Category: Indo-Pacific

British F-35 Jet Crashes Into Mediterranean

A British F-35 jet crashed into the Mediterranean on Wednesday, the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed. An MoD spokesman said: “A British F-35 pilot from HMS Queen Elizabeth ejected during routine flying operations in the Mediterranean this morning. “The pilot has been safely returned to the ship and an investigation has begun, so…


Canada, South Asian Bloc to Begin Free Trade Talks in Effort to Diversify From China

OTTAWA—Canada is launching free-trade talks with a major group of southeast Asian countries as it seeks to diversify from China and find new ways of coping with a snarled global supply chain. International Trade Minister Mary Ng announced the opening of formal trade talks late Tuesday with the Association of South East Asian Nations—known as…


German Navy Chief Vows Long-Term Commitment to Indo-Pacific

TOKYO—The chief of Germany’s navy said Tuesday that its dispatch of a warship to the Indo-Pacific underscores his country’s concern that freedom of navigation and the rule-based international order are being threatened in the region, an apparent reference to its biggest trading partner, China. Vice Adm. Kay-Achim Schonbach, in Tokyo for a port call by…


US Focusing on Readiness to China Threat

The United States says it’s prepared to confront China’s threat, after reports that Beijing has built mock-ups of U.S. warships in a remote desert. Top U.S. officials voice concerns about the life of a citizen journalist in China. She was sentenced to prison for reporting on what really happened during the height of the pandemic…


Former Pentagon Official Calls for ‘Strategy of Denial’ Against China

The United States ought to pursue a strategy of denial, mitigating China’s capacity to undermine U.S. interests by preventing it from taking undesirable actions, according to a former Department of Defense (DoD) official. “Denial is the standard of denying China’s ability to subordinate our willing allies, and that includes Taiwan,” said Elbridge Colby, founder of…


India Should Rethink its Taiwan Policy and Be More Proactive: Experts

NEW DELHI—In the new emerging global world order, both India and Taiwan, two key countries in the Indo-Pacific, face Chinese aggression and the increasing need to cooperate. Experts told The Epoch Times that though both countries have made efforts in the past few years for greater cooperation, there’s a need for India to initiate a…


US Nuclear Submarine Struck Uncharted Seamount in South China Sea: Navy Investigation

A U.S. nuclear-powered submarine that was severely damaged in early October in an accident in the South China Sea struck an uncharted underwater mountain, an investigation has found, the Navy said on Monday. The USS Connecticut (SSN-22), a Seawolf-class fast-attack submarine, was operating in international waters in the Indo–Pacific region on Oct. 2 at the…


‘We’d Probably Lose’ a War Over Taiwan: Rep. Gallagher

The United States military is not currently prepared to win a war with China over Taiwan, according to Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.). “It’s clear to me that if we went to war in the Taiwan Strait tomorrow, we’d probably lose,” Gallagher said. “It’s also clear to me that the threat horizon for the Taiwan scenario…


‘Poison Frogs’: US Urged to Make Taiwan Islands Too ‘Painful’ for China to Seize in Response to War Game Results

The United States would have little recourse if China invaded one of the minor islands controlled by Taiwan, according to a new report by Center for a New American Security (CNAS), a Washington-based think tank. The report analyzed the results of a virtual war game carried out by the CNAS Gaming Lab that sought to…


Quad Nations Continue Military Exercises in Bay of Bengal

The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, colloquially called the “Quad,” commenced the second phase of its joint military exercise Malabar on Oct. 12, bringing together elements of the Australian, Indian, Japanese, and American militaries in the Bay of Bengal. The exercise is the 25th of its kind, and will continue through Oct. 15. The drills come amid…