Foreign Military Sales
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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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