On June 27, the latest Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) international exercise began in the Pacific Ocean, this time involving military units from 29 countries. The evolution of the format of these exercises corresponds closely to the changes in the political situation in the Indo-Pacific region as a whole.

The first thing to note is the launch on April 2, when they tested the hypersonic glider again (the previous launch of such a missile was Jan. 14) by firing a long-range heavy solid-propellant missile with a hypersonic warhead on a shortened trajectory. Hypersonic missiles fly at speeds of at least Mach 5 – five times the speed of sound – and are designed to be maneuverable on unpredictable flight paths and fly at low altitudes. At Mach 5 and above, such a missile can cover the 195-kilometer distance between Pyongyang and Seoul…

Pyongyang has successfully conducted a ground-based jet test of a solid-fueled engine for a new type of medium-range hypersonic missile.  Tensions on the Korean peninsula will likely continue to rise, and missile launches, drills, and visits by strategic bombers, aircraft carriers, and nuclear subs to Korea will continue.

The scale of regional tensions has eased somewhat since the end of the joint US-South Korean exercise on March 14, 2024. Both sides made bellicose statements, the South Koreans continued to conduct field training exercises both on their own and with the US, and the North Korean leadership occasionally launched missiles…

The military cooperation of the self-proclaimed global hegemon with a small and critically remote state turns out to be, upon careful consideration, multifaceted and profound. A number of facts, showing the active immersion of the United States in the defence sector of Mongolia, prove this to be evident.

The annual US-Philippine military exercise Balikatan began on 22 April and will continue until 10 May. Originally planned as a relatively small and bilateral exercise, in recent years it has become the largest of those conducted by the United States in the Indo-Pacific region with the participation of one or more of its allies…

Associated Press (AP) in a May 8, 2024 article titled, “Chinese warships have been docked in Cambodia for 5 months, but government says it’s not permanent,” attempts to depict the Southeast Asian country of Cambodia as covering up growing Chinese-Cambodian military cooperation…

Contrary to the anticipation of anti-Pyongyang propaganda discussed in the previous part of this digest, there have been no direct provocations, including in the area of the disputed maritime border. Instead, the North conducted its own exercise and criticized the enemy’s. Already on the day the exercise began, March 4, a DPRK Ministry of Defense spokesman issued a press statement. “The frantic war drills by the ROK puppets and vassal forces led by the US make…

From March 4 to 14, 2024, the Armed Forces of the United States and the Republic of Korea conducted the annual joint exercise Freedom Shield. This is a complex exercise involving many large and small maneuvers, so first it should be described the main points in which Freedom Shield 2024 differed from previous exercises. The stated objective was to improve interoperability and enhance the ability of alliance forces to conduct joint operations…

On February 10, 2024, the Lunar New Year holiday, Yoon Suk-yeol visited the Second Marine Corps Division in Gimpo, inspected the Cheonmoo multiple rocket launcher system, and urged troops to be prepared for any North Korean provocations. “If the enemy provokes, you have to sternly and overwhelmingly respond under the principle of ‘act first, report later’ to completely crush the enemy’s will.”…

We ended the previous text with the 7 January firing and then separately noted the 14 January ICBM launch, but tensions are not subsiding and their new degree is gradually becoming the new normal. Missile launches on one side, joint exercises on the other. From 15 to 17 January, the navies of the Republic of Korea, the United States and Japan conducted joint exercises in waters south of Jeju Island. Two South Korean destroyers, five U.S. Navy ships, including the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson, and two ships of the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force participated. It was the first trilateral naval drills since an agreement was reached last June to hold them regularly…

Last year, 17,600 troops from the Philippines took part in Balikatan, a record for an annual military exercise between the Americans and the Tagalogs.  According to Manila’s statement, the interaction between the US, Philippine and Australian Armed Forces will be even bigger in 2024. What’s more, this year’s joint military exercise will take place in the Philippines’ northern islands, which are just 150 kilometres (93 nautical miles) from Taiwan. Already this weekend, military officials from the three countries will travel to the uninhabited…