Malaysia
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Partnerships
Expanded multinational space domain component key part of Cobra Gold 2025
Tech. Sgt. Emerson Nunez/U.S. Air Force Exercise Cobra Gold, long a cornerstone of Thailand-United States military engagement in the Indo-Pacific, expanded into the space domain in 2025 with a multinational initiative to enhance interoperability and strengthen regional partnerships. “The goal is to establish a joint, combined, multinational component command specifically for space,” said Maj. Garry Stratiev, space operations planner for…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
China’s patrols, aggression fail to intimidate South China Sea claimant nations
FORUM Staff South China Sea nations have not succumbed to Beijing’s increasingly persistent efforts to undermine their lawful maritime territorial claims. Despite the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) threats and aggressive moves, fishing, security patrols and offshore exploration continued in 2024. That’s the conclusion of an analysis of Global Positioning System-based ship-tracking information that detects vessel movements globally. The Center for…
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Conflicts - Tensions
China primary cause of marine habitat damage in South China Sea, report says
FORUM Staff China’s artificial-island building accounts for about two-thirds of the damage to marine habitats in the South China Sea stemming from dredge-and-fill construction, researchers say. China has buried more than 4,600 acres (about 19 square kilometers) of coral reef since 2013, the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) reported in January 2025. The group, part of the United States-based think…
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Global Commons
Entering fifth decade, USNS Mercy still boosting humanitarian and disaster response
FORUM Staff The hospital ship USNS Mercy — “a floating medical marvel” — marks the 40th anniversary of its launch in 2025. The four-decade anniversary of its United States Navy commission comes in 2026. The ship, which is critical to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command humanitarian aid and disaster response (HADR) missions, didn’t start out as a medical facility. The National Steel…
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Partnerships
Five Power Defence Arrangements members adapt to regional security challenges
Sarah Chan Amid a shifting regional security landscape, members of the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) security pact are upgrading joint training, deploying advanced assets and increasing high-level personnel contacts. The new measures were showcased at the Bersama Lima exercise in October 2024, and officials and analysts expect the initiatives to further improve interoperability and strengthen regional security. Soldiers conduct…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
Malaysia strengthens maritime security with advanced patrol aircraft, regional collaboration
Peter Parson Faced with evolving maritime security threats, Malaysia is strengthening its patrol capabilities, including with new aircraft and deeper ties with regional partners. As part of the upgrades, the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) is purchasing two ATR 72MPA patrol aircraft developed by Italy’s Leonardo Aerospace and converted three of its CN-235 cargo planes into advanced surveillance aircraft. The…
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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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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
Beijing extends its coercive campaign against neighbors
FORUM Staff Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leaders complain about a rules-based order in which Beijing did not make the rules. By refusing to accept international laws that protect the global economy and the security of his Indo-Pacific neighbors, CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping offers a preview of the authoritarian system he favors. Coercive CCP military activity in and around the…
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Conflicts - Tensions
Malaysia, South Korea boost defense industry ties
Reuters Malaysia and South Korea have agreed to cooperate in supplying critical minerals from Malaysia’s reserves and to boost defense industry cooperation as the Southeast Asian country seeks to upgrade its Air Force jets. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol also affirmed their commitment to conclude a free trade agreement by 2025, Yoon’s office…
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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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