By David Schaefer, an intern in the Lowy Institute's International Security program. The Indo-Pacific is a strategic system encompassing the Indian and Pacific oceans, reflecting the expanding interests and reach of China and India as well as the enduring role of the US. The Lowy Institute's International Security program presents a weekly selection of links illuminating the changing security picture in this increasingly connected super-region.
- India's latest military technology purchase was announced over the weekend, with New Delhi opting for an Israeli-made anti-tank missile over a rival system pushed by the US.
- Carl Thayer makes the case that Vietnam is skilled at manipulating strategic rivalry in the Indo-Pacific.
- A new Adelphi paper by William Choong warns that more effort will be needed to stabilise relations between China and Japan.
- With the proposed transfer of more missile-defence hardware in North Asia, Clint Richards argues that the substance of trilateral cooperation between Japan, the US and South Korea validates Chinese fears of encirclement.
- US and South Korean military forces have once again delayed the transfer of wartime command authority on the peninsula.
- The Philippines recently conducted its first trilateral naval drill with the US and Japan. Among other things, the exercise practiced the new protocol for unplanned encounters at sea, which was ratified earlier this year at a meeting of regional countries in China.
- Why Narendra Modi should begin to invest serious effort in building relations with Indonesia.
- The Heritage Foundation has published a handy series of charts which depict recent economic, political, and military trends in Asia – as well as illustrating the stake which the US has in the region. Here is one on regional naval configuration:
The Lowy Institute International Security Program's work on Indo-Pacific security is supported by two grants from the John D and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation.