US Wants More Early-Warning Radars in Asia

As the US looks to shift its military resources away from the Middle East and toward the Asia-Pacific region, it's planning an expansion of missile defenses that could cover large portions of Asia. One of the big pieces is the X-Band, an early-warning radar that the Pentagon would like to place in southern Japan and possibly the Philippines. The US is aiming to keep an eye on North Korea, but China is also a concern, the Wall Street Journal reports.

"The focus of our rhetoric is North Korea," says one missile-defense expert. "The reality is that we're also looking longer term at the elephant in the room, which is China." One X-Band is already located in northern Japan, and an arc of three would cover all of North Korea and more portions of China as the US seeks to better track missiles from both countries. China will almost certainly be unhappy with the increased US presence in the region, the Journal notes. (More China stories.)