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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
Land force leaders discuss AI, defense industry partnerships at LANPAC 2025
FORUM Staff Military and defense industry leaders from 33 Indo-Pacific nations met in mid-May 2025 for the annual Land Forces Pacific Symposium and Exposition (LANPAC) in Honolulu, Hawaii, to discuss cooperation and synchronization among Allies and Partners facing unprecedented challenges. Stressing the importance of interoperability, attendees at the three-day conference hosted by the Association of the United States Army addressed…
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Northeast Asia
Pacific Airlift Rally 25 elevates regional disaster response capabilities
Staff Sgt. Kelsea Caballero/U.S. Pacific Air Forces Civilian and defense personnel from more than a dozen nations gathered in Mongolia in May 2025 to enhance readiness and build interoperability for humanitarian assistance and disaster response missions. Hosted by the Mongolian Armed Forces-Air Force Component and the United States Pacific Air Forces, Pacific Airlift Rally 25 also included participants from Bangladesh,…
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Oceania
Pacific nations deepen military ties through training, recruitment, strategic partnerships
Peter Parson Defense cooperation across the Pacific region is transforming, with a growing focus on personnel exchanges and cross-national recruitment to bolster interoperability. Island nations, particularly Papua New Guinea (PNG), are deepening military integration with partners such as Australia, New Zealand and the United States to enhance readiness and strategic cohesion. From joint training to recruitment agreements, PNG is leveraging…
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Partnerships
Indonesia, Malaysia expand defense partnership to counter transnational threats
Gusty Da Costa Facing shared threats from terrorism, piracy and cross-border crime, Indonesia and Malaysia reaffirmed their defense partnership during a high-level military meeting in April 2025 as they seek to deepen operational coordination and bolster regional stability. The engagement between top commanders comes ahead of the 18th High Level Committee (HLC) Malindo, where the nations are expected to advance…
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Partnerships
India, Japan enhancing defense cooperation amid geopolitical uncertainty
FORUM Staff India and Japan will broaden defense collaboration, including expanding joint training and exercises, to support Indo-Pacific peace and prosperity as the regional landscape becomes “more complex and uncertain rapidly.” Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani met in New Delhi in May 2025 to discuss “the growing importance and necessity of enhancing cooperation,” Japan’s…
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Conflicts - Tensions
Xi may not control, trust the CCP’s military, analysts say
FORUM Staff Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Xi Jinping may still lack control of his military leaders and be unable to trust them in combat, analysts say. Xi’s ongoing purge of top military officials may indicate his weak position, analysts contend. Xi wants the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to be ready to invade self-governed Taiwan by 2027. However, his…
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Partnerships
Balikatan 2025 highlights increasingly complex military training in Indo-Pacific
FORUM Staff If you live in a dangerous neighborhood, it behooves you to know how to fight, Philippine Army Brig. Gen. Michael Logico told FORUM as troops from more than 20 nations gathered for all-domain exercises across the archipelago in April and May 2025. The 40th iteration of Balikatan highlighted the Philippine military’s modernization and the increasingly complex training among…
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Northeast Asia
U.S. calls for penalties against vessels violating U.N. resolutions on North Korea
Reuters The United States is calling for United Nations sanctions against vessels circumventing U.N. resolutions to combat North Korea’s illegal nuclear and missile programs. The United Kingdom-based Open Source Centre reported in May 2025 that it tracked non-Korean-flagged vessels transporting North Korean coal and iron ore to ports in China, in violation of U.N. resolutions. Speaking at the U.N. Security…
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Oceania
New Zealand embarks on military transformation with $7 billion defense plan
Peter Parson The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) will be transformed into a combat-ready military aligned with regional Allies and Partners and equipped to face escalating geopolitical tensions under a $7 billion initiative. The Defence Capability Plan (DCP) unveiled in April 2025 will raise defense spending above 2% of gross domestic product over the next eight years, nearly doubling current…
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Partnerships
Australia boosts Philippines’ maritime patrols with drones amid South China Sea tensions
Maria T. Reyes Australia’s presentation of surveillance drones to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in April 2025 significantly boosts the Philippines’ maritime domain awareness capabilities in the West Philippine Sea, the portions of the South China Sea within Manila’s exclusive economic zone. The PCG has been dealing with increased aggression by the China Coast Guard in the resource-rich sea, a…
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