Australia
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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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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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Partnerships
Australia’s deepening engagement with Philippines signals regional commitment
FORUM Staff About 260 Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel joined the multinational Balikatan exercise in the Philippines in April 2025, reflecting the ADF’s increasing annual engagements in the Southeast Asian nation. “The Philippines is one of Australia’s most important regional defence partners, and we share a commitment to a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific region,” Royal Australian Navy Vice Adm.…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
U.K.-led Operation Highmast departs for Indo-Pacific deployment with Allies and Partners
FORUM Staff The United Kingdom’s Royal Navy flagship HMS Prince of Wales departed Portsmouth Naval Base in late April 2025 to lead a multilateral deployment to the Indo-Pacific. The eight-month deployment of the U.K.’s Carrier Strike Group 2025, called Operation Highmast, will be joined by vessels and/or personnel from 13 nations, including Australia, France, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand,…
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Oceania
Australia deepens engagement in Solomon Islands amid geopolitical tensions
Peter Parson Australia is expanding its engagements in Solomon Islands with an array of medical, public health and maritime security initiatives, reaffirming its commitment to regional stability as Beijing’s attempts to gain influence raise concern. Canberra’s nine-year, $73 million Health Sector Support Program is bolstering the Pacific island country’s capabilities in areas including malaria control, maternal and child health, water…
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Oceania
Australia-Vietnam defense training reflects expanding partnership
FORUM Staff The largest-ever contingent of Vietnamese military personnel training with Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Sailors for at-sea combat survivability exemplifies the nations’ expanding defense relations. Seventeen Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) members visited HMAS Cerberus Naval Base in Victoria, Australia, in March 2025 to enhance ship-based firefighting, leak-stop repair, and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense skills. Linguists and interpreters…
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Departments
Strategy of Denial
Dongkeun Lee/Republic of Korea Navy In the Indo-Pacific, navies play a major role in shaping a balance of power that generates deterrent effects. The roles and strategies of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) and the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) are crucial to this deterrence. When we think about power in international relations, it’s easy to imagine armies clashing on…
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Departments
Evolution in Training
FORUM Staff | Photos By AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE DEPARTMENT From artificial intelligence and virtual reality to multilateral all-domain drills, military training has evolved in recent years as technology and partnerships advance across the Indo-Pacific and beyond. Australian Army Brig. Ben McLennan has witnessed the change firsthand. As commander of the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) Combat Training Centre (CTC) and one of…
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Features
Cultivating Success
SPENCER PETERSEN/U.S. DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY Active wars and regional conflicts. Mounting tensions in the South China Sea. Reverberations from a pandemic. Competition between the world’s two largest economies. Record refugee and migrant flows. The complex and emerging security challenges facing the Indo-Pacific and the world require novel solutions, especially in an age of artificial intelligence (AI). Intelligence diplomacy may be…
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