East China Sea (ECS)
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
PLA’s coordinated coercion aims to erode international law
FORUM Staff International leaders have for years denounced China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) for unsafe intercepts of military aircraft in international airspace and risky maneuvers on the high seas, as well as the Chinese coast guard and maritime militia’s aggressive tactics in the waters of sovereign nations. The coercive and dangerous moves are part of a concerted attempt to discourage…
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Across The Region
Protecting Sea Lines of Communication
The oceans and seas that dominate the Indo-Pacific present a challenge of immense proportions to safeguarding sovereignty and upholding freedom of navigation and commerce — an obstacle that military planners call the “tyranny of distance.” Increasingly, satellites, sensors, uncrewed aerial and surface vessels, and other technologies — combined with comprehensive information-sharing endeavors among like-minded nations — are key to bridging…
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Features
Upholding International Norms in the Skies
FORUM Staff A People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) fighter jet intercepted a Canadian Armed Forces CP-140 Aurora aircraft multiple times in international airspace in October 2023 in a “dangerous and reckless” manner, yet another example of Beijing’s disregard for freedom of navigation and aircrew safety, officials said. Such unsafe and unprofessional activities risk midair collisions and escalation. The nonstandard intercepts…
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Conflicts - Tensions
CCP weaponizes law to gain strategic advantage
FORUM Staff Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Xi Jinping’s slant on international conventions favors the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) objectives, often to other states’ detriment. These unilateral “lawfare” tactics are among the CCP’s gray-zone techniques in seeking global hegemony, analysts say. The CCP increasingly employs lawfare to gain leverage in Indo-Pacific waters, including the Taiwan Strait, and the…
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Conflicts - Tensions
U.S., PRC draw on Cold War lesson to build confidence
FORUM Staff Echoes of a Cold War confidence-building measure (CBM) sounded in November 2023 as the leaders of the United States and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) agreed to restore military-to-military communications. The first formal CBM emerged in 1963 with a memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and the Soviet Union that established a hotline to ensure the countries’…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
Japanese troops drill on island seen as vulnerable to PRC
Reuters Japanese Marines in amphibious assault vehicles stormed an island beach at the edge of the East China Sea in November 2023 in a simulated attack to dislodge invaders from territory that Tokyo worries is vulnerable to attack from the People’s Republic of China (PRC). As tensions run high with the PRC, Russia and North Korea, the drill on the…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
U.S. drone aircraft relocate to Okinawa, enhance East China Sea surveillance
FORUM Staff Eight United States Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drones are moving almost 700 kilometers south to U.S. Forces Japan’s Kadena Air Base on Okinawa, in Japan’s southwestern islands. The remote-controlled aircraft, previously deployed to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Kanoya Air Base in Kagoshima, are used mostly for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR). Tokyo is concerned about the Chinese…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
Japan, Philippines deepen defense cooperation amid shared security concerns
FORUM Staff When Japan announced an unprecedented plan in early 2023 to help bolster defense and security in like-minded countries, the Philippines was high on its list. Tokyo’s Official Security Assistance program is expected to provide Manila with radar and satellite communications to strengthen maritime security, Reuters news agency reported, including defending its primary routes in the disputed South China…
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Departments
Japan launching defense tech research agency, advancing railgun project
FORUM Staff Japan plans to create a research agency by 2024 to accelerate defense technology development. The agency will be modeled after the United States’ Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and its Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), according to Shigenori Mishima, vice commissioner and chief technology officer at Japan’s Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency. DARPA is the U.S. Defense Department’s…
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Conflicts - Tensions
PRC delaying dialogue, improved relations with U.S. through vague, conflicted messaging
FORUM Staff The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) recent ambiguous, contradictory and confused statements on its relations with the United States have left many in the international community questioning the motives behind Beijing’s messaging campaign. The PRC’s newly appointed defense minister, Gen. Li Shangfu, for example, called for peace but threatened war during his speech at the prestigious Shangri-La Dialogue,…
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