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.
- In The Guardian, Howard W. French speculates on what China's motivations are in trying to control the South China Sea (h/t Pip). For a different take, Bonnie Glaser also wrote in The Interpreter this week on the militarisation of Beijing's island reclamation efforts.
- There is significant speculation on which Western leaders, if any, will attend China's World War II 70th anniversary parade in September.
- This week, the PLAN conducted a live-fire exercise with over 100 naval vessels and aircraft in the South China Sea.
- Is Israel pivoting to the Indo-Pacific?
- The negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership are in the final stages. The Economist has an excellent breakdown of the agreements prospects.
- In The Globe and Mail, historian Simon Partner argues that Japan should remake itself into a global peacekeeping force, as it 'has an opportunity to use its unique history as a powerful impetus for global peace.'
- The demand for anti-submarine warfare and maritime surveillance planes is growing throughout the Indo-Pacific.
- The Indian Navy is also making a big push to beef-up its anti-submarine warfare capabilities as a result of Chinese submarine patrols in the Indian Ocean.