Air Force Launches Minuteman III ICBM from the California Coast - part of a series of strategic forces exercises in Asia-Pacfic

The US Air Force has been conducting a series of strategic nuclear forces exercises in the Asia-Pacific region,which are being seen as a warning to a North Korean regime bent on acquiring more and more nuclear weapons and the missiles to deliver them on distant targets,especially the United States.At 12:02 am Pacific Daylight Savings Time this morning,the Air Force's Global Strike Command launched the second Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile from Vandenberg Air Force Base,California in a week.The first missile was launched last Wednesday from the base northwest of Santa Barbara that is the home of the 30th Space Wing and commonly used for launching Pentagon spy satellites as well as ICBM tests.*
The Minuteman III,a 60 year-old system that has been upgraded for improved targeting and accuracy,is housed in silos at three GSC bases.Today's missile was randomly pulled from a silo at Malmstrom Air Force Base,Montana and reassembled at Vandenberg prior to launch.It was equipped with a single test re-entry vehicle with a telemetry package for operational testing along its course to Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands,about 4200 miles from Vandenberg.The test is intended to demonstrate to the world that the land-based leg of the nuclear triad is a safe,reliable and effective deterrent force for the US and her allies.*
Colonel Chris Moss is commander of the 30th Space Wing at Vandenberg AFB,and as such is the launch decision authority.He noted that:
The tremendous teamwork between the 30th Space Wing and Air Force Global Strike Command is apparent each time we launch a Minuteman III missile.*
The first of the two ICBM tests from Vandenberg,on Wednesday 26 April 2017,was a combined team effort by Global Strike Command Airmen from 90th Missile Wing at F.E. Warren AFB,Wyoming;341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom AFB,Montana;and 625th Strategic Operations Squadron at Offut AFB,Nebraska.The missile used in that test was launched with a command delivered from the Air Launch Control System on a US Navy E-6 Mercury jet.*
Besides the two missile tests,AF Global Strike Command provided two of its B-1B Lancer strategic nuclear bombers from their forward operating base,Andersen Air Force Base,Guam,for a series of exercises with the air forces of South Korea and Japan.The bombers were escorted by South Korean fighter jets and flew near the Korean peninsula.The Air Force declined to disclose just how close the drills got to North Korea;nor whether the B-1Bs were carrying any weapons.
For its part,North Korea complained that,during the course of the exercises,the US planes conducted a nuclear bomb-dropping drill against major objects.The reckless military provocation is pushing the situation on the Korean peninsula to the brink of nuclear war,the official KCNA news agency added.*
Meanwhile,the US Army's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system,or THAAD,has reached initial operational capability in South Korea,US officials told Reuters;but it will take several more months to get fully operational.In other Asia-Pacific action,CIA director Mike Pompeo flew to South Korea for detailed security talks with his South Korean colleague,Lee Byung-ho,and a visit to Yeonpyeong Island,which was attacked by North Korea in 2010,even as the USS Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group arrived in the Sea of Japan on Saturday 29 April for exercises with South Korea and Japan.The Navy,as a matter of policy,doesn't disclose whether its ships are carrying nuclear weapons or not,but its F/A-18 fighter jets are capable of carrying the B-61 intermediate yield nuclear weapon.

Air Force B-1B Lancer Strategic Bombers Deployed to Asia-Pacific

In support of the US Pacific Command's longstanding continuous bomber presence mission,several US Air Force B-1B Lancer supersonic strategic bombers were deployed to the US island of Guam on 6 August 2016 from Ellsworth Air Force Base,South Dakota.The B-1Bs are replacing B-52H Stratofortress bombers from Minot Air Force Base,North Dakota,after nearly 10 years of service in the USPACOM mission.*
With its large weapon capacity-the greatest in the bomber inventory-and exceptional standoff strike capability,the Lancers will pose a credible strategic power projection platform when forward-deployed for the stability and security of the Asia-Pacific region.*
According to US Global Strike Command,to which the bombers belong,the B-1B is a significant capability that enables our readiness and commitment to deterrence;provides assurance to our allies;and strengthens regional security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.The Lancers are being deployed on a routine strategic deterrence and regional training mission.*
The newly deployed bombers,members of the 34th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron,will be integrating their unique rapid response capability with regional allies and partners.Supported by some 300 Airmen from the 28th Bomb Wing,the Rockwell-built aircraft will be ready to deter aggression with a wide range of conventional and nuclear ordnance they can deliver at short notice over long distances.*
Rockwell Collins Inc (COL)

