Indo-Pacific View
Dear Readers,
Welcome to Indo-Pacific Defense FORUM’s issue on enduring readiness.
As the regional landscape shifts with increasing speed and complexity, the security stakes for Indo-Pacific nations have never been higher and readiness has never been more important.
This edition of FORUM explores how Allies and Partners are enhancing combat power and resilience to mitigate potential impacts from traditional and nontraditional security threats through applied technology, innovation, preparedness, training and the drive to compete every day across all domains.
Security alliances and increasingly combined operations built over decades have never been stronger. The opening article in this edition probes how Allies and Partners are strengthening readiness through an expansion of Reciprocal Access Agreements, which enable a participating nation’s troops to deploy to the other’s territory for training, exercises and other cooperative missions.
Expanding engagements and security cooperation also bolster readiness. A photo essay in this edition showcases the growth of multilateral exercises in the Indo-Pacific in recent years. Another article details how U.S. Army Security Force Assistance Brigades (SFAB) work year-round with Ally and Partner forces to prepare for exercises, train for contingencies and project power for deterrence. SFAB units recently collaborated with Indonesian, Malaysian, Maldivian, Philippine and Thai Soldiers to optimize combat strength and interoperability.
Exposing adversary activities is another way Allies and Partners build a cooperative foundation to counter mounting aggression and gray-zone threats. A feature article explores the reality of the China-Russia relationship — an arrangement rife with skepticism, rivalry and mistrust. In another piece, Lt. Col. Richard J. Connaroe II, deputy staff judge advocate for the U.S. Army 8th Theater Sustainment Command, reveals how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) uses lawfare to coerce nations in the region. He urges the adoption of a multifaceted approach to defeat CCP lawfare and protect shared values of freedom, transparency, stability and the peaceful resolution of disputes.
We hope this edition encourages discussion on the importance of enduring readiness for upholding a Free and Open Indo-Pacific. Please contact the FORUM staff at ipdf@ipdefenseforum.com to continue the conversation and share your comments.
All the best,
FORUM Staff