Great Power Geopolitics and the Scramble for Oceania
The practice of wooing peripheral states is as much a part of today’s budding U.S. rivalry with China as it was during the actual Cold War with the former Soviet Union. Read More Here
Tag: Pacific Ocean
Japan’s Shift To War Footing
Throughout the Cold War, the United States and Japan focused on the threat from the Soviet Union, but with tensions increasing around Taiwan, Tokyo has turned to its south, adopting principles that former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pushed for before his death. Read More Here
Australia Boosts Defence Spending By 40% As China Tensions Rise
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a significant increase in defence spending to boost the country’s military prowess in the Indo-Pacific, amid jitters about China’s growing power in the region. In a major speech in Canberra, Morrison said the government would spend A$270 billion (US$186 billion) on defence over the next decade, up nearly 40 per […]
The Great Game Moves To Sea: Tripolar Competition In The Indian Ocean Region
Three major powers — which together account for nearly half of the global economy — are vying for influence in the Indian Ocean arena. India, China, and the United States each view the region through their own geo-strategic frameworks, ensuring intense jostling at best or conflict at worst. Read Here – WarOnTheRocks
‘Quad’ Quietly Gains Steam As Way To Balance China
Potentially the most important meeting in Asia this week isn’t on any official summit agenda, features no head of state and certainly doesn’t include China. Senior officials from Australia, India, Japan and the US—a set of countries known as “the Quad”—plan to meet today on the sidelines of a regional summit in Singapore. Read Here […]
China’s Navy Could Soon Have An Aircraft Carrier Battle Group
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is a step closer to achieving its goal of deploying a full-scale aircraft carrier battle group. In recent days, China’s first indigenously built aircraft carrier, Shandong, embarked on its second set of sea trials. Meanwhile, the PLAN also started sea trials for the first of its massive new Type […]
Modi Wants No Part Of China-US Rivalry, But Still Manages To Keep Beijing Happy
With Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy set to boost India’s role in the region, New Delhi is working hard to avoid being caught in the middle of the growing rivalry between China and the United States, observers said. That might have explained why Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeared to avoid mentioning the “quadrilateral strategic dialogue” – a […]
India’s Struggle For The Soul Of The Indo-Pacific
In the western Indian Ocean, a battle for the soul of the Indo-Pacific is set to play out between China and the liberal order hitherto led by the US, and increasingly represented by India. While New Delhi and Beijing have initiated a tentative rapprochement, their interests do not align. Read Here – Lowy Institute
Small Dots, Large Strategic Areas: US Interests In The South Pacific
Given the rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape – or, more accurately, seascape – of the South Pacific, the region poses several strategic challenges to the US and its allies. As Australian National University’s Joanne Wallis has argued, over the past several years the South Pacific has seen the creation of alternative regional institutions, increasing Chinese investment and strategic […]
Surveillance Under The Sea: How China Is Listening In Near Guam
China has planted powerful listening devices in two strategic seabeds deep in the waters near Guam, America’s biggest military base in the Western Pacific. The cutting-edge acoustic sensors – some of which have a listening range of more than 1,000km – are being used for scientific research such as studying earthquakes, typhoons and whales, according to […]
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