Emerging Market Equities Outlook

A number of factors should be considered when evaluating the wisdom of equity investing in the emerging markets today.Andrew Swan,head of Asian Equities and portfolio manager with BlackRock,the world's largest money manager,lists the following:
1.Valuations are very,very defensive;
2.Most investors are out of the asset now;
3.The Fed is changing directions,getting more dovish.*
Improving momentum in the EM has just been for the past two months,said Mr.Swan.What you've seen is currencies appreciate and capital starting to come back to these markets.I do see growth weakening for the moment outside of Asia.*
Exports have been a very big headwind.If we do get a weaker dollar and higher materials pricing,global trade could start to pick up later this year,and that would benefit the EM,Mr.Swan pointed out.*
iShares Emerging Markets ETF (EEM),iShares Asia/Pacific Dividend ETF (DVYA)

Pacific Air Power:Interior Alaska Selected for F-35 Squadrons

Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James has signed a Record of Decision indicating that the US Air Force has selected Eielson Air Force Base in Interior Alaska to be the home of two Lockheed Martin F-35A Joint Strike Fighter squadrons.Eielson is located near Fairbanks,Alaska.*
Alaska combines a strategically important location with a world class training environment,Ms.James said.Basing F-35s at Eielson AFB will allow the Air Force the capability of using the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex (JPARC) for large force exercises using a multitude of ranges and manoeuvre areas in Alaska.This combined with the largest airspace in the Air Force,ensures realistic combat training for the Defense Department.*
Three years of study produced an Environmetal Impact Statement on the project which considered impacts such as air quality,noise,land use and socioeconomics.The JPARC where the squadrons will train has 65,000 square miles of available airspace.*
The decision to base two F-35 squadrons at Eielson AFB,Alaska will double our fifth generation fighter aircraft presence in the Pacific Theatre,said General Mark A. Welsh III,Chief of Staff Air Force.Integrating that fifth generation force with Navy,Marine and allied F-35 forces will provide joint and coalition warfighters unprecedented survivability,lethality and battlespace awareness in contested environments.It's an exciting time for Pacific Air Power.*
The two F-35 squadrons,totaling 54 aircraft,will join Eielson's F-16 Fighting Falcon aggressor squadron.Construction for the project is expected to start in fiscal year 2017,or as soon as July,in order to be ready to receive the F-35s starting in 2020.Between now and 2020,the Air Force will be increasing the number of active duty maintainers to accommodate the F-35s.The F-35 is to be the Air Force's premier strike aircraft for the first half of the 21st century and will eventually replace the legacy air to ground fighter fleets,the Air Force said.*
We want to ensure,from a security perspective,that we've got all our bases covered-and that's what we're going to be able to do because we've positioned two squadrons of F-35s here at Eielson,said Senator Lisa Murkowski,R-Alaska,at an Eielson AFB celebration to mark the basing decision.*
This decision solidifies that this state has become one of the most critical hubs of air combat power in the US military,added her US Senate colleague Senator Dan Sullivan,R-Alaska.Think about it.That's likely going to mean more missions for all of you,which I know you like,Senator Sullivan told the Airmen.*
Lockheed Martin (LMT)

B-2 Stealth Bombers Deployed to the Tense Asia-Pacific

US Strategic Command deployed three US Air Force B-2 Spirit bombers from Whiteman Air Force Base,Missouri to an undisclosed location in the Asia-Pacific region on 8 March.While in the region,the Northrop Grumman warplanes,characterised by their low radar signature and carrying up to 44,000 pounds of conventional and thermonuclear ordnance,will conduct training with ally and partner air forces,and conduct a radio communications check with a US air operations centre.Their mission is to ensure bomber crews maintain a high state of readiness and crew proficiency,and to provide opportunities to integrate capabilities with key regional partners,US STRATCOM said.*
These flights ensure we remain ready to deter strategic attack,now and into the future,and are one of the many ways the US demonstrates its commitment to security and stability across the globe,said Admiral Cecil D. Haney,US Navy,Commander US Strategic Command.*
Strategic bomber deployments ensure our ability to project power at a time and place of our choosing and develop interoperability with our regional allies and partners,said General Lori J. Robinson,Commander Pacific Air Forces.Recent events demonstrate the continued need to provide consistent and credible air power throughout the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.Our ability to demonstrate credible combat power while training and interoperating with our network of like-minded partner nations is vitally important,General Robinson added.*
At this time,the deployment of these major air power assets reinforces US policy in the Asia-Pacific and its response to China's militarisation of islands in the South China Sea;as well as North Korea's recent destabilising behaviour such as conducting its forth underground nuclear detonation and a long-range missile test in January and February 2016,respectively.*
With regard to China,General Robinson said we've watched the increased military capability on those islands,whether it's the fighters;whether it's the missiles or the 10,000-foot runways.We will continue to do as we've always done,and that is fly and sail in international airspace and waters,in accordance to international rules and norms,General Robinson told journalists in Canberra,Australia prior to her addressing the Royal Australian Air Force's biennial Air Power Conference next week.*
Northrop Grumman was also recently awarded the contract to develop and build the US Air Force's B-21 Long Range Strike Bomber.*
Northrop Grumman (NOC)

