French Navy seizes Russian tanker
The French Navy seized sanctioned tanker MT Tagor on 31 May while it operated in the Atlantic, marking the service’s fourth shadow fleet seizure...
Joint Statement, AUKUS Defence Ministers’ Meeting
On 30 May the following AUKUS Defence Ministers’ Joint Statement was released:
The Honourable Richard Marles, Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, the...
Iran tightens grip on Hormuz
Iran is tightening its grip on the Strait of Hormuz by asserting unprecedented control over one of the world's most strategically important shipping lanes...
China drives off Dutch ship in Paracels
Chinese naval and air forces drove off a Dutch air defense frigate near a disputed archipelago using warnings and electronic interference, Beijing’s South China...
Iran’s new mini-submarine
By Tom Sharpe*
The Strait of Hormuz remains in a state of near lockdown. Many things worry merchant captains thinking of running the gauntlet there:...
A great wall of underwater sensors
China is building a network of undersea sensors in the Pacific Ocean to detect the U.S. Navy’s nuclear submarines and secure its sea-based nuclear...
China using all levers to keep Darwin Port
By Geoff Wade and Justin Bassi*
Litigation by the Chinese lessee of Darwin Port is an attempt at stymying the Australian government’s stated aim of returning...
35 Chinese ships operating in Philippines EEZ
On 12 May the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) announced that around 35 Chinese People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) and Chinese Coast Guard (CCG)...
Russian N-subs in the Pacific?
By Carl Janz*
Strategists in Canberra should factor in the plausible risk of Russian participation in a Western Pacific conflict, especially action by Russian submarines.
Russia...
China’s grey-zone fleet pressures Taiwan
By Nathan Attrill*
China’s pressure on Taiwan increasingly relies on vessels that aren’t warships. Instead, Beijing is deploying a maritime grey-zone fleet: a network of...