Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- November 24, 2017

China's "First Island Chain" - Design by Luke Kelly/Forbes Staff

Ralph Jennings, Forbes: China Is Competing With The U.S. For Military Control Over The Whole Western Pacific

If you follow military rivalries in East Asia, start by learning the term “first island chain.” That term refers to the Kuril Islands of Russia, the Japanese archipelago, Taiwan, the northern Philippines and Borneo. If strung together on a map from north to south they form a chain past which China was informally blocked from push its military influence eastward into the open U.S.-dominated Pacific Ocean.

Now China is out to change that. An intelligence aircraft that it flew Saturday near southern outlying islands of Japan came as a recent example. The mission hackles in nearby Taiwan, which had watched a Chinese aircraft carrier encircle it nearly a year ago. In August, Taiwan sighted Chinese planes three times.

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Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- November 24, 2017

Chinese air force patrols over South China Sea 'show PLA's capacity to breach Cold War line of containment' -- South China Morning Post

China air force again flies round Taiwan, over South China Sea -- Reuters

Report: China's J-20 Stealth Fighter Won't Deploy on Aircraft Carriers -- National Interest

Chinese State Sponsored Hacking -- Sam Bocetta, Strategy Bridge

Hope fades as search for Argentine submarine enters ninth day -- Reuters

Families of missing Argentine submarine crew reportedly told that all 44 have died -- RT

Who are the crew of missing Argentine submarine ARA San Juan? -- BBC

Submarine disasters in recent decades -- Straits Times/Reuters

Russia’s New Navy Plan: More Submarines, Frigates and Cruise Missiles -- National Interest

Russia to cut task force in Syria — General Staff -- TASS

Russian state armaments program to focus on precision weaponry — defense official -- TASS

India’s Propellant Booster to Help BrahMos Achieve Unimaginable Speed -- Sputnik

German company to build 12 offshore patrol vessels for Australian navy -- The Guardian

North Korea Replaces Border Guards Following Defection -- AP

American F-22 & F-35 stealth jets to join massive air drills on Korean peninsula next month -- RT

An Attack from Just One of These U.S. Nuclear Submarines Would Destroy North Korea -- National Interest

Tip of the spear: the global importance of America’s Guam base -- Naval Technology

'We are still in stalemate but we're going to win': Top US Army commander in Afghanistan praises Trump's new strategy which gives him 3,000 more troops -- Daily Mail

Pentagon reports troop surge in Middle East -- Al-Monitor

US Army Expected to Sell Off Thousands of Surplus 1911 Pistols -- Kit Up!

US Marines Get a Tank-Killer Upgrade -- Scout Warrior

Navy calls off search for missing sailors following crash in Pacific -- The Hill

Army report blames 'human factors' for deadly Apache crash in 2015 -- Stars and Stripes

Aircraft carrier enlists an army to pull off Thanksgiving feast -- Kitsap Sun

Trump thanks military for their service: You're 'brave, incredible fighters' -- The Hill

Trump slammed for 'insulting' Thanksgiving comments to military by former general -- The Independent

US Army “space week” to shine light on why soldiers care about satellites -- Space News

From Puppy to Protector: How the Air Force Raises Military Working Dogs -- US Department of Defense

Marine Corps War Memorial finally commemorates Iraq, Afghanistan -- Military Times

The Future of Training and Simulation: Preparing Warfighters for Tomorrow’s Battlefields -- National Defense

It Takes a Nuclear Weapons Lab to Find a Nuclear Weapons Lab -- Defense One