How times have changed:

It’s no secret that the United States has worried about the expansion of Chinese military power. The U.S., distracted by wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has neglected Asia. The so-called “Asia Pivot” has been an attempt to correct that, broadening old alliances while forming new agreements with countries not traditionally American allies, but which share an interest in containing China.

Vietnam would probably like a full array of modern American weapons, but fiscal and geopolitical realities must temper expectations. American weapons are expensive — a single F-35 fighter bomber costs $100 million, and Vietnam’s entire defense budget is only $7 billion.

The United States will — at least for the foreseeable future — refuse requests to sell deadly weapons like bombs or missiles to Vietnam. If American weapons caused Chinese casualties, no matter who was at fault in the incident, the U.S. would be held responsible.

But Washington is providing Vietnam with non-lethal weapons that can document China’s territorial incursions, so they can be publicized and sent to international arbitration. The United States is in talks with Vietnam to provide refurbished surveillance aircraft. P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft were first introduced in the 1950s, and are currently being replaced in U.S. inventories by the newer P-8 Poseidon. The aircraft are equipped with sonar and radar, and are manned by a crew of 11. Although old, the aircraft are dependable aerial surveillance platforms capable of monitoring huge distances.  [The Week]

You can read more at the link, but the US and Vietnam definitely have shared interests now in the South China Sea.  The selling of non-lethal equipment I think is a smart move. If the Chinese continue to be aggressive in the SCS then the selling of lethal equipment to countries in the region can be used as a negotiation tactic to moderate Chinese behavior.

However, if I was the Vietnamese I would invest in a whole lot of anti-ship cruise missiles that are relatively cheap compared to buying expensive naval ships like the Chinese have.  Just the threat that the Chinese Navy would face severe losses from these cruise missiles if conflict was to occur may be enough to moderate Chinese behavior.  If the Vietnamese really want to send a message they could also invest in ballistic missiles that can threaten Chinese cities.

If the balloon launches were stopped by this aviation law than everyone who releases a balloon in Korea should be arrested as well:

The South Korean government has concluded that it can’t stop the scattering of anti-North Korea leaflets with the Aviation Act, an official said Thursday.

Those opposed to the spread of leaflets via balloons have argued that the legislation may provide a legal ground to tackle the civilian campaign, which they say hampers inter-Korean ties.

The law bans any unauthorized flight in the Demilitarized Zone and other controlled areas.

The transpiration ministry, which is in charge of the matter, concluded that the legislation can’t be applied to the activists’ actions, according to the unification ministry official

“The large-sized balloons used to scatter the leaflets don’t have any device for land-based control, meaning they are not considered ultra-small flight apparatuses,” the official told reporters on background.

He added there is no change in the government’s stance that it has no legal grounds to block the spread of the leaflets across the heavily armed border.

A group of conservative activists here revealed plans to send leaflets critical of the North’s leadership and system into the North from Imjingak, a park on the border, on Saturday.

The leaflet issue is a pretext for North Korea to avoid agreed-upon high-level talks with South Korea. [Yonhap]

This is just another example of how the engagement crowd wants to appease North Korean demands for the sake of talks where the North Koreans than make even more demands for little or nothing in return.  As long as the appeasement crowd continues to try and push the Park administration to give into North Koreans demands for little or nothing in return they will continue to make them.

The Air Force Times has an article about ideas airman submitted that helped save money. Of more interest were the ideas submitted to save real money that the AF rejected:

FIVE COMMONLY REJECTED
These ideas are commonly submitted and have been, and will continue to be, rejected, Yepsen said.

The five most common:

1. Overseas housing allowance
Modify the overseas housing allowance system to allow the government to recoup the housing allowance not utilized by the member. This idea can’t be implemented because overseas housing allowance is governed by policy external to the Air Force.

2. Temporary duty air travel
Allow members to book travel at fares lower than the government contracted rate. This idea can’t be implemented because temporary duty air travel is governed by policy external to the Air Force.

3. Commissary privileges
Open the commissary to civilians and contractors who work on base. This idea can’t be implemented because commissary privileges are governed by policy external to the Air Force.

4. Terminate Tops in Blue
The cost of the Tops in Blue program is 80 percent covered by nonappropriated funds, with a significant portion coming from commercial sponsorship dollars. After each Tops in Blue show, base and wing commanders provide feedback; these surveys indicate that 96 percent of commanders feel that Tops in Blue is an excellent value to their Airmen and to the Air Force. Additionally, MAJCOM commanders in 2011 overwhelmingly expressed the need for Tops in Blue. Based on this feedback, the service believes the program brings outstanding value and is an excellent tool for morale-building, community relations and recruiting.

