China’s Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe on June 2, 2019. USNI News Photo
SINGAPORE — China’s Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe struck an uncompromising tone on Taiwan and the South China Sea in his Sunday speech IISS Shangri La Dialogue. Read More
U.S. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick M. Shanahan arrives in Singapore on May 30, 2019. DoD Photo
SINGAPORE – Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan stressed the U.S. commitment to the Indo-Pacific region and highlighted key messages from the Pentagon’s new Indo-Pacific Strategy Report in a Saturday speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue. Read More
USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), left, and the Japanese helicopter destroyer JS Hyuga (DDH 181), right, sail in formation with 16 other ships from the U.S. Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) during Keen Sword 19 on Nov. 08, 2018. US Navy Photo
KUALA LUMPUR — The Pentagon will unveil a new Indo-Pacific strategy at the Shangri-La Dialogue this May, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Randall Schriver told a media roundtable in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, last week. Read More
Manchester (LCS-14) rests in the Port of Los Angeles during during a scheduled visit for LA Fleet Week on Aug. 31, 2018. US Navy Photo
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – The Navy is still committed to resuming rotational deployments of the Littoral Combat Ship to Southeast Asia, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson said, though he declined to specify when the deployments would resume. Read More
Marine Capt. Shane Robinette Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines and Lt. Umar with 22nd Royal Malaysian Army Regiment explain how to run through the Jungle Point-man Training Course in Kota Belud, Malaysia, August 12, 2018. US Marine Corps Photo
KULALA LUMPUR – Washington is in discussion with individual South-East Asian countries on what programs to support as part of the ongoing Maritime Security Initiative and the $290.5 million Foreign Military Financing (FMF) aid allocation for the Indo-Pacific region announced by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Aug. 4 at the ASEAN Regional Forum in Singapore. The FMF allocation is purposed towards strengthening maritime security, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR), and peacekeeping capabilities. Read More
Expeditionary fast transport ship USNS Brunswick (T-EPF 6) arrives in to Tawau, Malaysia, on April 21, 2018, for a mission stop in support of Pacific Partnership (PP) 2018. US Navy photo.
KUALA LUMPUR — The U.S. Navy’s Logistics Group Western Pacific/Task Force 73 is looking at new ways of using the Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) ships for operations in the Indo-Pacific, task force commander Rear Adm. Don Gabrielson told USNI News in a recent interview. Read More
U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon from VP-8 at the Singapore Air Show. USNI News Photo
SINGAPORE — Following its inaugural deployment to the Asia-Pacific, the U.S Navy’s P-8A Poseidon Patrol Squadron 16 has been playing a key role not only in regard to operations in the region but also in cooperation and engagement activities with U.S partner nations. Read More
USS Coronado (LCS-4) is underway during a photo exercise as part of the Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise with the Republic of Singapore and Royal Thai navies. US Navy Photo
KUALA LUMPUR – The U.S. Navy is planning to enhance naval engagement with nations across South and Southeast Asia next year, Rear Adm. Don Gabrielson, the commander Logistics Group Western Pacific/Task Force 73, told USNI on Tuesday. Read More
USS Coronado (LCS-4) moors in Cam Ranh Bay during Naval Engagement Activity Vietnam 2017. US Navy Photo
KUALA LUMPUR — The Tuesday firing of the Harpoon Block 1C missile off the coast of Guam by the Littoral Combat Ship USS Coronado (LCS-4) formed a significant milestone as it demonstrated the LCS’s capabilities that are not possessed by other ships, in particular, its integrated air detachment and the ship’s inherent modular capabilities Rear Admiral Don Gabrielson, the head of Commander Logistics Group Western Pacific/Task Force 73, told USNI News on Friday. Read More
Pedra Branca Island
KUALA LUMPUR — Since the Monday collision of the USS John S. McCain (DDG-56) both the Malaysian and Singapore authorities have been issuing statements which claimed the incident took place in their respective national waters as part on an ongoing territorial dispute that could complicate search and rescue efforts for the missing U.S. sailors. Read More
