South China Sea (SCS)
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
South Korea enhances regional security role
FORUM Staff Seoul is reinforcing security partnerships in the Indo-Pacific and beyond as tensions flare in the economically important South China Sea and North Korea’s nuclear and missile provocations persist. South Korea upgraded ties with the Philippines and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in October 2024. Singapore and Seoul signed agreements on supply chain and liquefied natural gas…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
Indonesian Coast Guard again drives away a CCP vessel disrupting survey operations
The Associated Press Indonesian patrol ships drove a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) coast guard vessel away from a survey vessel in the South China Sea in late October 2024, Indonesia’s Maritime Security Agency reported. It was the third such incident in a week. A video distributed by the agency showed the Indonesian ship following the CCP vessel, which Beijing claimed…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
ASEAN leaders want South China Sea consensus, peace in Myanmar
FORUM Staff Amid rising regional tensions, leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at their October 2024 summit called for speeding up adoption of a long-awaited code of conduct for the South China Sea. They also demanded an end to Myanmar’s civil strife that has killed at least 5,350 civilians and displaced more than 3.3 million people…
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Partnerships
Multinational exercises in Philippines: ‘Partnerships that allow us to maintain peace and stability’
FORUM Staff Philippine and United States forces, joined by participants from six nations, conducted near-simultaneous military exercises in and around the Philippines in October 2024. Exercise Sama Sama, a Filipino phrase meaning togetherness, expanded in its eighth iteration to include training on shore and in waters off the northern Philippines, building on a legacy of Philippine-U.S. maritime collaboration. Part of…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
New drone boat boosts Philippine Coast Guard’s law enforcement, environmental protection efforts
Maria T. Reyes The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has enhanced its fleet with an unmanned surface vehicle (USV) to help enforce maritime laws and protect natural resources. The boat bolsters the agency’s capabilities by supplementing its flotilla of crewed vessels. The PCG is the first Southeast Asian coast guard with a USV. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime…
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Conflicts - Tensions
Vietnam condemns the PRC for assaulting its fishermen in South China Sea
The Associated Press Vietnam has accused Chinese law enforcement personnel of assaulting 10 Vietnamese fishermen, damaging their fishing gear and seizing about four tons of fish in late September 2024 near the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea. The fishermen reported the assault near the Chinese-controlled islands by radio but did not identify the attackers. Vietnam later identified…
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Conflicts - Tensions
Quad leaders to expand maritime security cooperation in face of PRC aggression
FORUM Staff Australia, India, Japan and the United States will launch joint Coast Guard patrols in the Indo-Pacific in 2025. The enhanced security cooperation will improve interoperability and boost maritime safety, the leaders of the four member nations of the Quadrilateral partnership, or Quad, announced after their late September 2024 summit in the U.S. The initial Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission…
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Conflicts - Tensions
Allies, Partners conduct joint naval exercises in South China Sea for Free and Open Indo-Pacific
Reuters The armed forces of five Allies and Partners conducted joint maritime exercises in a portion of the South China Sea in late September. New Zealand joined for the first time. Australia, Japan, the Philippines and the United States also participated in the exercises in Manila’s exclusive economic zone that sought to improve the militaries’ interoperability, the Armed Forces of…
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Conflicts - Tensions
Philippines to continue Sabina Shoal deployments
Reuters The Philippines will continuously deploy vessels to the contested Sabina Shoal in the South China Sea, the nation’s Coast Guard said after a Philippine ship returned to port after a five-month deployment there. “We will sustain presence over these waters,” Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela said in mid-September 2024. The Coast Guard vessel BRP Teresa Magbanua deployed to…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
German naval ships to transit Taiwan Strait to uphold Free and Open Indo-Pacific
Reuters Two German Navy ships are set to transit the international waters of the Taiwan Strait in September 2024, becoming the first German military vessels to do so in 22 years, according to reports. The routine operation will demonstrate Berlin’s commitment to open navigation, the head of the naval task force said. “Safe and secure sea lanes, especially from Southeast…
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