5. Stop fallout money
Modify end of year spending habits to limit wasteful spending. The end of year closeout process is a deliberate process that carefully executes prioritized Air Force needs.

Number 1 has been discussed here quite a bit at the ROK Drop and the best way to implement this would be to have the servicemember and military split whatever the difference in cost savings is. For number 5 this is a colossal waste of money every year throughout the government I never see ending. Anyone else have some money saving ideas that the military should consider?

Ask a North Korean: How do North Koreans view Western and South Korean movies, DVDs and songs? http://t.co/tkWy5DKIae pic.twitter.com/qX7UdMn7uA

— NK NEWS (@nknewsorg) October 22, 2014

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspects the newly completed Yonphung Scientists Rest Home, south of Pyongyang, in this Rodong Sinmun photo released on Oct. 22, 2014. (Yonhap)

I am happy to see that Fowle has returned to his family and hopefully this serves as a lesson to anyone else who thinks it is “cool” to travel to North Korea:

The State Department announced Tuesday that the 56-year-old Miamisburg resident had been released. The news came about six months after he was taken into custody after leaving a Bible at a nightclub. Christian evangelism is considered a crime in North Korea.

He had been awaiting trial — the only one of three Americans held by Pyongyang who had not been convicted of charges.

The two others were each sentenced to years in North Korean prisons after court trials that lasted no more than 90 minutes. The three Americans entered North Korea separately.

Fowle was flown out of North Korea on a U.S. military jet that was spotted at Pyongyang’s international airport Tuesday by two Associated Press journalists. There was no immediate explanation for the release of Fowle, who was whisked to the U.S. territory of Guam before heading back to his wife and three children in Ohio.  [Associated Press]

You can read more at the link, but North Korean media is claiming that they released Fowle due to continuous requests from President Obama:

KCNA: Kim Jong Un freed U.S. criminal, taking into consideration the repeated requests of U.S. President Obama. #DPRK

— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) October 22, 2014

It seems like this guy needs to see a psychologist instead of going to prison:

A man is to face jail time for sexually harassing a call service operator working for a telemarketing company.

The man, identified as Park, age 49, had initially requested to be connected to a specific line, when the operator explained such services could not be provided.

Park then started lashing out at the operator in foul language, using words “objectifying women,” according to Yonhap News Agency.

He was reported to have called 9,982 times since May last year, using offensive speech.

Various other workers at the telemarketing company also said they felt “humiliated.”

The Seoul Central Criminal Court sentenced Park to 18 months in prison after finding him guilty of sexual violence and work disturbance on Oct. 15.

He is sentence also included 80 hours of mandatory participation in a program on sexual violence.  [Korea Times]

To me it is amazing that a guy that did not commit a violent act was convicted of sexual violence and sentenced to 18 months in prison just because he used offensive speech over the telephone.

The competitive gaming industry in South Korea is incredibly popular:

Top video game players in South Korea are household names. Millions of people tune in to watch game competitions on television. The largest Internet portal, Naver, has its own section covering the results.

Competitive video gaming is now taking off in places like the United States, attracting thousands of people to major events. But in South Korea, more than anywhere else, it has already oozed into mainstream culture. Couples going to game clubs is about as common as couples going to the movies.

Time and again, South Korea has provided glimpses of technology-related transformations before they expand globally, including widespread broadband availability and smartphone adoption. The country has also led in professional video game competitions, often called e-sports, creating organized leagues, training well-financed professional teams and filling giant stadiums with frenzied fans to cheer on their favorite players.

Such excitement was on display in Seoul on Sunday, when more than 40,000 fans filled the outdoor soccer stadium used for the 2002 World Cup semifinal to watch the world championship for League of Legends, one of the world’s most popular games. On stage, two teams of five players sat in front of computers wielding mouse and keyboard to control fantastical characters in a campaign to destroy the opposing team’s base. Three huge screens displayed the action.  [NY Times]

You can read more at the link, but even more impressively according to the article there was a Starcraft tournament in Busan that drew an amazing 100,000 fans.  As popular as competitive gaming is in Korea I do not see it ever reaching the same level in the US.

#Samsung phones cleared for #US #government use http://t.co/9kTuG77fYE #technology #GALAXYNote4 #SouthKorea

— Asian Correspondent (@AsCorrespondent) October 21, 2014

South Korean actress Min Hyo-rin poses during a fashion show in downtown Seoul on Oct. 20, 2014. (Yonhap)