States is currently the world biggest weapons supplier — holding 30 per cent of the market — but the Obama administration has begun modifying export control regulations in hopes of enlarging the U.S. market share, according to U.S. officials.

U.S. naval planners are scrambling to deal with what analysts say is a game-changing weapon being developed by China — an unprecedented carrier-killing missile called the Dong Feng 21D that could be launched from land with enough accuracy to penetrate the defenses of even the most advanced moving aircraft carrier at a distance of more than 1,500 kilometers (900 miles).

A Japanese government panel will propose shifting defense policy to allow the transportation of U.S. nuclear weapons within the country and lift a ban on arms exports, the Asahi newspaper reported today.

(June 15, 2010) Chinese officials often cite increased transparency as a reason others should not be alarmed by its military modernization. Does this claim hold up? In recent years, China has accelerated its military modernization, with double-digit increases in official military budgets funding the development and acquisition of a range of new weapons systems.  The [...]

(June 4, 2010) TOKYO— Naoto Kan, a plain-spoken finance minister with activist roots, was elected prime minister on Friday, making him the fifth Japanese leader in four years. Mr. Kan, 63, won a vote in the lower house of Parliament and will now go through the formality of being appointed by Emperor Akihito. Earlier Friday, [...]

(May 30, 2010) WASHINGTON — Surprised by how easily a South Korean warship was sunk by what an international investigation concluded was a North Korean torpedo fired from a midget submarine, senior American officials say they are planning a long-term program to plug major gaps in the South’s naval defenses. They said the sinking revealed [...]

(May 25, 2010) BEIJING — China and the United States wrapped up three days of high-level meetings here on Tuesday with some modest trade and energy agreements, but the United States made little progress on winning China’s backing for international measures against North Korea over the sinking of a South Korean warship. Secretary of State [...]

(May 25, 2010) SEOUL, South Korea — Relations between North and South Korea, already strained over the sinking of a South Korean warship, deteriorated to their worst point in many years on Tuesday as the South Korean president redesignated the North as its archenemy, and the North retaliated by severing its few remaining ties with [...]

(May 19, 2010) SEOUL, Korea– To prevent anything like the sinking of the Navy corvette Cheonan from happening again, South Korea needs to gain the edge over North Korea by securing enough submarines and naval bases for an appropriate military response, a U.S. defense analyst says. Bruce Bennett of the hardline conservative RAND Corporation made [...]

(May 19, 2010) TAIPEI, Taiwan– Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou said Wednesday the island will not engage in an arms race with China, despite the threat it poses, highlighted by the mainland’s efforts to acquire an aircraft carrier. Taiwan will maintain a “small but elite” force to defend itself while continuing to promote trade ties with [...]