West Philippine Sea (WPS)
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
Japan, U.S. defense alliance gets ‘historic’ upgrade for greater interoperability in Free and Open Indo-Pacific
FORUM Staff The United States is making a consequential and historic upgrade to its U.S. Forces Japan, which will become a Joint Force Headquarters allowing for greater interoperability between the U.S. military and the Japan Self-Defense Forces. “We welcome an historic decision to modernize our Alliance command and control to better meet the challenges of today and tomorrow,” U.S. Defense…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
Beijing spreads manipulated message; Philippines, Allies and Partners strengthen security
FORUM Staff With the People’s Republic of China (PRC) facing international opposition to its coercion campaign in the South China Sea, its operatives are trying to change the narrative by amplifying a debunked deepfake video. The latest high-tech hoax targeting Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. — a discredited clip that purports to show Marcos using an illicit drug — was…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
Philippines boosting defense spending amid PRC clashes in South China Sea
Reuters The Philippines is allocating $4.38 billion for defense spending in 2025, officials announced, up 6.4% from the 2024 budget as the country modernizes and boosts its external defenses. The proposed increase in defense spending comes amid growing tensions with Beijing in the South China Sea, most of which the People’s Republic of China (PRC) claims as its territory despite…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
Philippines’ defense college updates leadership program, looks to future
Maria T. Reyes The National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP) is revising its graduate-level program for senior military and civilian leaders to ensure the master’s degree in national security administration (MNSA) curriculum reflects modern warfare and technology. Administered by the Philippines Department of National Defense, the course aims to cultivate a “strategic and critical mindset” in preparing future leaders.…
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Conflicts - Tensions
Philippines seeks to temper Beijing’s South China Sea aggression
FORUM Staff Allies and Partners across the Indo-Pacific condemned the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) dangerous and escalating aggression in the South China Sea in June, and the Philippines sought to diffuse tensions with a dash of diplomacy. “We still believe [in] the primacy of dialogue, and diplomacy should prevail even in the face of these serious incidents,” Philippines Foreign…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
Vietnam’s artificial-island building draws measured response from Philippines, other neighbors
FORUM Staff Vietnam is fast-tracking its artificial island projects in the disputed South China Sea, a move that aims to counter the People’s Republic of China (PRC), analysts say. By dredging the seabed and piling the material atop reefs in the Spratly Islands, Hanoi added more than 280 hectares of land between November 2023 and June 2024, reported the Asia…
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Features
Freedom of the Seas
FORUM Staff The United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) conducted a regional campaign supporting a Combined Joint All-Domain Operations (CJADO) effort throughout the past year to ensure economic prosperity worldwide via safe, secure and open sea passages. USINDOPACOM coordinated the campaign with other U.S. combatant commands (COCOM) and like-minded Allies and Partners using routine operations across the globe to demonstrate defense…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
PLA’s coordinated coercion aims to erode international law
FORUM Staff International leaders have for years denounced China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) for unsafe intercepts of military aircraft in international airspace and risky maneuvers on the high seas, as well as the Chinese coast guard and maritime militia’s aggressive tactics in the waters of sovereign nations. The coercive and dangerous moves are part of a concerted attempt to discourage…
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Across The Region
Protecting Sea Lines of Communication
The oceans and seas that dominate the Indo-Pacific present a challenge of immense proportions to safeguarding sovereignty and upholding freedom of navigation and commerce — an obstacle that military planners call the “tyranny of distance.” Increasingly, satellites, sensors, uncrewed aerial and surface vessels, and other technologies — combined with comprehensive information-sharing endeavors among like-minded nations — are key to bridging…
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Conflicts - Tensions
Philippines upgrading South China Sea outposts amid sovereignty concerns
Maria T. Reyes The Philippines will upgrade its South China Sea military outposts, officials say, a move that comes as the Chinese coast guard continues to harass Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) vessels within Manila’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. in January 2024 announced planned enhancements for nine reefs and islands, including…
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