Bradley Perrett covered China, Japan, South Korea and Australia. He is a Mandarin-speaking Australian.
Before joining Aviation Week in 2006 he was a macroeconomics, politics and aerospace journalist with Reuters. Perrett holds a bachelor’s degree in law from Macquarie University, Sydney. He left Aviation Week in 2020.
Budget carrier AirAsia is building up its presence at the northwestern Malaysian state Penang. AirAsia will begin services between Hong Kong and Penang on July 31 and at the same time double the connection to Singapore to twice daily. The carrier says it also plans to connect Penang with the southern Chinese cities Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
Japan is considering adding the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system as a third layer to its ballistic-missile defenses, according to an official leak evidently prompted by North Korea’s July 4 tests of R-17 and Rodong rockets. Three or four installations of the Lockheed Martin THAAD system could cover all of Japan, says the Mainichi newspaper in an unattributed report presumed to be based on government-leaked information.
China Eastern Airlines has raised 7 billion yuan (US$1 billion) with a sale of shares to its state majority owner. It is not clear whether the transaction merely executed previously unannounced additions to the airline’s capital or introduced a new phase of the recapitalization process that began late last year. As a result of this transaction, the government owns 75% of China Eastern, up from 60%. China Eastern shareholders’ funds have been negative over the past year, with debt exceeding assets on the balance sheet.
