Category: Indo-Pacific Region

AUKUS Makes Good Sense

Commentary In the wake of the announcement of the new Australia-U.S.-UK (AUKUS) security pact in the Indo-Pacific region, many commentators have lamented that it will provoke Beijing to adopt more aggressive policies and that Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Vietnam will resent being forced to choose sides between China and the United…


Philippines Supports Australia Nuclear Sub Pact to Counter China

MANILA—The Philippines is backing a new defense partnership between the United States, Britain, and Australia, hoping it can maintain the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific region, a view that contrasts sharply with some of its neighbors. Known as AUKUS, the alliance will see Australia get technology to deploy nuclear-powered submarines as part of the…


European Parliament Members Push Brussels to Build Closer Ties With Taiwan 

The European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs adopted a new resolution on Sept. 1, advocating closer ties with Taiwan amid a spike in tensions between Beijing and Taipei. The first report on EU–Taiwan relations was approved in Brussels on Wednesday, with 60 in favor, four against, and six abstentions. Parliament will hold a vote in a…


Japan Wakes Up

Commentary The decoration of the cover of Japan’s just published 2021 Defense White Paper says it all. Last year’s white paper was covered by a photo of Mount Fuji and cherry blossoms. This year’s version features a 14th-century samurai riding toward the reader. Thus, is Japan at long last “taking the gloves off” as a…


Beijing Revises Its ‘Maritime Traffic Safety Law’ to Pave the Way for Expansion

The Chinese regime, on April 29, passed a revised draft of the “Maritime Traffic Safety Law” that will be formally implemented on Sept. 1. According to a China issues expert, the move provides a legal basis for China’s maritime expansion and may bring more instability to the Indo-Pacific region. The revised draft of the Maritime…


CCP’s Jealousy Over Japanese Prime Minister Meeting US President First

Commentary On April 14, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s Xinhua News Agency reported that Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga would visit the United States from April 15–18, becoming the first foreign head of state to meet face-to-face with President Biden since he took office in January; the words were full of jealousy. In early January,…


Global Military Cooperation Growing Against CCP’s Aggression

The current international situation is somewhat similar to how it was before the Second World War in that there’s tension and conflict over the ownership of islands in the Indo-Pacific around China. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched into 2021 with a new round of wolf warrior diplomacy. At the same time, the PLA military…


Top Defense and State Dept. Officials Will Travel to Japan and Korea

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will meet with officials in Japan and South Korea in March in an effort to advance the Biden administration’s Indo-pacific strategy, against the backdrop of an increasingly hostile China. Austin will join Blinken on March 16–17, in Japan for the U.S./Japan Security…