Partnerships
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Features
Cobra Gold 2024
FORUM Staff Cobra Gold 2024 took multilateral cooperation to new heights with 30 nations engaging in or observing key training activities ranging from land, maritime and air drills to space and cyber exercises, humanitarian efforts and cultural exchanges. “We have expanded the scope of military operations to address the full spectrum of threats across all domains,” Gen. Songwit Noonpackdee, defense…
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Features
Forging Connections and Capabilities: U.S. Military Leaders Reflect on Cobra Gold 2024
FORUM Staff Republic of Korea (ROK), Thai and United States military personnel participated in a multilateral amphibious assault exercise in Chonburi, Thailand, during Cobra Gold 2024. The training synchronized combined joint all-domain operations (CJADO), integrating command and control platforms, weapons and sensors across services and nations. More than 2,200 troops rehearsed near-simultaneous amphibious and air assaults to secure an airfield…
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Features
Advancing Space Partnerships
Lt. Stephen Schroeder/U.S. Navy, U.S. Space Command Joint Integrated Space Team Pacific The United States and its Allies and Partners are at the forefront of an emerging era of opportunity. Space’s critical role in the global commons has gained considerable attention in recent years, and the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DOD) guidance has never been clearer: “Space is now a…
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Features
Long-Lasting Strength
FORUM STAFF | photos by the associated press The message from United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in mid-November 2023 reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to Taiwan and to the federal law that has been the bedrock of U.S. relations with the self-governed island for more than four decades. “With the Taiwan Relations Act [TRA], we are committed to doing what’s necessary…
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Features
Expanding Horizons
FORUM Staff When 200 or so Mongolian pro-democracy activists converged in Sükhbaatar Square on United Nations Human Rights Day in December 1989, there was little to portend the transformation set to unfold. From the square in the capital Ulaanbaatar, peaceful protests would sweep across the country of steppes and deserts. Within three months, Mongolia’s communist regime relinquished power after nearly…
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Features
The Pacific Way
FORUM Staff Mutual respect, dialogue and consensus are hallmarks of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) and distinguish the organization among enduring partnerships worldwide. Sixteen nations and two French territories, with populations ranging from Australia’s 27 million to Niue’s 2,000, address matters affecting the region, which comprises nearly 20% of Earth’s surface. The PIF began as a consortium of seven island…
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Features
Trained, Prepared, Forward
FORUM Staff A helicopter hovers within arm’s reach of a Soldier astride a howitzer. Dust and rain lash New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) and United States Army personnel under storm-darkened skies and thundering aircraft at Helemano Military Reservation, Hawaii. Sling load training, one facet of the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center (JPMRC) drills occurring across the archipelago’s eight main islands, demonstrates…
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Features
Understanding the ROK-U.S. Alliance’s Ironclad Commitment
Lt. Col. Alexander S. Park/Army National Guard of the United States The Republic of Korea (ROK)-United States alliance has long been a pillar of stability for the Korean Peninsula and the Indo-Pacific. In April 2023, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden met to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the partnership. The presidents issued the Washington…
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Across The Region
U.S. Approves Support for Taiwan’s Information Systems
The United States in December 2023 approved a $300 million sale of equipment to help maintain Taiwan’s tactical information systems. Under its 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, the U.S. has agreed to provide the self-governed island with defense articles and services necessary to maintain self-defense capabilities. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) claims the island and threatens to annex it by…
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Across The Region
Australia, U.K., U.S. Forge High-Tech Agreement
From underwater drones to electronic warfare, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States are expanding high-tech military cooperation. An agreement forged in December 2023 increases technology cooperation and information sharing. The goal is to better address global security challenges and ensure each nation can defend against rapidly evolving threats and “contribute to stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region…
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