firing flight test phase, which marks a major step for the export model into the market,” AVIC said. It conducted […]https://www.defencetalk.com/chinas-z-19e-armed-helicopter-completes-firing-tests-71695/

DefenceTalkNorth Korea on Wednesday (May 16) called into question a much-anticipated and unprecedented summit between its leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump set for next month. Pyongyang also cancelled high-level talks due on Wednesday with Seoul over the Max Thunder joint military exercises being held between the United States and South Korea, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/north-korea-casts-doubt-on-trump-summit-71681/