South China Sea (SCS)
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
Japan, South Korea expose China’s maritime overreach
FORUM Staff Japan and South Korea have lodged formal protests to China over structures it has placed in disputed waters, including floating platforms with oil drilling equipment. Beijing arbitrarily claims jurisdiction in the East China Sea where its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) overlaps with Japan’s. China also deployed platforms in waters where Chinese and South Korean EEZs overlap in the…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
Lithuanian, Philippine defense leaders agree to build security alliance
The Associated Press Lithuania and the Philippines signed an agreement to build a security alliance resulting from their mutual alarm over what they perceive as growing aggression threatening their regions by countries such as China. The memorandum of understanding signed in Manila by Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. calls for cooperation particularly in…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
South China Sea states strengthen capacity to counter China’s overreach
FORUM Staff More than 20% of the world’s maritime trade flows through the South China Sea. The sea’s rich fishing grounds help feed nearly 2 billion people in Southeast Asia and its unexplored depths are believed to contain vast stores of oil and natural gas. China illegally claims almost all of the crucial waterway, ignoring the United Nations Convention on…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
CCP fighter jets harass Japanese planes with coercive, dangerous tactics
FORUM Staff A Chinese Communist Party (CCP) fighter jet flew dangerously close to a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force reconnaissance plane over the Indo-Pacific in June 2025, triggering a demand from Tokyo to Beijing for the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) to cease its bullying. The near miss came after the PLAN jet took off from the aircraft carrier Shandong, chased…
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Partnerships
Collective capabilities bolster Philippine security, sovereignty
FORUM Staff The Philippine Navy celebrated its 127th anniversary in May 2025 by commissioning its first guided-missile frigate and showcasing United States-provided uncrewed surface vessels (USV). The capability demonstrations highlight advancing defense collaboration among Manila and Indo-Pacific Allies and Partners. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. commissioned the BRP Miguel Malvar, the country’s most powerful surface combatant ship and the first…
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Conflicts - Tensions
China weaponizes environmental stewardship for global dominance
Capt. Isaac Serna/U.S. Army 8th Theater Sustainment Command, National Security Law Team In an increasingly competitive clash over resources in the global commons, nations are employing insidious means of asserting power. China, in particular, engages in lawfare, the strategic manipulation of legal frameworks and public sentiment to advance its geopolitical agenda. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) especially employs lawfare in…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
Philippines prioritizes submarine acquisition to counter China’s maritime pressure
Maria T. Reyes The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is accelerating plans to acquire submarines as it faces mounting pressure from China’s incursions into the West Philippine Sea, part of Manila’s exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea. “We are an archipelagic nation, so we have to have this capability because it is extremely difficult to defend our…
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Partnerships
Balikatan 2025 highlights increasingly complex military training in Indo-Pacific
FORUM Staff If you live in a dangerous neighborhood, it behooves you to know how to fight, Philippine Army Brig. Gen. Michael Logico told FORUM as troops from more than 20 nations gathered for all-domain exercises across the archipelago in April and May 2025. The 40th iteration of Balikatan highlighted the Philippine military’s modernization and the increasingly complex training among…
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Conflicts - Tensions
Philippines condemns Beijing’s excessive claims at Sandy Cay, related manipulation of information
FORUM Staff The Philippines denounced Beijing’s latest aggressive activities in the South China Sea that include China raising its national flag on Sandy Cay and propagating false claims about the stretch of three uninhabited sandbars that the Philippines calls Pag-asa Cay 2. “The alleged seizure of Pag-asa Cay 2, an integral part of the Philippine national territory in the West…
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Features
Maritime Technology Competition
Strategic investments by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in naval technical expertise supported by military-civil fusion (MCF) programs and military public-private partnerships (PPP) are driving the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) advancements in maritime technology. Concerns are mounting among the United States and its Allies and Partners over the CCP’s rapid development of dual-use maritime technologies through MCF and PPPs. The…
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