Canada
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Conflicts - Tensions
North Korea-Russia military ties require coordinated response to maintain Indo-Pacific stability
U.S. Army 8th Theater Sustainment Command, National Security Law Team North Korea’s increasing military support for Russia, including arms shipments and deployment of 10,000 troops for Moscow’s illegal war against Ukraine, raises significant strategic and legal concerns for the Indo-Pacific. It signals a deepening alliance between two authoritarian regimes seeking to counter the influence of the United States and its…
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Northeast Asia
Japanese, U.S. forces enhance readiness, interoperability during Keen Sword 25
FORUM Staff The Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) and the United States military conducted exercise Keen Sword 25 from October 23 to November 1, 2024, at sites across Japan. Personnel from the Australian Defence Force and Canadian Armed Forces also participated. The biennial, joint field-training exercise, first held in 1986, increases readiness and interoperability while strengthening the ironclad Japan-U.S. alliance. The…
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Partnerships
Multinational exercises in Philippines: ‘Partnerships that allow us to maintain peace and stability’
FORUM Staff Philippine and United States forces, joined by participants from six nations, conducted near-simultaneous military exercises in and around the Philippines in October 2024. Exercise Sama Sama, a Filipino phrase meaning togetherness, expanded in its eighth iteration to include training on shore and in waters off the northern Philippines, building on a legacy of Philippine-U.S. maritime collaboration. Part of…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
Canadian, U.S. navies sail through Taiwan Strait days after CCP war games
Reuters Canadian and United States naval ships transited the international waters of the Taiwan Strait in mid-October 2024, less than a week after the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) military conducted war games around the self-governed island. The U.S. Navy, occasionally joined by ships of Allies and Partners, sails through the strait about once a month. The CCP claims Taiwan as…
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Northeast Asia
Canada, South Korea expand defense industry collaboration, eye joint security initiatives
Felix Kim Canada and South Korea are advancing defense cooperation in line with their comprehensive strategic partnership and shared security concerns in the Indo-Pacific. During his September 2024 visit to Seoul, Canadian Defence Minister Bill Blair reaffirmed his nation’s long-standing commitment to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. He noted that since the 1950-53 Korean War, in which more…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
Human rights advocates, investigators document CCP’s transnational repression
FORUM Staff Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-linked intimidation, harassment and violence during CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping’s visit to San Francisco, California, sought to silence criticism of Beijing’s repressive policies. CCP supporters appeared to coordinate actions that ranged from stealing protest signs to beating demonstrators, according to investigations by The Washington Post newspaper, and the Hong Kong Democracy Council and Students…
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Features
Trained, Prepared, Forward
FORUM Staff A helicopter hovers within arm’s reach of a Soldier astride a howitzer. Dust and rain lash New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) and United States Army personnel under storm-darkened skies and thundering aircraft at Helemano Military Reservation, Hawaii. Sling load training, one facet of the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center (JPMRC) drills occurring across the archipelago’s eight main islands, demonstrates…
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Partnerships
France, Philippines deepen defense cooperation amid Indo-Pacific tensions
Maria T. Reyes A French Air and Space Force contingent on the Pegase 2024 mission stopped in the Philippines for the first time in July as part of France’s annual Indo-Pacific deployment to demonstrate combat power and air diplomacy. France and the Philippines have been steadily increasing their security engagements and deepening their defense ties. In recent months, the nations…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
Beijing spreads manipulated message; Philippines, Allies and Partners strengthen security
FORUM Staff With the People’s Republic of China (PRC) facing international opposition to its coercion campaign in the South China Sea, its operatives are trying to change the narrative by amplifying a debunked deepfake video. The latest high-tech hoax targeting Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. — a discredited clip that purports to show Marcos using an illicit drug — was…
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Northeast Asia
Allies, partners enhance all-domain readiness with military exercises across Indo-Pacific
FORUM Staff More than 30 allied and partner militaries deployed personnel, aircraft, ships, submarines, uncrewed vehicles and other assets across the Indo-Pacific in mid-2024. The multinational, near-simultaneous exercises Pitch Black, Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) and Valiant Shield stretched from Oceania and the Western Pacific to Northeast Asia. Tens of thousands of troops joined the all-domain training to build interoperability…
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