Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOP)
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Features
Exposing Coercion
FORUM Staff China has shown clear intent through its actions in the South China Sea: to control nearly 90% of the economically vital waters, including maritime territory in the Bruneian, Indonesian, Malaysian, Philippine and Vietnamese exclusive economic zones (EEZ). Over decades, however, China has sought to secure its illegitimate claims with lawfare activity conducted in relative obscurity. Examples include Beijing’s…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
Philippines, U.S. highlight freedom of navigation with South China Sea joint air patrol
Sentry Contributor The Philippines and the United States recently conducted a joint air patrol over the South China Sea, a region fraught with territorial disputes and geopolitical tensions. The exercise, which underscored freedom of navigation, took place near Scarborough Shoal, a strategic location at the center of a long-standing territorial dispute between China and the Philippines. Philippine FA-50 and United…
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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
Germany’s naval deployment deepens ties in Southeast Asia
Maria T. Reyes Germany has taken another significant step in reestablishing its presence in the Indo-Pacific with the recent deployment of naval assets to Malaysia and the Philippines. The visits were Germany’s first naval engagements with those Southeast Asian countries in over two decades and signal Berlin’s strategic shift toward a more active role in bolstering regional security cooperation amid…
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Conflicts - Tensions
Allies, Partners conduct joint naval exercises in South China Sea for Free and Open Indo-Pacific
Reuters The armed forces of five Allies and Partners conducted joint maritime exercises in a portion of the South China Sea in late September. New Zealand joined for the first time. Australia, Japan, the Philippines and the United States also participated in the exercises in Manila’s exclusive economic zone that sought to improve the militaries’ interoperability, the Armed Forces of…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
German naval ships to transit Taiwan Strait to uphold Free and Open Indo-Pacific
Reuters Two German Navy ships are set to transit the international waters of the Taiwan Strait in September 2024, becoming the first German military vessels to do so in 22 years, according to reports. The routine operation will demonstrate Berlin’s commitment to open navigation, the head of the naval task force said. “Safe and secure sea lanes, especially from Southeast…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
Philippine troops acted lawfully, showed ‘remarkable restraint’ in confrontation with Chinese forces, experts say
FORUM Staff Philippine troops stationed at a South China Sea military outpost followed the rules of engagement and acted with “remarkable restraint” in displaying, but not firing, their weapons during a confrontation with Chinese forces, military officials and experts say. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., the Philippine Armed Forces chief, dismissed Chinese claims that the troops aboard the BRP Sierra Madre…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
U.S. challenges excessive maritime claims in Indo-Pacific, worldwide
FORUM Staff The United States Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Halsey patrolled near the South China Sea’s Paracel Islands in May 2024 to assert navigational rights and freedoms under international law. The operation took place despite the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) unsupported claims that the maritime region is its territory and that foreign vessels must receive transit permission from Beijing.…
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Conflicts - Tensions
CCP weaponizes law to gain strategic advantage
FORUM Staff Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Xi Jinping’s slant on international conventions favors the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) objectives, often to other states’ detriment. These unilateral “lawfare” tactics are among the CCP’s gray-zone techniques in seeking global hegemony, analysts say. The CCP increasingly employs lawfare to gain leverage in Indo-Pacific waters, including the Taiwan Strait, and the…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
Chinese trade hurt by Houthi attacks on ships attempting Red Sea passage
FORUM Staff Though not targets of Houthi rebels, Chinese traders are significantly affected by the militants’ attacks on cargo vessels traversing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and fear the crisis on one of the world’s busiest shipping routes could have lasting effects. One Chinese businessman said the cost of shipping a container to Europe spiked from about $3,000 in December 2023…
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