Voters in Taiwan have once again rejected an effort by President Lai Ching-te’s party to flip parliament, a setback that could deepen political deadlock and complicate the island’s push to ramp up defense spending. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/24/asia-pacific/politics/taiwan-reject-recalls-defense-budget/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics #taiwan #dpp #kuomintang #laichingte #defense #budgets #china #pla
China's WWII Sept. 3 military parade will be a projection of its growing military might amid deep-seated mistrust in the West, geopolitical uncertainty with the U.S. and territorial rows with neighboring countries. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/24/asia-pacific/china-military-parade-wwii/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #china #pla #wwii #history
U.S. President Donald Trump has claimed that Chinese leader Xi Jinping told him he would not invade democratic Taiwan as long as the American president remains in office. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/16/asia-pacific/politics/trump-xi-china-taiwan/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics #uschinarelations #china #us #taiwan #pla #usmilitary #xijinping #donaldtrump
China and Russia began joint naval drills in the Sea of Japan on Sunday as they seek to reinforce their partnership and counterbalance what they see as a U.S.-led global order. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/03/asia-pacific/china-russia-military-drills-sea-of-japan/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #china #russia #seaofjapan #defense #pla
Japanese and European leaders took aim at China even as they announced a raft of deals to deepen ties at a summit in Tokyo, talks that were likely to stand in stark contrast to a similar meeting in Beijing on Thursday. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/23/japan/politics/eu-japan-summit-china/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #china #eu #japan #eujapanrelations #pla #southchinasea #eastchinasea #disputedislands #taiwan #russiaukrainewar #northkorea
With new rules, the Pentagon is aiming to unleash its “military drone dominance” — a move that could boost the U.S. arsenal and improve the defensive capabilities of its Asian allies and partners. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/21/world/us-pentagon-drones-unleashed-analysis/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #us #drones #usmilitary #petehegseth #indopacific #china #pla #taiwan #donaldtrump
The Pentagon's No. 3 official has lauded Japan’s latest defense white paper — but that praise was couched in language suggesting the Trump administration will continue to push Tokyo to hike defense spending even further. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/16/japan/politics/us-china-japan-defense-white-paper/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #chinajapanrelations #china #pla #defense #defenseministry #sdf #defenseministry #usjapanrelations #us #elbridgecolby #donaldtrump #budgets
The international community has entered “a new era of crisis” amid China’s growing military assertiveness and U.S. President Donald Trump’s Indo-Pacific policies, Japan’s new annual defense report says. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/15/japan/politics/japan-defense-white-paper-2025/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #defense #defenseministry #sdf #china #taiwan #pla #us #usmilitary #budgets #donaldtrump #usjapanrelations
China has denied that its warplanes risked collisions with Japanese surveillance aircraft over the East China Sea last week, calling “close-in reconnaissance and harassment” by Tokyo “the root cause” of the incidents. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/13/japan/japan-china-military-close-encounter/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #chinajapanrelations #china #pla #eastchinasea #senkakus #disputedislands
The Pentagon is urging Japan to make clear the role it would play in the event of a U.S.-China conflict over Taiwan, a report has said, with the U.S. Defense Department’s No. 3 official appearing to confirm the push. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/13/japan/us-japan-taiwan-contingency/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #taiwanjapanrelations #usjapanrelations #china #pla #taiwan #sdf #defense #donaldtrump #elbridgecolby #defenseministry #indopacific
Chinese fighter jets twice risked collisions with Air Self-Defense Force surveillance aircraft, Tokyo said, coming within 30 meters of the planes over the East China Sea on Wednesday and Thursday. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/10/japan/china-japan-aircraft-encounter/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #chinajapanrelations #china #defense #defenseministry #sdf #asdf #pla #senkakus #disputedislands #eastchinasea
Taiwan will simulate a Chinese blockade and invasion of the democratic island in its annual military and civil defense drills next week. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/01/asia-pacific/politics/taiwan-military-drills-china-invasion/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics #china #taiwan #pla #laichingte
The U.S. Army aims to play a pivotal role in deterring China by establishing a firm presence in the Indo-Pacific, according to the service's Asia Pacific deputy commander. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/06/28/asia-pacific/us-army-pacific-china/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #usmilitary #us #china #pla #taiwan #sdf #usjapanrelations #defense #indopacific
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's P-1 aircraft, the first domestic patrol aircraft, is underused mainly due to engine corrosion and problems with electronic devices, a probe has found. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/06/28/japan/japan-patrol-aircraft-underused/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #defense #defenseministry #sdf #china #msdf #pla