Military Exercise and Training
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Oceania
Australia, New Zealand strengthen interoperability in Exercise Agile Tasman
New Zealand Defence Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and the New Zealand Army trained together in September 2026, strengthening interoperability and enhancing operational integration. Two RAAF F-35A Lightning II fighter jets deployed across the Tasman Sea, conducting air-to-air refueling and working alongside New Zealand Army Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTAC) at the Waiouru Military Training Area in close…
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Partnerships
Pacific Dragon strengthens multinational missile defense
Sentry A multinational fleet operating near Hawaii tested the shared sensors, communications networks and procedures needed to detect and track missile threats across the Indo-Pacific. The August 2026 exercise demonstrated how allied interoperability strengthens regional deterrence. Forces from nations including Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the United States participated in Pacific Dragon, a biennial ballistic missile defense and…
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Departments
Responsible Partner
FORUM Staff In a time of rapidly evolving security challenges, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is navigating complex traditional and nontraditional threats while expanding and reinforcing partnerships across the Indo-Pacific and beyond. After becoming AFP chief of staff in July 2023, Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. led the multidomain transformation and overseen an expansive military modernization that has positioned…
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Features
Acquiring Deep Skill
Tai Prohaska/United States Pacific Multi-Domain Training and Experimentation Capability In the Indo-Pacific, where distance and dynamic threats demand unparalleled readiness, the United States’ Pacific Multi-Domain Training and Experimentation Capability (PMTEC) empowers warfighters to cultivate mastery through realistic, multidomain training environments. Established in 2022, PMTEC is funded and resourced by the U.S. Pacific Command (US PACOM) to enhance joint, combined and…
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Features
Road Map for Success
Col. Dave Butler/U.S. Army Pacific The United States Army Pacific’s (USARPAC) Operation Pathways encompasses multinational exercises, rotational deployments and training engagements to maintain U.S. forces in a forward posture, ready to respond to an array of contingencies. Operation Pathways is a cornerstone in reinforcing alliances and enhancing interoperability with key regional partners. By training for humanitarian assistance and crisis scenarios,…
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Features
Countering North Korea’s Asymmetric Playbook
Lt. Gen. (Ret.) In-Bum Chun/Republic of Korea Army North Korea has depended on asymmetry for more than seven decades. Economically weak, diplomatically isolated and technologically constrained, Pyongyang tries to compensate with a web of coercive tools: nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles, cyber intrusions, special operations forces (SOF), political warfare, smuggling networks, and extensive urban and subterranean defenses. These capabilities do not…
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Oceania
New Zealand forces build interoperability, uphold stability across Indo-Pacific
FORUM Staff A three-month New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) deployment is supporting maritime security, disaster response and sanctions monitoring from the South Pacific to Northeast Asia, highlighting the nation’s commitment to upholding Indo-Pacific stability and international norms. NZDF personnel and assets, including a maritime patrol aircraft and naval vessels with embarked helicopters, are conducting missions and drills with Allies and…
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Partnerships
Deepening India-Japan maritime security ties vital to region
FORUM Staff India and Japan will expand maritime security cooperation, including in mine countermeasures, information sharing and potential naval shipbuilding, reaffirming “their strong opposition to any unilateral actions that impede freedom and safety of navigation and overflight, as well as to any attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion.” Meeting in New Delhi in August 2026, Indian…
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Northeast Asia
Taiwan’s annual Han Kuang exercise focuses on real-world contingencies
FORUM Staff Taiwan’s military and civic preparations for a potential crisis such as an invasion by China reflect a whole of society approach. The self-governed island’s Han Kuang exercise in mid-August 2026 embraced that dual strategy as never before. Han Kuang’s 42nd annual iteration tested evacuation and sheltering, traffic control, emergency response and civil-military coordination, The Diplomat magazine reported. The…
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Partnerships
Super Garuda Shield 2026 to be Indonesia’s biggest defense exercise
Gusty Da Costa Super Garuda Shield 2026 will be Indonesia’s largest multinational military exercise, featuring more than 6,000 personnel conducting field training and tactical synchronization across the sprawling archipelago. The annual event, scheduled for August 31 through September 11, will include increased emphasis on multidomain operations that combine ground, maritime, air and cyberspace personnel into unified forces. Fifteen participating nations…
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