Global Commons
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Features
Prevailing Over Health and Humanitarian Challenges
Celebrating 50 Years of FORUM Dr. Sebastian Kevany. Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies To provide more effective responses to 21st century challenges in the Indo-Pacific — such as those involving health, climate, economics, cyber and maritime security — defense departments and other government agencies have knocked down silos. Branches of government look to constantly innovate and aim…
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Features
Sharing Environmental Intelligence
FORUM Staff Kiribati’s plans for an improved pier on Kanton Island were at a standstill. Australia had committed to completing the project, but outdated information about the underwater topography surrounding the remote atoll had stymied the delivery of materials for planned upgrades. Crews needed underwater terrain mapping and information about ocean depth before it was safe for mariners to bring…
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Features
Critical Conduits
FORUM Staff Even as the world plunged into war, Direction Island seemed a strange destination for a German landing party in November 1914. Part of the largely uninhabited Cocos atoll midway between Australia and Sri Lanka in the eastern Indian Ocean, the speck of land was 11,000 kilometers from the Imperial German Navy’s main port at Wilhelmshaven on the North…
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Across The Region
Malaysia won’t halt South China Sea exploration despite CCP protests, leader says
Malaysia will not stop its oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea despite Beijing’s unfounded claims that the Southeast Asian nation was infringing on its territory. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the explorations are within the nation’s territory and not intended to be provocative or hostile. “Of course, we will have to operate in our waters and…
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Contemplations
Aquafarming Now Main Global Source for Fish, U.N. Food Agency Says
REUTERS | Photos by AFP/Getty Images For the first time, farmed aquatic production has exceeded the catch from traditional fisheries, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in mid-2024, underscoring hopes that aquaculture can meet growing global demand for seafood. In its latest biennial report on the state of world fisheries, the Rome-based FAO said global fisheries and…
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Features
Island Security
FORUM Staff Papua New Guinea (PNG) celebrates the 50th anniversary of its independence from Australia on September 16, 2025. Buildings will be draped in the national colors of red, black and gold and expect a ceremonial flag-raising; parades; sporting events; and cultural festivals with music, dances and costumes. Rehearsals began in 2023 when the country’s Department of Personnel Management urged…
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Features
Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction
FORUM STAFF The first case of COVID-19 reported outside the People’s Republic of China (PRC) involved a Chinese citizen who flew to Thailand on January 8, 2020. Days earlier, Thai health officials had begun screening arriving passengers after reports of an atypical pneumonia surfaced in China. The Chinese passenger tested positive for the new virus, called severe acute respiratory syndrome…
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Features
Arctic Aggression
FORUM Staff The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is not an Arctic nation. Its northern border is nearly 1,500 kilometers from the Arctic Circle and even farther from the Arctic Ocean. Yet the PRC is encroaching upon the frozen region to control its vast resources and exploit the strategic location for economic and potentially military purposes. The PRC arbitrarily declared…
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Features
Generating an Edge
FORUM Staff The autonomous vehicles navigated the unforgiving terrain of the 2,000-square-kilometer Cultana Training Area in South Australia, conducting simulated long-range precision fires and other missions. Defense scientists, meanwhile, sought to disrupt the uncrewed jeeps and trucks with electronic warfare and electro-optical laser attacks on their position, navigation and timing systems. The Trusted Operation of Robotic Vehicles in a Contested…
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Across The Region
U.N. backs AI safeguards
The United Nations General Assembly approved its first resolution on artificial intelligence (AI) in March 2024, giving global support to an effort to ensure the powerful technology benefits all nations, respects human rights and is “safe, secure and trustworthy.” The resolution, sponsored by the United States and co-sponsored by 123 countries, was adopted by consensus, meaning it has the support…
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