Philippines

What Qatar wants, Qatar gets

How a tiny but extraordinarily wealthy emirate buys influence

Deterrence Amid Rising Tensions

Preventing CCP Aggression on Taiwan

Chinese Coast Guard Forces Land on Sandy Cay, Escalating Tensions With the Philippines

China is stepping up its campaign to dominate key territory in the South China Sea. On April 24, the Global Times, a Chinese Communist Party-owned media outlet, reported that the China Coast Guard (CCG)...

Bolstering Defense Ties, Vietnam Reportedly Agrees to Purchase American F-16s

Almost exactly 50 years after the evacuation of Saigon, American air power has returned to Vietnam. On April 22, 19FortyFive, a defense news outlet, reported that Vietnam had reached an agreement with...

Palau deports Chinese criminals, reinforces Indo-Pacific security

If China goes after Taiwan without ‘disabling’ Palau, its Taiwan operation could be jeopardized. Which is one of the reasons the U.S. is putting new military infrastructure, or, in some cases, bringing back to life World War II era infrastructure, in Palau.

Signaling Displeasure With Washington, China Conducts Military Exercises Around Taiwan

China’s psychological warfare on Taiwan is intensifying. Following its largest military exercises around Taiwan in three decades last December, Beijing has launched a new series of military drills. On...

Trump Administration Foreign Policy Tracker: April

Welcome back to the Trump Administration Foreign Policy Tracker. Once a month, we ask FDD’s experts and scholars to assess the administration’s foreign policy. They provide trendlines of very positive, positive, neutral, negative, or very negative for the areas they watch.

Crossroads of Competition

China in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands

US strike in Iraq eliminates top Islamic State leader

A March 13 airstrike in Iraq’s Anbar province by US Central Command (CENTCOM) eliminated Abdallah Makki Muslih al Rifai, a senior leader of the Islamic State (IS) who may have served as the...

Examining the Office of Insular Affairs’ Role in Fostering Prosperity in the Pacific Territories and Addressing External Threats to Peace and Security

In Sign of Deepening Ties, China Signs Agreements With Cook Islands

China has increased its presence in Oceania, undermining regional confidence in the United States and threatening sea lines critical for Australia’s and New Zealand’s security. On February 22, China...

Missed Milestones

Evaluating The Last Four Years in the EAP Region and Unseized Opportunities Under President Trump

Philippines Busts Chinese Spy Ring Targeting U.S. and Allied Military Infrastructure

China is mapping U.S. and allied military installations around the world. Filipino security officials arrested five Chinese nationals on January 30 as part of a larger investigation into an espionage ring...

Who’s afraid of China? Palau inauguration calls bluff of ‘friends to all, enemies to none’

For all the regional talk of “Pacific family” and “friends to all enemies to none” who did – and who didn’t – show up for the Jan. 16 inauguration of Palau President Surangel S. Whipps Jr....

Deconstructing the Inauguration: No, not that one

We have a country that is geopolitically sophisticated, with close ties to the U.S., Japan and Taiwan, and is in a highly strategic location. So who showed up to Palau’s party, and who didn’t?

China Conducts Major Military Exercises Around Taiwan 

In its largest military exercise in nearly three decades, China demonstrated its growing capacity to blockade Taiwan and project power throughout the First Island Chain of Pacific archipelagos that run...

Bolster U.S. Military

As a new administration is poised to take charge in January 2025, it will face a markedly different threat landscape than its predecessor. The United States and its allies now confront an axis of authoritarians...

Palau is under attack from PRC

There is a spike in activity now because China sees Palau’s 5 November election as an opportunity to put in place representatives that are more in line with its ambitions.

U.S. Marines Train with Mobile Air Defense Adapted from Iron Dome

The United States conducted a successful live-fire training of a transportable aerial defense system that includes components from Israel’s Iron Dome system.

How a modern Lend-Lease could help save the South China Sea

A modern US-Philippines Lend-Lease could be designated for joint civilian projects