U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee to be the Pentagon's top Asia official has urged Japan to ramp up its defense budget, saying Tokyo “has long underemphasized spending for its own defense.” https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/08/japan/japan-us-defense-spending-pentagon/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #usjapanrelations #donaldtrump #defense #budgets #shigeruishiba #defenseministry #indopacific #johnnoh #sanaetakaichi

An expert panel has called for Japan’s next-gen subs to be able to operate longer and strike targets from father away. Easier said than done, analysts say, amid an array of technical and political challenges. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/08/japan/japan-nuclear-submarines-analysis/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #sdf #defense #submarines #nuclearenergy #missiles #china #us #indopacific #pla

Australia and Papua New Guinea have signed a major mutual defense treaty mainly intended to offset China’s expanding military clout in the South Pacific and prevent it from projecting power in the area. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/06/asia-pacific/politics/australia-papua-new-guinea-defense-treaty-signed/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics #papuanewguinea #australia #defense #china #indopacific

India's challenge is to maintain strategic autonomy and to promote its vision of a more inclusive, rules-based and connected South and Southeast Asia. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/10/05/world/indias-dangerous-neighborhood/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #india #nepal #thailand #indopacific #southeastasia #malaysia #cambodia #defense #china #pakistan #bangladesh #democracy

China is transforming parts of its east coast into a platform for potential missile strikes against Taiwan and the nearby seas — a move crucial to bringing Taipei under Beijing’s control and fending off U.S. forces. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/05/asia-pacific/china-missiles-threatening-taiwan/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #taiwan #china #pla #missiles #usmilitary #asia #indopacific #defense

Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth advocate a more militaristic approach to military preparedness with an inward-looking defense strategy focused on domestic issues while sidelining global threats and alliances. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/editorials/2025/10/03/trump-and-hegseth-address-to-military-officers/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #editorials #us #usmilitary #defense #donaldtrump #china #petehegseth #indopacific

With remarks about making U.S. cities “training grounds” for the military, it would be easy to overlook another signal in Trump’s speech to U.S. commanders — his foreign policy is about to turn even more inward-looking. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/01/world/politics/trump-national-defense-strategy/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #politics #us #usmilitary #defense #donaldtrump #china #immigration #petehegseth #indopacific

Japan is recalibrating its core foreign policy principles to navigate an assertive China, a transactional U.S. and a shifting regional order. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/09/23/world/japan-foreign-policy-in-uncharted-waters/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #us #china #chinajapanrelations #usjapanrelations #aukus #thequad #asean #indopacific

Japan and India can secure sustained U.S. engagement in the Indo-Pacific by building energy, technology and defense partnerships so commercially and strategically compelling that Washington cannot afford to walk away. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/09/17/world/japan-india-us-indo-pacific/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #usjapanrelations #indiajapanrelations #india #us #aukus #thequad #indopacific

Australia and Papua New Guinea have postponed signing a major mutual defense treaty, Canberra’s latest stumble as it seeks to counterbalance Beijing’s expanding presence and clout in the Pacific region. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/17/asia-pacific/politics/australia-papua-new-guinea-defense-treaty/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics #australia #indopacific #papuanewguinea #defense #china #anthonyalbanese #jamesmarape

Australia has said it will deploy a $1.1 billion fleet of "Ghost Shark" underwater attack drones to bolster its maritime firepower. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/10/asia-pacific/australia-ghost-shark-drones/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #australia #drones #china #indopacific

The Philippines is working on a new set of internal rules and protocols to better coordinate the actions of agencies in contentious areas of the South China Sea, as Manila responds to Beijing's gray-zone activities. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/10/asia-pacific/philippines-south-china-sea-rules-of-engagement/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #philippines #china #pla #southchinasea #disputedislands #indopacific

The second Trump administration is reshaping global alliances by pushing allies to spend more on defense and pursuing peace through strategic diplomacy, military, economic and informational strategies. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/09/09/world/trump-doctrines-challenge-to-allied-unity/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #us #donaldtrump #nato #ukraine #russia #china #indopacific #defense

The commander of a British aircraft carrier strike group said in an exclusive interview that the group will have achieved "full operating capability" by the time it returns home, following a landmark visit to Japan. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/02/asia-pacific/uk-aircraft-carrier-commander-japan/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #uk #ukjapanrelations #defense #indopacific #aircraftcarriers #f35 #sdf

Surrounded by Chinese military bases, a tiny Philippine island stands firm on the front line of a simmering territorial dispute between Beijing and Manila in the flash point South China Sea. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/01/asia-pacific/philippines-pagasa-island-south-china-sea/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #philippines #southchinasea #disputedislands #china #indopacific

Tokyo faces an impossible choice between an unreliable America and an assertive China. The solution? Don’t choose. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/08/28/japan/a-post-american-indo-pacific/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #indopacific #china #us #chinajapanrelations #usjapanrelations #donaldtrump

Japan’s successful offer of state-of-the-art warships to Australia will be a "model" case for future exports, senior defense officials say, as Tokyo eyes Southeast Asian nations as possible destinations. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/17/japan/japan-mogami-defense-exports-southeast-asia/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #japanaustraliarelations #defense #defenseministry #southeastasia #indopacific #australia

Trump’s focus on commerce and personal negotiation style suggests he favors a “grand bargain” with China, even if that means sidelining traditional security concerns like Taiwan. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/08/12/world/a-look-at-trumps-china-policy/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #china #us #donaldtrump #chinausrelations #taiwan #indopacific #chineseeconomy #useconomy

Following a trade deal with Seoul, the United States’ focus is now expected to shift to reorienting defense ties with South Korea as the two countries’ leaders meet for a summit that could reset their military alliance. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/10/asia-pacific/politics/south-korea-us-trump-lee-summit-preview/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics #southkorea #us#leejaemyung #donaldtrump #northkorea #china #defense #budgets #usmilitary #indopacific

This year’s Exercise Talisman Sabre multinational military drills saw over 80 "firsts" in which participants either tested new systems or performed combined activities for the first time, the exercise’s director said. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/03/asia-pacific/talisman-sabre-military-exercise/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #indopacific #us #usmilitary #defense #sdf