Pacific Island Countries / PICs
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Features
Charting a Course
United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard has increased its international engagements throughout the Pacific in recent years. Through initiatives such as the Pacific Area Campaign Plan, the Coast Guard plays a pivotal role in advancing the White House’s Indo-Pacific Strategy and the National Maritime Domain Awareness Plan. Such efforts align with the 2050 Strategy for the Blue…
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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 Australia had committed to completing the project, but outdated information about the underwater topography surrounding the remote atoll had stymied the delivery of materials for planned upgrades.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
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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Conflicts - Tensions
Illegal Catch
FORUM Staff The Marshall Islands advanced the battle against illegal fishing in June 2024 when the Pacific island nation of 82,000 people officially became a party to the international contract known as the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA). The treaty, conceived and implemented by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), sets standards for regulating fishing vessels entering foreign…
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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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Global Commons
Australia raises defense spending to accelerate military initiatives
Reuters Australia will hike defense spending by $628 million to boost the nation’s military capabilities, including manufacture of guided weapons, construction of a submarine base and expansion of a frigate program, Defence Minister Richard Marles said in March 2025. Marles has proposed a $6.66 billion rise in defense spending over the next four years, part of a previously announced $31…
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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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Oceania
Allies and Partners boost deterrence, resilience in Palau
FORUM Staff Palau’s renewed Compact of Free Association with the United States in 2024 secured $890 million in economic assistance for the Blue Pacific nation, which has seen its tourism industry shrink due to economic coercion by the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Equally important, the renewal reinforced the agreement on the joint use of ports, airfields and other sites…
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Features
Land Power Key for Multidomain Success
FORUM Staff | Photos by AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE DEPARTMENT Lt. Gen. Simon Stuart assumed command of the Australian Army on July 2, 2022, about 35 years after he enlisted as a Soldier. The Chief of Army sat down for an interview with FORUM on the sidelines of the Land Forces Pacific (LANPAC) conference sponsored by the Association of the United States…
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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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