Far East Security Briefing

Far East Security Briefing

• Xinhua - China and Russia will launch a joint anti-terror drill in Northeast China this year, a defense official has said. “The defense ministries of the two countries are currently discussing details of the drill,” Qian Lihua, director of the Ministry of Defense’s foreign affairs office, said.
• China Daily - Taiwan’s military will trim its forces by about a fifth by 2014 and shift toward a more defensive posture, the province announced yesterday. The Quadrennial Defense Review, the first defense white paper under leader Ma Ying-jeou, who favors a peace agreement with the mainland, said Taiwan will reduce its troop numbers from the current count of about 275,000 to about 215,000 over the next five years, strengthening unit combat capability.
• Yonhap - North Korea’s premier started his five-day trip to China on Tuesday, where he will attend an opening ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of bilateral relations and likely meet with Chinese leaders. Kim Yong-il, premier of North Korea’s Cabinet, arrived in Beijing as his country prepares to launch what it claims is a communications satellite into orbit in early April.
• news.com.au - An Indonesian terrorist on death row for his role in the bombing of Australia’s embassy in Jakarta has published a new book preaching jihad. In his new 224-page book, What is Jihad?, Darmawan is unrepentant about the attack, saying it was justified because it targeted “non-believers”, the Jakarta Globe newspaper reported.
• Observing Japan - The bill that will go before the Diet explicitly permits the MSDF to defend non-Japanese ships at sea and clarifies measures that can be taken by the MSDF to combat piracy. As of now, the MSDF will be permitted to use force in cases of legitimate self-defense, permitting the destroyers to fire warning shots and shots at the hull of pirate ships encountered.
• Japan Defense Ministry - Upon the Prime Minister’s approval, today the Minister of Defense has issued an order for maritime security operations to the Commander of the Self-Defense Fleet, to respond to piracy in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia. The outline of the order is shown as attached.
• Manila Times - Security forces clashed Monday with Abu Sayyaf terrorists holding hostage three Red Cross workers in Sulu, police said. The fighting erupted in the hinterlands of Indanan town where soldiers and police forces have encircled an area where the terrorists are holding Swiss Andreas Notter, Italian Eugenio Vagni and Filipina Mary Jean Lacaba. Police said unconfirmed reports have one of the terrorist leaders Albader Parad was either wounded or killed in the fighting.
• Straits Times - Two people were killed and at least four others wounded in a grenade attack blamed on Islamic militants in the southern Philippines, police and military said on Tuesday. Men believed to be members of the Abu Sayyaf group tossed the grenade into a karaoke bar on Jolo island late on Monday, police said.
• RSIS - The ASEAN Petroleum Security Agreement signed recently in Thailand marks a milestone for ensuring regional energy security by including a provision for voluntary oil stockpiles. However, mandatory, as opposed to voluntary, oil stockpiling could better serve the medium- and long-term energy security needs of ASEAN.
• Irrawaddy - Brunei and Malaysia sealed a pact Monday to settle a maritime territorial dispute that has blocked the exploration of rich offshore oil reserves off Borneo island for six years.
• Jakarta Post - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono discussed on Monday contentious issues on Rohingya boat people and democracy in junta-ruled Myanmar with visiting Myanmarese Prime Minister Gen. Thein Sein.