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.
- China's World War II anniversary parade last week has spawned a host of commentary. First, Evan Osnos in The New Yorker on how the real goal of the parade was to 'rally support and pride at home, and in that respect it was a great success.'
- Noah Feldman tried to sort out the mixed signals of the parade: President Xi Jinping's announcement that he would cut military manpower by 300,000 and the reports that five Chinese warships were recently operating near the Alaskan coast.
- Also, China refuses to confirm whether Xi Jinping met with the senior North Korean official who attended the parade, Choe Ryong Hae, Secretary of North Korea's Worker's Party.
- The Pakistani Government has reported that it has killed three militants near the Afghan border with a 'homemade' drone.
- South Korea is sending the ROKS Dae Joyeong to a Japanese naval parade next month, after which it will participate in joint search and rescue exercises with the Japanese Navy.
- Interestingly, the South Korean Navy is reintroducing 12 S-3 Viking anti-submarine warfare aircraft that have been in storage.
- The US, India, Japan and Australia may soon be holding quadrilateral naval drills.
- Last week, Rory Medcalf and I released a Lowy Institute Report on nuclear-armed submarines in the Indo-Pacific. I wrote a blog post on The Interpreter summarising the report, and The Diplomat also carried it.
- The US and Malaysia are reportedly holding talks on expanding the use of Malaysian territory for US intelligence gathering in the South China Sea.
- The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has published its most recent analysis of Indian nuclear forces by Hans M. Kristensen and Robert S. Norris. Of particular note is the authors' conclusion that:
After nearly two decades of concentrating on competition with Pakistan, India's nuclear outlook now seems to be focused more toward its future strategic relationship with China.