South East Asia Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

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Naval Today said:

The Pacific arm of the Russian Navy fleet is set to participate in this year’s iteration of the Indonesian-organized multilateral exercise Komodo 2016, the navy confirmed.

The second Komodo exercise will be held in April 2016, in Padang – West Sumatera, Siberut and Sapura islands, Indonesia.

Representatives from the Russian Pacific Fleet took part in the planning conference of the exercise on February 15-17 in the Indonesian port of Padang. According to the Russian Navy, more than 30 countries from the Asia-Pacific region are expected to take part in this exercise.

The first Komodo was organized in 2014 and held in Batam, Indonesia. The first edition saw 18 ASEAN-Plus Navies participate in Harbor Phase, Sea Phase and Civic Missions with the theme of “Cooperation for Stability”.

MNEK 2016 theme will be “Readiness and Cooperation for Peace” and participating navies will focus on maritime peacekeeping operations scenarios.

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Japan to supply Philippines with military equipment

MANILA – Japan will sign an accord with the Philippines to allow Tokyo to supply military equipment to Manila, the first such Japanese defense pact in a region where both have expressed alarm over China’s island-building and other aggressive acts in disputed waters.


Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said Saturday that the agreement he will sign on Monday with the Japanese ambassador in Manila is not directed against any country but aims to address gaps in the underfunded Philippine military’s capabilities.


The Asian allies began stepping up defense cooperation “even before the disagreement in the West Philippine Sea,” Gazmin said, using the name the Philippine government has adopted for the disputed South China Sea, where its territorial conflict with Beijing has flared in recent years.


“It’s not directed against any country,” he said in what appeared to be an effort to avoid provoking any hostile Chinese reaction..... to read more

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According to Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun, the Japanese government plans to lease retired Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) TC-90 training aircraft to the Philippine Navy who will use the aircraft for air patrol missions related to China’s maritime expansion in the South China Sea.

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Boustead Heavy Industries Corporation Berhad (BHIC) and the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN or Tentera Laut DiRaja Malaysia; TLDM) held today the keel laying ceremony of the first Gowind frigate Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) as part of the Second Generation Patrol Vessel (SGPV) program.

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navyreco said:

Japan to Lease ex-JMSDF Beechcraft TC-90 King Air to the Philippine Navy for Maritime Patrol

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China expresses alarm at Philippines-Japan aircraft deal

China expressed alarm on Thursday about an agreement in which the Philippines will lease five aircraft from Japan to help patrol the disputed South China Sea.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino said the five TC-90 training aircraft would help the navy in patrolling what the Philippines views as its territory.

The Philippines has made the modernization of its air and naval forces a priority as China deploys missiles and fighters on a number of artificial islands in the South China Sea.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, where about $5 trillion worth of ship-borne trade passes annually. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims to parts of the sea.

"If the Philippines' actions are to challenge China's sovereignty and security interests, China is resolutely opposed," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a daily news briefing........ to read more

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Naval Today said:

The U.S. Coast Guard will decommission the high endurance cutter Boutwell during a ceremony held at Naval Base San Diego, March 16.

The cutter has been in service for 48 years and will now be transferred to the Philippine Navy under the Foreign Military Sale Program through the Foreign Assistance Act.

Additionally, the Philippine Navy will receive the former U.S. Navy research vessel Melville.

In 2015, Boutwell’s final year of operation, the cutter spent 219 days away from homeport, traveling more than 40,000 nautical miles spanning 65 degrees of latitude, called on 12 ports, and performed six of the Coast Guard’s statutory missions.

Boutwell is the seventh High Endurance Cutter to be decommissioned and the third to be sent to the Philippines, with five remaining in service across the Pacific. The Coast Guard said it is working with the U.S. State Department to transfer Boutwell to the Philippine Navy.

Back in November 2015, U.S. president Barrack Obama announced the transferring of two ships during his visit to Manila. He said the transfer was part of the American plan to assist naval forces in Southeast Asia where China’s aggressive moves to assert control over the South China Sea threatened neighboring countries.

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Pictures have emerged showing Indonesian Navy's (TNI AL) first Type 209/1200 Chang Bogo Class diesel electric submarine (SSK) derivative out of the construction hall at DSME (Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd) shipyard in South Korea.

The pictures show the first submarine of the series, KRI Nagabanda (hull number 403) being moved out of the construction hall on a Self-Propelled Modular Transporter (SPMT).

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