Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com SUBIC BAY, Philippines ― The presence here of the USS Shiloh, a cruiser laden with missiles and cannon, reminds visitors of a bygone era. It was almost 25 years ago that the U.S. Navy had to abandon Subic Bay and the U.S. Air Force evacuated Clark Air Base, […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com The crusade of WomenCrossDMZ for peace on the Korean Peninsula had certain defined boundaries. Don’t talk about human rights and nukes. Say all you want about American sanctions on North Korea and the need for a peace treaty to end the Korean War. The women were no doubt […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com Two very different visitors crossed paths in Seoul this week. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi bumped into each other after calling on President Park Geun-Hye at the Blue House. They’re old pals. Kerry and Modi have met in New Delhi and […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com The stakes are escalating in the contest for Northeast Asia. North Korea’s got nukes and lots of missiles, most recently maybe the SLBM for submarine-launched ballistic missile. The U.S. has glistening new hardware too. THAAD, Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, the missile system for Star Wars, is capable, they […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com SAIGON — It’s become fashionable among intellectuals from left and right to talk about the Vietnam War in terms of “lessons learned.” Better yet, critics of U.S. policy write and talk about “lessons not learned.” One of the latter emailed asking me to tell him “in a nutshell” […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com SAIGON ― Memories of a brutal past mingle with images of new beginnings in a region of thick mangrove swamps interlaced with canals from which Viet Cong guerillas more than 40 years ago fired rockets into the heart of the capital of “South” Vietnam. Returning for the 40th […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com SEOUL — Anniversaries have their special appeal. The first anniversary on April 16 of the sinking of the Sewol off South Korea’s southwestern coast evoked emotions of outrage and sadness over the loss of 304 lives, 250 of them teenagers from the same school near Seoul. Anniversaries of […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com The Great Game for Asia is assuming new dimensions. Korea counts on the U.S. for some of its most advanced weaponry, but Korea also is a source for weapons technology and components. That’s why India’s defense minister, Manohar Parrikar is in Seoul this week shopping for whatever Korea […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com Beautiful women don’t have a lot to do with the graceful curves of a new motor vehicle, but you might not know that from visiting the Seoul Motor Show. By tradition, most manufacturers have assumed they can show off their cars far more effectively by draping them with […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com A crew member on the flight from London to Washington was quite emphatic when I asked his advice about what movie to choose. He said he’d seen a lot of people watching “Whiplash.” Often, I don’t watch much of anything on planes. I’m either too tired or too […]