Philippines, Duterte ‘Separate’ From US

Morning Coffee is a robust blend of links to news around the Internet concerning the Naval Air Station Patuxent River economic community. The opinions expressed here do not reflect opinions of the Leader’s owners or staff.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced his “separation” from the US last week, declaring his country had realigned with China as the two agreed to resolve their South China Sea dispute through talks, Reuters reports. The news agency also says this puts Japan in an awkward spot.

The USS Decatur, as US Navy destroyer, conducted a close patrol Friday of Paracel Islands, a move that challenges China’s claimed dominion over the South China Sea islands, Navy Times reports. A US official said the patrol did not cross the 12-mile territorial limit. The patrol comes amid tensions as Beijing doubles down on its claims to control most of the South China Sea. “USS Decatur conducted this transit in a routine, lawful manner without ship escorts and without incident on Oct. 21,” Defense Department spokesman CMDR Gary Ross said. “The United States conducts these routine operations on a regular basis around the world, in full compliance with international law.”

Hours after North Korea launched its second missile test last week, US DefSec Ash Carter met with South Korea’s minister of defense at the Pentagon on Thursday, Business Insider reports. “As with previous tests we strongly condemn [the Oct. 19] attempt, which, even when failed, violated several UN Security Council resolutions, and affirm that this latest provocation only strengthens our resolve to work together with our Republic of Korea allies to maintain stability on the peninsula,” Carter said.

The Associated Press reports North Korean officials lashed out Monday at efforts in the United Nations to strengthen sanctions following the North’s latest missile launches and nuclear test. The officials told AP that sanctions targeting the nuclear and missile tests are “criminal documents” and accused the US of orchestrating the condemnation.

Military.com says the best-kept secret of the top-secret F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program is that it might be the best airplane of its kind in the world. And will likely change the way America fights its wars.

The information technology that supports the armed force’s new JSF is a complex system that serves as an example of the widening cybersecurity blind spots that can confront agencies, The Business of Federal Technology reports. Experts on cyber resiliency sat on a panel discussion last week that was sponsored by the Consortium for IT Software Quality in Arlington, Virginia.

The Islamic State group is “a brutal opponent” in the fight for Mosul, the head of coalition forces for Iraq and Syria tells the BBC. US Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend was speaking on the sidelines of the battle to retake the Iraqi city from the jihadist group.

NAS Pax River has a new command master chief, The Tester reports. NAS CMDCM Kevin Guy has assumed duties from former master chief, Chief Jeffrey Owejan. Owejan has joined the crew of USS Carl Vinson. As command master chief, Guy is responsible for the personal and professional development of approximately 220 NAS sailors, and for ensuring there is communication throughout the chain of command.

Seeing the big picture. Twenty-three up-and-coming leaders at NAS Pax learned how NAVAIR fits into the larger defense picture at a seminar at NAVAIR’s Washington Liaison Office in Arlington, VA, last month, NAVAIR News reports. “The big takeaway was understanding how NAVAIR and my competency fits in the big world of the Department of the Navy and Department of Defense,” Evelyn Lim said.

Army Times reports that a new product is being tested that zaps mosquitoes out of the air before they have a chance to bite humans. The Photonic Fence was created through the Global Good program — a collaboration between Bill Gates and Intellectual Ventures — that tries to fill the gaps between technology and what people need. Intellectual Ventures presented the military applications of the product during the Association of the USArmy’s Army Medical Hot Topic Forum last month.

The Humvee is out. The US Army plans to deploy the Light Combat All-Terrain Vehicle in a few years as a replacement for the Humvee — the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, ExecutiveGov. com reports. The Army will field a two-seat combat support version and a four-passenger combat variant of the L-ATV.

The USS Enterprise has come full circle. The world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, which was built in Newport News, VA, and launched in 1960, is back where it began, The Virginian-Pilot reports. The work of defueling its reactors is the first phase in the process that will lead to its dismantlement. Since the 1920s, more than 60 US aircraft carriers have been built, 30 of them at Newport News Shipbuilding.