The commissioning of Taiwan’s fleet of Apache Guardians is a big leap in capability for the island, which has up to now been operating the remaining survivors of 63 Bell AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopters.
Singapore is a security cooperative participant of the F-35 program and is believed to have an eventual requirement of between 40 and 60 new fighters to replace its F-16s.
Regional watchers that spoke to Defense News said more details about the end to the exercises need to be made available before an accurate assessment can be made about impact on regional security.
A senior U.S. Navy officer has pushed back against suggestions at a regional security summit that freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea have been ineffective.
The Japanese defense minister cautioned against rewarding North Korea for merely agreeing to a dialogue, while the defense minister of South Korea (perhaps understandably) adopted a softer line.