Taiwan has announced cuts in its defense budget, making it tougher to upgrade its aging fleet of F-16’s, writes the Asia Sentinel. But defense analyst Wendell Minnick says the budget cuts are unlikely to influence the island’s security, or even the quality of its F-16’s.Read More →

China is the most active country when it comes to economic espionage, according to a new report of the U.S. Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive (ONCIX), writes defense expert Wendell Minnick in Defense News. The report used input from “more than a dozen U.S. law enforcement and intelligence collection bodies, including the CIA, FBI, DIA and NSA.”Read More →

Taiwan might shift its preference to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JFK) after the US declined to sell F-16’s to the island, to safeguard its relationship with China, defense specialist Wendell Minnick writes in Defense News, quoting deputy Defense minister Andrew Yang.Read More →

Taiwan is gearing up to sink China’s new aircraft carrier Varyag in case of war, with its new “aircraft carrier killer” missile, the ramjet-powered supersonic anti-ship cruise missile Hsiung Feng 3, it announced on August 10, writes defense specialist Wendell Minnick in Defense News. Read More →