Play The Diplomat’s Quiz: October 30, 2016 Edition

On Wednesday, China’s Sanya Maritime Bureau, located in Hainan province, announced a navigational restriction in the South China Sea ahead of a military exercise, ostensibly for the People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLAN). The restriction announcement and exercise come days after the United States Navy conducted a freedom of navigation operation inside China’s illegal straight baselines in the Paracel Islands. China restricted navigation through the area for a period of 24 hours, expiring on Thursday evening.

What does China have planned for the Type 055 cruiser (or cruiser-size destroyer)?

Over the past month, numerous reports have emerged about the progress of the class of large ships. The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has reportedly ordered four ships, in two groups. The first ship, building at Dalian, will likely hit the water next year, and potentially commission in 2018 or 2019.

Guesses regarding size have ranged from 12,000 to 20,000 tons, with most estimates concentrating on the lower end. Expectations about employment of the ships vary quite a bit, but there is general agreement that the PLAN has determined that it needs a large ship able to operate at great distance from home bases, and that will presumably include anti-air, anti-submarine, and anti-surface capabilities. Like many modern surface combatants, the Type 055 will apparently have features designed to reduce its radar cross section and thus enhance survivability.

When allegations that a woman named Choi Soon-sil edited the South Korean president’s speeches and influenced her decisions started many months ago, they were so fringe, so feudal, so unbelievable that no one could take them seriously.

But as evidence has quickly unfolded over those claims and others, Park Geun-hye is now facing the biggest crisis of her presidency, threatening to cut her term short as the government’s top echelon braces for a personnel upheaval.

The subject of every front page in the country, Choi has been more than a friend to Park for the past four decades. Choi, the daughter of Park’s former mentor (himself once a cult leader), was there for Park during the hard times when her parents – a former dictatorial president and his wife – were assassinated. They worked together in their youth on an organization funded by big business to promote “moral education.” Choi’s ex-husband even served as chief of staff for Park when she was a lawmaker, and was incidentally the man allegedly accompanying Park outside of the Blue House on the day the Sewol ferry sank in 2014.

Through this close bond, Choi has become the premier confidant of a woman who is known to depend on a small inner circle for her every decision. Choi did not merely receive dozens of Park’s speeches to edit, according to a news outlet that uncovered her discarded computer with some 200 classified files, which allegedly included personnel lineups and military documents. She also controlled the clothes the president woreand ordered around her aides, according to local media.

The UK Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) kicked off their first-ever joint aerial combat drill, dubbed Guardian North 16, on 23 October, according to the UK Ministry of Defense. It is the first time that the JASDF is conducting an exercise with a foreign power other than the United States.

The UK-Japan first-ever joint air combat drill involves four RAF Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets and a number of Boeing F-15J all-weather air superiority fighters (built under license by Japanese defense contractor Mitsubishi Heavy Industries) and Mitsubishi F-2s, a 4.5 generation multirole fighter jet based on Lockheed Martin’s F-16.

Contemporary Malaysian politics are not only marked by political parties’ rivalries, but also characterized by escalating social protests and movements with contrasting demands.

The trend of countermobilization in Malaysia is not new. For example, as a response to the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) rally in 2011, conservative Malay group Persatuan Pribumi Perkasa (Perkasa) launched a counterprotest initiative under the name of Gerak Aman, or Peace Movement. Responding to Bersih 2.0 and other movements fighting for human rights and civil liberties, these countermovements aimed at defending the dominant race (Malays) and religion (Islam) against ethnic minorities in the country.

Bersih 2.0’s nationwide convoys, which commenced on October 1 ahead of its planned mass rally on November 19, have been marred by interruptions and also scuffles involving the opposing Red Shirts, led by Sungai Besar United Malays National Organization (UMNO) chief Jamal Yunos. As I argued previously, there is chance that violence could possibly ensue this time around, partly due to the disruptive tactics employed by the Red Shirts. From their slogans and actions, it is easily seen that the Red Shirts are vying for political and societal attention for their views, which oppose those of Bersih 2.0.

India and Russia signed an inter-governmental agreement for the procurement of four (some sources say five) regiments of Russian-made S-400 Triumf advanced Air Defense Systems (NATO reporting name: SA-21 Growler) on October 15 in Goa, India at the sidelines of the eight BRICS summit. The deal, along with 17 other cooperation agreements, was signed in the presence of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Afghanistan is the world’s top producer of opium, producing 90 percent of global supply. The opium trade results in the generation of approximately $68 billion in annual revenue. In 2016, opium production increased by 43 percent mainly due to an increase in insurgency. In addition to this, more than 2.9 million Afghans are involved in opium production one way or another, which is more than 12 percent of the total population.

The export of search-and-rescue aircraft would be Japan’s first defense deal in its post-war history.

Indonesia and Australia could soon move towards joint patrols in the South China Sea, Indonesia’s Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu suggested Friday.

On Friday, following a meeting with Australia’s foreign and defense ministers, Ryamizard said he had proposed that the two countries conduct joint patrols in the eastern South China Sea in the near future to ensure safer waters.

“We have already suggested to Australia the possibility of conducting joint patrols in the eastern part of the South China Sea. We are sure that we will soon create a plan on how to realize it. They have more or less agreed,” he told reporters according to The Jakarta Post.

On Friday, October 21, a U.S. Navy destroyer sailed near features in the Paracel Islands, challenging “excessive maritime claims” as part of a freedom of navigation operation (FONOP), Reuters reported, citing U.S. officials.

The USS Decatur, an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer sailed near China-occupied features in the Paracel Islands that are also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan. The destroyer specifically sailed near Triton Island and Woody Island, but did not sail within 12 nautical miles of either feature.

The operation is the fourth U.S. FONOP in the South China Sea since last year and the first since an international tribunal released a landmark ruling in a case between the Philippines and China, finding China’s capacious nine-dash line claim in the South China Sea invalid.

On October 27, 2015, the USS Lassen sailed within 12 nautical miles of Subi Reef and other features in the Spratly Islands.