France
-
Features
Fighting Disruption, Destabilization
Forum Staff Manipulated information campaigns threaten security by exploiting communication systems to undermine trust in social, political and strategic domains. False narratives in Myanmar, for example, included hate speech insisting Muslim minority Rohingya communities didn’t belong in the country and accusations they were burning their own villages amid a 2017 government crackdown on insurgent groups. The social media-stoked violence left…
Read More -
Partnerships
Indonesia intensifies defense diplomacy amid emerging challenges
Gusty Da Costa As competition sharpens across the Indo-Pacific, Indonesia increasingly is weaving strategic partnerships, military modernization and a growing defense-industrial base into its decades-old nonaligned stance. The result is a network of security pacts, including with Australia, Japan and the United States, and expanded training with partners across the vast Indonesian archipelago. Indonesia’s expanding cooperation with those partners, as…
Read More -
Global Commons
Fiji, Philippines, Sri Lanka enlist drones to strengthen maritime security
Sarah Chan Indo-Pacific nations increasingly are incorporating low-cost drones, autonomous vessels and artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled surveillance systems to expand maritime awareness. Fiji, the Philippines and Sri Lanka are among those using uncrewed technologies to monitor their vast exclusive economic zones, combat illegal fishing and strengthen border security. “These systems multiply the areas that they can monitor without having to multiply…
Read More -
Partnerships
Expansive Balikatan exercise boasts participation by 7 defense forces
FORUM Staff Balikatan 2026 got underway in April with defense personnel from seven nations conducting joint drills at sites across the Philippines. More than 17,000 troops from Australia, Canada, France, Japan and New Zealand, as well as cohosts the Philippines and the United States, are participating in the 19-day exercise. Personnel from more than a dozen nations are participating as…
Read More -
Partnerships
Japanese ground troops join rapidly growing Balikatan exercise in Philippines
FORUM Staff Japan for the first time has deployed ground troops to the Balikatan exercise, a series of multidomain drills staged across the Philippine archipelago. Participation by about 1,000 Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) Soldiers augments the annual training that began decades ago as a Philippines-United States exercise and now involves about 20 nations. Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) personnel previously…
Read More -
Northeast Asia
France, Japan seek alternate supplies of rare-earth elements
Reuters France and Japan agreed in April 2026 to strengthen support for rare-earth element (REE) supply chains as the nations move to lessen dependence on China, the world’s dominant supplier. REEs are essential for producing components used in smartphones, electric vehicles (EV), weapons systems and other technologies. “We cannot rely solely on specific countries, especially China,” French Finance Minister Roland…
Read More -
Partnerships
France, Philippines strengthen defense cooperation with new agreement
Agence France-Presse France and the Philippines have signed a Status of Visiting Forces Agreement allowing their militaries to conduct joint exercises on each other’s territory. It is Manila’s first such pact with a European country. The archipelago nation signed similar agreements with Canada, Japan and New Zealand over the past two years, as it seeks to counter China’s assertiveness in the…
Read More -
Illicit Activity
U.S., Allies and Partners continue to disrupt sanctioned states’ illicit activities
FORUM Staff The United States has intercepted the third and final oil tanker that fled Venezuelan waters for the Indian Ocean in early 2026, again underscoring the mission of the U.S. and its Allies and Partners to disrupt illicit maritime activity linked to sanctioned states and actors. U.S. forces conducted a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarded the MT Bertha in…
Read More -
Northeast Asia
Allies and Partners uphold U.N. sanctions against North Korean regime
FORUM Staff Australia, France and New Zealand deployed air and maritime assets to Northeast Asia recently to monitor international sanctions targeting North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs. A Royal Australian Air Force P-8A Poseidon patrol aircraft will operate from Japan’s Kadena Air Base as part of the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) contributions to upholding trade prohibitions on Pyongyang.…
Read More -
Features
France’s strike group projects power across Indo-Pacific
REAR ADM. JACQUES MALLARD/FRENCH NAVY The five-month Clemenceau 25 mission that ended in April 2025 reached areas of the Indo-Pacific where France’s carrier strike group (CSG) had not deployed since the 1960s. The mission is named for French statesman Georges Clemenceau, the nation’s leader during World War I and a renowned journalist, traveler and politician. The region is home to…
Read More