Pentagon Adjusting Strategy For Europe and Asia

On 7 November,US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter addressed the Reagan National Defense Forum at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley,California.
We are in the midst of a strategic transition,Dr.Carter said.In the face of Russia's provocations and China's rise,we must embrace innovative approaches to protect the United States and the international order.We must ensure that we and our partners are postured to defeat threats from high-end opponents in a complex set of environments.*
Our antagonists and competitors push many states toward us.Our troops are attractive partners.Our troops perform and conduct themselves admirably.I see this.I hear this from many foreign leaders around the world.They make us proud.*
Russia appears intent to play a spoiler role by flouting those principles and the international community;while China is a rising power and growing more ambitious in its objectives and capabilities.Of course neither Russia nor China can overturn that order,given its resilience and staying power,but both present challenges for it.In Europe,Russia has been violating sovereignty in Ukraine and Georgia,and actively trying to intimidate the Baltic States.Meanwhile,in Syria,Russia has been throwing gasoline on an already dangerous fire,thus prolonging a civil war that fuels the very extremism that Russia claims to oppose.
At sea,in the air,in space and in cyber space,Russia's actions have emerged as challenging activities-and most disturbingly,Moscow's leaders' nuclear sabre-rattling raises questions about Russia's commitment to regional stability;their respect for norms against the use of nuclear weapons;and whether they respect the profound caution nuclear age leaders showed with regard to the brandishing of nuclear weapons.We do not seek a cold,let alone a hot war,with Russia.We do not seek to make Russia an enemy;but make no mistake,the United States will defend our interests and our allies,the principled international order and the positive future it affords us all.
We're taking a strong and balanced approach to deter Russia's aggression and to help reduce the vulnerability of our allies and partners.We're adjusting our operational posture and contingency plans as we,on our own and with our allies,work to deter Russian aggression and to help reduce the vulnerability of allies and partners.The United States is accordingly making a number of moves in response,many,but not all of which,I can describe in this forum.We're modernising our nuclear arsenal so America's nuclear deterrent continues to be safe,effective and secure,to deter nuclear attacks and assure our allies.We're investing in the technologies that are most relevant to Russia's provocations,such as new unmanned systems;a new long-range bomber;and innovations in technology like the electromagnetic rail gun;lasers;new systems for electronic warfare,space and cyber space;and including a few surprising ones that I can't describe here.We're updating and expanding our operational plans for deterrence and defence,given Russia's changed behaviour.
In Europe,NATO remains the cornerstone of a principled order and its Article V a bedrock commitment;but NATO needs a new playbook.The old NATO playbook,including large American forces stationed in Europe,oriented toward the Fulda Gap,worked in Reagan's day,but it's not suited for the 21st century with its hybrid warfare;cyber threats and assymetric tactics;and also the vast enlargement of NATO territory that is subject to Article V.We're accordingly changing our posture in Europe to be more agile and sustainable;but we're continuing to take a balanced approach to Russia.We will continue to cooperate with Russia when and where our interests align.*
The single most influential factor in shaping the Asia-Pacific region's future is how China rises and relates to the principled order that has underpinned regional peace,stabiliy and security.We're putting our best and newest assets from all the services into the region.Qualitatively,we are making heavy investments in capabilities of importance there:subsurface warfare;electronic warfare;space;cyber;missile defence and more.We're building the capacity of our allies and partners.
We all have a fundamental stake in the security of maritime Asia,including dynamics within the South China Sea.The United States joins virtually everyone else in the region in being deeply concerned about the pace and scope of land reclamation in the South China Sea;the prospect of further militarisation;and the potential for these activities to increase the risk of miscalculation or conflict among claimant states.
We mean what we say.We will continue to fly,sail and operate wherever international law allows.We also know we have much work to do still to ensure our strategies and plans are as innovative as possible,Dr.Carter noted.

