Six missing after two US military planes crash off Japan: officials

TOKYO - Six US marines were missing after 2 American military aircraft crashed on Thursday during a refueling operation off the coast of Japan, officials from both countries told AFP.

The 2 planes -- an F-18 fighter and a C-130 tanker -- were involved in a "mishap about 200 miles off of the coast of Japan around 2:00 am" according to a statement from the US Marines in Japan.

A US defense official told AFP there had been a crash after the plane took off from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in southern Japan. 

A spokesman for Japan's Self-Defense Forces said that one of the airmen had been rescued but the immediate fate of the remaining crew members was unclear.

The crew member was being assessed by doctors, the Marine statement said, adding that "the search and rescue operations continue for the remaining six."

The C-130 was thought to be carrying 5 servicemen and the F-18 two, said the Japanese official, who added that Japan had scrambled 4 aircraft and 3 ships in the search.

US media also reported 5 crew on the C-130 and 2 on the F-18. 

"We are thankful for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's efforts as they immediately responded in the search and rescue operation," the Marines said.

The planes took off from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in southern Japan and were "conducting regularly scheduled training when the mishap occurred," the statement said.

The circumstances of the mishap are currently under investigation, the military added.

The US military has about 50,000 troops stationed in Japan and accidents are not uncommon.

In November, a US navy fighter jet crashed into the sea off Japan's southern island of Okinawa and its 2 crew members were rescued alive.

The US military has also experienced difficulties with its Osprey helicopters, with several emergency landings, a deadly crash and a piece of the chopper falling on the grounds of a Japanese school.

Those incidents have stoked tensions between close military allies Washington and Tokyo and led to protests against the deployment of Ospreys by residents living near US bases.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

U.S. approves possible $330-M military sale to Taiwan -Pentagon

WASHINGTON - The U.S. State Department has approved the possible sale to Taiwan of spare parts for F-16 fighter planes and other military aircraft worth up to $330 million, the Pentagon said on Monday.

U.S. military sales to self-ruled Taiwan, which China claims as its sacred territory under its "one China" policy, is an irritant in the relations between the world's two largest economies.

"This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security and defensive capability of the recipient, which has been and continues to be an important force for political stability, military balance, and economic progress in the region," the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement.

China is deeply suspicious of U.S. intentions toward Taiwan, which is equipped with mostly U.S.-made weaponry and wants Washington to sell it more advanced equipment, including new fighter jets.

Military experts say the balance of power between Taiwan and China has shifted in favor of China, which could probably overwhelm the island unless U.S. forces came quickly to its aid.

The $330 million request covers spare parts for "F-16, C-130, F-5, Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF), all other aircraft systems and subsystems, and other related elements of logistics and program support," the Pentagon said, adding that it notified Congress of the possible sale.

The Pentagon said the proposed sale is required to maintain Taiwan's "defensive and aerial fleet," and would not alter the military balance in the region.

China has never renounced the use of force to bring what it sees as a wayward province under its control.

Chinese President Xi Jinping told U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis during a visit to Beijing in June that Beijing was committed to peace, but could not give up "even one inch" of territory that the country's ancestors had left behind. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com