France
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Oceania
Australia expands naval engagements with key Indo-Pacific deployments
Peter Parson The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is expanding its operational reach across the Indo-Pacific, underscoring a strategic commitment to regional security and international partnerships. The recent deployments of the Royal Australian Navy vessels HMAS Brisbane, ADV Reliant and HMAS Hobart highlight the dual focus on strengthening defense capabilities and fostering cooperation. HMAS Brisbane, a Hobart-class destroyer, returned to Sydney…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
Royal Australian Navy deployment demonstrates nation’s commitment to regional security
FORUM Staff The Royal Australian Navy’s six-week engagement in Southeast Asia, including participation in a multilateral exercise, marks the nation’s first regional deployment of 2025. The guided-missile destroyer HMAS Hobart, with a crew of about 230 and an MH-60R Romeo Seahawk helicopter, departed its home port of Sydney in mid-January. Such deployments “demonstrate Australia’s ongoing commitment to supporting regional security…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
Manila advances multilateral cooperation for regional, global security
FORUM Staff The Philippines is rapidly expanding international defense partnerships amid escalating tensions in the South China Sea. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) illegally claims most of the economically vital and environmentally significant waterway. Beijing has become increasingly aggressive inside Manila’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) — and other nations’ maritime territory — despite an international tribunal’s nearly decade-old ruling…
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Partnerships
France, Indonesia boost ties to promote stability in Indo-Pacific
The Associated Press The defense ministers of France and Indonesia have agreed to work more closely to maintain regional stability, officials said. Visiting French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu and Indonesian Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin agreed in late January 2025 that their countries can collaborate through technology exchanges and other cooperation, Indonesian Defense Ministry spokesperson Brig. Gen. Frega Wenas said. The…
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Global Commons
Nations collaborate on global AI guidelines
Sentry Staff Ensuring safe, effective and fair deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) platforms requires the United States and its Allies and Partners, and industry to develop consistent guidelines, leaders said at a conference on international AI policy. “We must craft frameworks that maximize innovation while ensuring the trustworthy, secure and ethical use of AI. This balance is the cornerstone of…
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Partnerships
Multilateral La Perouse 25 exercise focuses on key maritime passages
FORUM Staff Protecting choke points that link the Indian Ocean to the Java Sea, South China Sea and Pacific Ocean was the mission of the La Perouse 25 exercise. Nine Indo-Pacific navies participated in the biennial exercise in January, the fifth and largest iteration. About one-third of the world’s commercial shipping traverses the Lombok, Malacca and Sunda straits, and the…
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Oceania
Allies, Partners aid humanitarian efforts in earthquake-damaged Vanuatu
FORUM Staff Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the United States and other nations are aiding Vanuatu after an earthquake hit the country’s capital, Port Vila, in mid-December 2024. The 7.6 magnitude earthquake leveled buildings, cracked bridges, destroyed water reservoirs, knocked out communications and internet access, and shut down the main wharf. Authorities said the quake killed at least 12…
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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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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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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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