Deterring the Changing Threats

We need to update our deterrence and response model to Russia's hybrid threat,said General Joseph Dunford,USMC,before the Senate Armed Services Committee at his confirmation hearing last month.I think rotational forces are envisioned,along with prepositioning equipment and infrastructure.Quite frankly,I think that kind of threat is one we're going to face in the future-the idea of deterrence to the changing threats we face.
Russia is not just threatening;they are actually doing it.My assessment today is that Russia presents the greatest threat to our national security.It is a nuclear power that could pose an existential threat to the United States,and their recent acts are nothing short of alarming.I also think it's important to maintain a military-to-military relationship with them to prevent the chance of miscalculation.
Russia is aggressively moving military forces into the Arctic-we need a plan,noted Senator Dan Sullivan,R-Arkansas.
We will in fact develop an appropriate role for the military in support of our political and military goals for the Arctic,General Dunford promised.
Modernising our nuclear deterrence is the nation's top military priority.I think we need to think about how we are going to fund it,as opposed to whether we are going to do it,in that we face a nation that is an existential threat.The Ohio-class submarine is the most survivable part of the nuclear deterrence triad,and critical to modernise.*
With regard to Iran's current activities and support of activities,Iran is one of he most destabilising influences in the region today.They're exacerbating the Sunni-Shia divide.From my perspective,they have provided support to the Taliban in Afghanistan versus ISIL.The Shia militants in Iraq could be a malign influence and certainly we shouldn't provide any support to them.My expectation is,Iran will continue the malign activity across the Middle East that we have seen in recent years.My understanding is,we have the military capacity to destroy Iran's nuclear program.I'll make sure that our leadership has a full range of military options for dealing with Iranian military activity.We have both the plans and the capacity in place to deal with a wide range of contingencies in Iran.
Iran with a nuclear weapon would be a significant threat to the homeland,especially with a ballistic missile,and would be destabilising in the region,causing a nuclear arms race.
In Iraq,there's no question in my mind that retaking Ramadi from ISIL is a strategic action.I've got both a personal and professional stake in Anbar Province,having lived there for years.*
China's military capability and presence in the Pacific are an area of concern,as distinct from a threat.There's no question about our rebalance to the Pacific.We have an unprecedented number of exercises in the Pacific.The rebalance is aimed at modernising our presence,explained General Dunford,recently confirmed by the Senate as the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.He will be sworn in next month.

China Building Large Airfield in the Spratly Islands-part of a big effort

Beijing's land reclamation programme on Fiery Cross Reef in the South China Sea's Spratly Islands indicates that China is constructing an airfield,the state-run magazine China News Weekly said.The airfield will be a forward base for the PLA Navy and Air Force,the publication disclosed.Taiwan,the Philippines and Malaysia already have airstrips in the Spratlys,and Taiwan is building a seaport capable of handling warships.Many Southeast Asian nations have long been claiming sovereignty over the South China Sea area,which is believed to have deposits of oil and natural gas,as well as fishing opportunities,and have been working on development projects here and there.
China's swift and extensive development on several Spratly reefs recently,however,and even with a degree of standardisation evident,is ringing alarm bells in the Asia-Pacific region.China has been working on Gaven,Cuarteron,Eldad and Mischief Reefs.As well,a large facility is being developed on Johnson South Reef,and there is a big new facility on a 75,000 square meter reclamation project on Hughes Reef.China also built a helipad on Gaven Reef.
IHS Jane detects a standardised pattern in China's construction projects:a main square building with what are either anti-aircraft towers or radomes at each corner.Perhaps China's next step will be to set up air defence identification zones over and around these new facilities,requiring aircraft to identify themselves and file flight plans before proceeding through its perceived airspace.That's what China did over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea in November 2013,causing an international uproar.The islands are also claimed by Japan.US Air Force B-52 bombers subsequently challenged China's assertion of sovereignty over them by flying through the zone without first seeking Beijing's permission.

Scotiabank's Asia-Pacific Presence

Scotiabank has been in the Asia-Pacific for 50 years,according to Rod Reynolds,President of Asia-Pacific and Middle East for Scotiabank.We have been in China for 30 years and have three branches there.We are focused on organic growth, but have a 19% stake in the Bank of Xi'an,as well as a stake in China Everbright bank.We are really encouraged by reforms that will increase the opportunity for Chinese companies to grow.We are well-positioned in China.
The company also has a Bank of Beijing/Scotia Asset Management joint venture.*
The ASEAN countries are a particular focus for us:Singapore,Malaysia,Vietnam and Thailand.All of our 700 Thai branches are open despite the recent unrest.We have an active business continuity plan in place.We have a very diverse asset list in Thailand.The country's been remarkably resilient to such events.We are growing rapidly in Thailand,at a rate of 20% per annum.
Thai protestors have been blockading intersections in Bangkok,demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and an unelected council to oversee reforms.*
Scotiabank,the largest overseas bank in Canada,is now focused on integrating the acquisitions we made during the global financial crisis,but open to opportunities that may arise,Mr.Reynolds said.
Scotiabank(BNS)