Foreign Military Sales
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Partnerships
U.S. deploying advanced capabilities, concepts to Philippines for Balikatan 2025
FORUM Staff Exercise Balikatan 2025 in the Philippines will include a new anti-ship missile capability, cutting-edge drones, special operations forces training, and the debut of a rotational United States Marine Corps unit designed to be more agile, efficient and technologically advanced. The Philippine and U.S. militaries will host the annual exercise April 21-May 9 with troops from Australia and Japan…
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Conflicts - Tensions
North Korean troop deployment to Russia violates U.N. resolutions
FORUM Staff The European Union imposed new sanctions on two top North Korean defense officials in mid-December 2024 for their roles in deploying troops to aid Russia’s unprovoked war in Ukraine. The EU targeted North Korean Defense Minister Ro Kwang Chol for his direct involvement in the military cooperation between the two regimes, including sending an estimated 11,000 troops to…
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Partnerships
U.S. providing aircraft, boats to help Vietnam counter illegal fishing, enhance defenses
Reuters The United States will provide $12.5 million to Vietnam to enhance its maritime law enforcement capabilities and combat illegal fishing, the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi said. The assistance includes support for Vietnamese maritime law enforcement agencies, the donation of small boats and development of training facilities. Vietnam is among several Southeast Asian nations that have accused People’s Republic of…
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Conflicts - Tensions
PRC’s links to Russia, battle inexperience cited for slowing arms sales
Voice of America The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) drive to buttress its military modernization through increased international arms sales has slowed, according to a report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, with experts citing Chinese-made weapons systems’ lack of battlefield testing as a detriment. The December 2024 report shows significant growth in total international arms sales driven by…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
Japan-Philippines ties strengthen Free and Open Indo-Pacific
FORUM Staff The strengthening bond between Japan and the Philippines is expected to soon produce an agreement allowing the countries’ defense forces to train in each other’s territories as part of efforts to ensure a Free and Open Indo-Pacific. Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. recently acknowledged the “very strong possibility” of finalizing the pact during a senior-level bilateral meeting…
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Northeast Asia
Poland, South Korea defense partnership grows with weapons procurements
Felix Kim Poland’s ongoing procurement of defense assets from South Korea is supporting the European nation’s military modernization in response to regional security challenges. In late April 2024, a delegation of Polish defense officials visited Seoul for talks with their South Korean counterparts and local defense firms. Warsaw’s planned acquisitions from South Korea include K2 Black Panther tanks, K9 Thunder…
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Conflicts - Tensions
Russia’s arms sales plummet as India, others seek new suppliers
FORUM Staff Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine continues to impose a heavy toll on Moscow beyond the battlefield, as international sanctions bite into the regime’s arms exports and qualms about quality and reliability prompt longtime customers in the Indo-Pacific and elsewhere to seek new weapons suppliers. Moscow’s arms exports plummeted by 53% over the past decade, dropping Russia out of…
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Northeast Asia
South Korea strengthens defense ties in Middle East
Felix Kim South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik demonstrated the value of defense diplomacy with a tour of three Middle Eastern countries in February 2024, where he signed defense agreements and a $3.2 billion arms deal. Shin’s trip to Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) followed South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s visits to the region in…
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Global Commons
Allies and Partners invest in, collaborate on missile defense systems
FORUM Staff Expanding nuclear and nonnuclear missile arsenals across the Indo-Pacific contribute to security dilemmas throughout the region. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) relies on growing capabilities — including intercontinental and inter-regional ballistic missiles along with medium- and short-range ballistic weapons — to assert expansive sovereignty claims. Meanwhile, a provocative North Korea persists with its United Nations-banned weapons programs,…
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Partnerships
Radar system from Japan enhances Philippines’ South China Sea surveillance
Maria T. Reyes Japan formally provided the Philippines with an air surveillance radar system in late December 2023, bolstering the Southeast Asian country’s monitoring capabilities amid Beijing’s growing aggressiveness in the South China Sea. The system, which provides long-range detection of jet fighters and missiles, was installed at Wallace Air Station, a former United States military base about 270 kilometers…
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