The Chinese government issued a white paper Thursday that was highly critical of efforts to build a regional missile defense system in Asia and voiced opposition to US efforts to provide Taiwan such capability. The paper maintained that development and deployment of missile defense systems are “by no means an effective way to solve the problem” of ballistic missile proliferation. Such a move would, stated the paper, “produce [a] negative impact on global strategic stability” and, further, would “erode trust among big powers.” China wants more “transparency” in the missile defense programs of “relevant countries”—read that as the US and Japan.
Clearing jungle and laying asphalt in tropical heat may not sound like fun to most people, but it’s a way of life for Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers (RED HORSE) Airmen, who have spent the past year or so restoring World War II-era airfields on the Pacific…