Foreign Partner Cooperation
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
Land force leaders discuss AI, defense industry partnerships at LANPAC 2025
FORUM Staff Military and defense industry leaders from 33 Indo-Pacific nations met in mid-May 2025 for the annual Land Forces Pacific Symposium and Exposition (LANPAC) in Honolulu, Hawaii, to discuss cooperation and synchronization among Allies and Partners facing unprecedented challenges. Stressing the importance of interoperability, attendees at the three-day conference hosted by the Association of the United States Army addressed…
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Oceania
Pacific nations deepen military ties through training, recruitment, strategic partnerships
Peter Parson Defense cooperation across the Pacific region is transforming, with a growing focus on personnel exchanges and cross-national recruitment to bolster interoperability. Island nations, particularly Papua New Guinea (PNG), are deepening military integration with partners such as Australia, New Zealand and the United States to enhance readiness and strategic cohesion. From joint training to recruitment agreements, PNG is leveraging…
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Partnerships
Indonesia, Malaysia expand defense partnership to counter transnational threats
Gusty Da Costa Facing shared threats from terrorism, piracy and cross-border crime, Indonesia and Malaysia reaffirmed their defense partnership during a high-level military meeting in April 2025 as they seek to deepen operational coordination and bolster regional stability. The engagement between top commanders comes ahead of the 18th High Level Committee (HLC) Malindo, where the nations are expected to advance…
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Partnerships
India, Japan enhancing defense cooperation amid geopolitical uncertainty
FORUM Staff India and Japan will broaden defense collaboration, including expanding joint training and exercises, to support Indo-Pacific peace and prosperity as the regional landscape becomes “more complex and uncertain rapidly.” Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani met in New Delhi in May 2025 to discuss “the growing importance and necessity of enhancing cooperation,” Japan’s…
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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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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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Partnerships
Indonesia, South Korea reaffirm defense industry ties with focus on aerospace development
Gusty Da Costa Indonesia and South Korea have reaffirmed their long-standing defense partnership, placing a sharper focus on expanding cooperation in the aviation and aerospace industries. Indonesian Deputy Defense Minister Donny Ermawan Taufanto and Seok Jong-gun, head of South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration, recently reinforced the nations’ commitment to a strategic collaboration that transcends procurement and emphasizes joint development,…
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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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