Here are some Monday security links:
On Saturday, Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi confirmed that Beijing will participate in the U.S.-led RIMPAC naval exercises next year.
The Associated Press reports that U.S. and Japanese troops will begin a two-week military drill off the coast of California on Tuesday that will seek to bolster the two countries’ joint amphibious attack capabilities. China’s request that the drill be cancelled—given that these capabilities could be used to retake islands— were denied.
At the Seventh China-Vietnam consultation on defense and security in Beijing on Friday, China and Vietnam agreed to set up a naval hotline to reduce the likelihood of miscalculation in disputed waters in the South China Sea. According to The Hindu, China already has similar naval hotlines with India, the U.S., South Korea and Japan.
Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou has once again called on China and Japan to join Taipei in a trilateral East China Sea Peace Initiative. Tokyo has once again declined.
The Times of India reports that the Indian Navy’s “desperate” attempt to save its submarine fighting force is “sinking” amid bureaucratic red tape.
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