Russia-Ukraine Conflict
-
Conflicts - Tensions
Allies, Partners resolute over North Korea WMD sanctions, condemn Russia’s veto
FORUM Staff Russia’s latest attempt to weaken monitoring of United Nations sanctions of North Korea over its illegal nuclear weapons program will have negligible impact, according to security experts. In late March 2024, Moscow vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution that would have extended the mandate for a panel of experts (POE) to monitor the sanctions. The veto has instead…
Read More -
Conflicts - Tensions
Russia’s arms sales plummet as India, others seek new suppliers
FORUM Staff Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine continues to impose a heavy toll on Moscow beyond the battlefield, as international sanctions bite into the regime’s arms exports and qualms about quality and reliability prompt longtime customers in the Indo-Pacific and elsewhere to seek new weapons suppliers. Moscow’s arms exports plummeted by 53% over the past decade, dropping Russia out of…
Read More -
Across The Region
Indo-Pacific Partners
National security advisors for Japan, the Philippines and the United States held their first joint talks in June 2023 and agreed to strengthen defense cooperation, as Indo-Pacific partners reinforce their alliances to address growing tensions over North Korea, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The three officials discussed the “turbulent regional security environment and…
Read More -
Features
Persistent partnerships in cyberspace
FORUM Staff When Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Lt. Gen. Hiroe Jiro went to Ukraine in 2020, the nation’s sophisticated cyber defenses came as a surprise. It was six years after Russia seized Crimea and invaded eastern Ukraine, launching a yearslong cyber onslaught along the way. Russian-affiliated cyberattacks targeted Ukraine’s Central Election Commission, took down power grids and unleashed malware. Disruptive…
Read More -
Conflicts - Tensions
Slippery Moves
FORUM STAFF A dearth of modern tanker ships willing to carry sanctioned Russian oil has given rise to a “shadow” fleet of more than 600 past-their-prime vessels that deliver crude and refined petroleum to receptive nations. The vessels elude detection by obscuring their ownership, turning off automatic identification system (AIS) devices, transferring cargo at sea and “spoofing,” or broadcasting a…
Read More -
Conflicts - Tensions
PRC’s global security initiative contradicts actions
Dr. Jinghao Zhou The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) foreign ministry released a paper in February 2023 addressing international security challenges and solutions. The Global Security Initiative (GSI) reflected a speech by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Xi Jinping 10 months earlier in which he unveiled his GSI proposal. It is imperative that those who question recent CCP actions…
Read More -
Conflicts - Tensions
North Koreans starve amid regime’s military spending, arms deal with Russia
FORUM Staff North Korea’s rural economy is in “a terrible situation,” the isolated nation’s dictator said in late January 2024, admitting a “failure to satisfactorily provide the people in local areas with basic living necessities including condiments, foodstuff and consumption goods,” the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported. Days after Kim Jong Un’s admission, North Korean diplomats met in Pyongyang…
Read More -
Northeast Asia
Japan, NATO discussing hotline for sharing security information
FORUM Staff The expanding cooperation between Japan and NATO is continuing with negotiations to establish a hotline for rapidly sharing security information on such threats as cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns, including from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Russia. The communication tool could be modeled on the system used by the 31-nation security alliance, which can be used to…
Read More -
Global Commons
Nations developing rules for use of AI, autonomous weapons
FORUM Staff More than 50 nations have joined the United States in setting guidelines to ensure the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous weapons systems adheres to international law, according to a top U.S. defense official. As AI becomes more prominent in weapons development and other military applications, stakeholders are developing rules to govern its use. Philippine and U.S.…
Read More -
Conflicts - Tensions
North Korea-Russia arms deal destabilizes region, undercuts nonproliferation efforts
FORUM Staff North Korean and Russian actions are undermining multinational nonproliferation efforts in the Indo-Pacific. Enhanced cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang will offer North Korea’s authoritarian regime access to intelligence, analysis and sensitive technology to accelerate its banned ballistic and nuclear weapons programs, Sue Mi Terry, a Korea expert and former Central Intelligence Agency analyst, said in an episode of…
Read More