Infrastructure Development
-
Features
Engineering Success
Capt. Nicole Wight/Canadian Army Photos by CANADIAN ARMED FORCES During deployments for combat or disaster relief, part of my role as a military engineer is to assess and, if needed, seek improvement of local infrastructure. Where and in what condition are transportation and utility services such as roads, bridges, airports, docks, ferries, water treatment systems and power plants? How do…
Read More -
Across The Region
Indonesia, Japan Promise Deeper Ties as Regional Tensions Spike
Japan and Indonesia pledged to deepen economic and defense ties during top-level talks in early 2025, a move seen as promoting regional cooperation as China seeks to exert influence. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba arrived in Jakarta from Kuala Lumpur, where he met with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Japan wants to send a message that it respects international law,…
Read More -
Global Commons
Indonesia to punish environmental violations at Chinese-controlled nickel processing facility
The Diplomat Indonesia’s government says it will sanction companies for environmental violations at a huge nickel processing hub on the island of Sulawesi. In June 2025, the Environment Ministry said it had discovered serious environmental breaches at the sprawling Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP), Bloomberg reported. The ministry found that IMIP built processing facilities and conducted other activities on 18 square…
Read More -
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…
Read More -
Partnerships
Balikatan 2025 highlights multinational commitment to Philippine security, Indo-Pacific stability
FORUM Staff Japan joined the multinational military exercise Balikatan in the Philippines for the first time in late April 2025, participating alongside Australian, Philippine and United States forces. Observers came from 16 nations: Brunei, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Lithuania, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, the United Kingdom and Vietnam. The Japan Maritime…
Read More -
Global Commons
Protecting the global commons against rising threats to undersea, space infrastructure
U.S. Army 8th Theater Sustainment Command, National Security Law Team The security of critical undersea and space networks has become a central concern for governments, businesses and international organizations. These vital cables, pipelines, satellites and data centers form the backbone of global communications, trade and security. As geopolitical tensions escalate, the need to safeguard these assets is increasingly urgent. There…
Read More -
Global Commons
PRC OKs massive hydropower dam across Himalayan gorge
FORUM Staff The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has approved plans for what would be the world’s largest hydropower dam on the lower Yarlung Tsangpo River despite concern that it would harm downstream communities and fragile landscapes in India and Bangladesh. Experts also say tectonic plates below the Himalayan mountains, where the multistage Medog Hydropower Station is planned, make the…
Read More -
Conflicts - Tensions
PRC funding in doubt for Cambodian canal, other promised projects
FORUM Staff Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol said in May 2024 that a People’s Republic of China (PRC)-owned company would “totally” fund the Funan Techo canal. Phnom Penh touted the project linking the Mekong River to the Gulf of Thailand as an economic game changer. By August, Cambodian leader Hun Manet said at the project’s groundbreaking that the PRC…
Read More -
Global Commons
PRC infrastructure scheme drowns Laos in heavy debt, high inflation
Voice of America Laos is straining under soaring inflation made worse by the stress of massive loans owed mostly to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) for a series of mega-projects that have yet to pay off. The landlocked nation of nearly 8 million people has already deferred some payments. But economists and analysts say Beijing may start demanding a…
Read More -
Conflicts - Tensions
Internet access, credibility plummet in Myanmar, report finds
FORUM Staff Myanmar, mired in a civil war triggered by a military coup in February 2021, has joined the People’s Republic of China (PRC) at the bottom of an annual assessment of internet freedom in 72 nations worldwide. The Freedom House rankings evaluate internet access, content limits and user rights violations in the countries, which comprise about 87% of global…
Read More