Taiwan
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Global Commons
ROK’s cruise missile capabilities offer model for Southeast Asia
Felix Kim The Republic of Korea (ROK) has built one of the Indo-Pacific’s most capable land-based cruise missile arsenals over the past few decades, offering a template for Southeast Asian defense forces seeking to field coastal strike networks amid China’s growing assertiveness and maritime incursions. Supported by longtime ally the United States, Seoul has developed successive generations of cruise missiles…
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Global Commons
Rapid acquisition strategy accelerates Indo-Pacific defense modernization
Peter Parson Indo-Pacific defense forces are shifting from yearslong procurement cycles toward a rapid acquisition approach that rapidly adapts and fields proven commercial technologies. Spearheaded by the United States Department of War Innovation Unit, the concept has spread among Allies and Partners as commands seek accelerated acquisition amid a volatile security environment. Nations including Australia, Japan and the Republic of…
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Departments
Removing Barriers, Sharing Solutions
Lt. Col. Kevin M. Wheeler/U.S. Marine Corps Promoting peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific hinges on strategic depth. Resilient relationships are born of shared visions and coupled with interoperable strategies able to adapt as conditions change. Plans must be designed not for short, intense skirmishes but for prolonged struggles over influence, access and values. A mindset that prioritizes long-term coalition…
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Features
A New Era of Cooperation
FORUM Staff In an increasingly contested orbital environment, the United States Space Force is augmenting its approach to space security and defense cooperation. With the release of its 2025 International Partnership Strategy, in support of U.S. Department of War (DOW) objectives, the Space Force has built a strategic vision on collaboration, interoperability and shared responsibility among the U.S. and its…
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Features
Fighting Disruption, Destabilization
Forum Staff Manipulated information campaigns threaten security by exploiting communication systems to undermine trust in social, political and strategic domains. False narratives in Myanmar, for example, included hate speech insisting Muslim minority Rohingya communities didn’t belong in the country and accusations they were burning their own villages amid a 2017 government crackdown on insurgent groups. The social media-stoked violence left…
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Features
Counterattack
FORUM Staff Acceleration and affordability are key pillars of the uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) strategy for the United States and its Allies and Partners in the Indo-Pacific. The U.S. amplified the strategy when Secretary of War Pete Hegseth created the Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF) 401 in August 2025 to rapidly acquire and integrate defense systems to combat small UAVs.…
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Conflicts - Tensions
China’s coercion includes interdicting nearly 200 ships in Philippine Sea, study says
FORUM Staff China’s Coast Guard illegally questioned operators of nearly 200 commercial ships transiting the Philippine Sea, demanding information about their port calls and crews, the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) reported in August 2026. The coercion began shortly after Japan and the Philippines announced they would start boundary negotiations over their overlapping exclusive economic zones (EEZ) in the sea,…
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Conflicts - Tensions
Indo-Pacific nations strengthen defenses against malign information
Felix Kim Malign information campaigns by foreign actors are emerging as one of the Indo-Pacific’s most pressing security challenges. Intelligence agencies, defense ministries and multilateral coalitions across the region are countering such information warfare with increased urgency. Authoritarian regimes are “actively weaponizing our open information environments to paralyze decision-making, split our societies and make nothing true,” Dr. Stephen Nagy, a…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
China’s Taiwan Strait traffic control scheme part of ‘salami slicing’ strategy
Lt. Col. Uilisone F. Tua/U.S. Army In early August 2026, China’s Guangdong Maritime Safety Administration (MSA) announced and sought to enforce a dayslong “traffic control scheme” for northbound vessels entering the Taiwan Strait. The MSA asserted that passing vessels must “strictly comply with traffic control requirements” and “obey the instructions of on-site maritime management agencies.” The pretext was a typhoon…
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Northeast Asia
Taiwan’s annual Han Kuang exercise focuses on real-world contingencies
FORUM Staff Taiwan’s military and civic preparations for a potential crisis such as an invasion by China reflect a whole of society approach. The self-governed island’s Han Kuang exercise in mid-August 2026 embraced that dual strategy as never before. Han Kuang’s 42nd annual iteration tested evacuation and sheltering, traffic control, emergency response and civil-military coordination, The Diplomat magazine reported. The…
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