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Updated 27 Jul 2026, 2:30 am SGT Search

Topic

Maritime Security

Navies, coast guards, sea lanes, and disputed waters.

What to watch

Sea access ties security to everyday trade.

  • • Freedom of navigation operations, coast guard encounters, and maritime militia activity
  • • Naval basing, shipbuilding, and risks to undersea infrastructure
  • • Commercial shipping exposure near chokepoints and disputed waters

Stories

4 stories
Update time unavailable12 sourcesSources
Asia-PacificSouth China Morning PostYuko Murasereporting

India aims for a 200-ship navy to counter China and Pakistan

India’s ambition to grow its navy past 200 ships within the next decade has taken on fresh urgency as China expands the world’s largest naval fleet and Pakistan adds advanced Chinese-built attack submarines, heightening New Delhi’s anxieties in the Indian Ocean. Analysts see this month’s commissioning of the stealth frigate INS Mahendragiri and submarine…

Why it matters: This adds another read on how maritime pressure, access, and deterrence are shifting in public view. South Asia links continental rivalry to the maritime logic of the wider Asia-Pacific region.

Maritime Security
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North KoreaThe DiplomatNick McKenzieanalysis

The Rise of North Korea’s Nuclear-Armed Navy

North Korea is pushing its navy higher in the defense hierarchy, signaling that sea-based nuclear forces are becoming a more central part of Pyongyang’s deterrence strategy.

Why it matters: This adds another read on how maritime pressure, access, and deterrence are shifting in public view. Northeast Asia remains the region where alliance credibility and industrial depth collide most visibly.

Maritime Security
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Southeast AsiaThe DiplomatYuko Muraseanalysis

Philippine, Chinese Foreign Ministers Exchange Protests Over South China Sea Clash

Both nations have accused the other for instigating the incident at Second Thomas Shoal, which has overshadowed this week's ASEAN meetings in Manila.

Why it matters: This adds another read on how maritime pressure, access, and deterrence are shifting in public view. Northeast Asia remains the region where alliance credibility and industrial depth collide most visibly.

Maritime Security
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Get the background

Why the Asia-Pacific matters now

A plain-language guide to why the region sits at the center of trade, deterrence, and industrial strategy.

How pressure works in the South China Sea

Legal claims, coast guards, patrols, information campaigns, and economic leverage interact below the threshold of open conflict.

The first island chain in plain language

What analysts mean, why the phrase keeps appearing, and what it does and does not explain.

Why shipbuilding has become strategic economics

The region’s shipyards connect readiness, industrial capacity, commercial demand, and shared defense responsibilities.

Is there an Indo-Pacific alliance?

No single alliance covers Asia Pacific. The region relies on bilateral treaties, smaller partnerships, and inclusive forums with different members and obligations.

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Northeast Asia

China, Japan, the Koreas, Taiwan, and the region’s industrial core.

Southeast Asia

ASEAN politics, contested waters, trade routes, and strategic hedging.

South Asia

India, Pakistan, the Bay of Bengal, and the links between continental and ocean politics.

Pacific Islands

Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia: climate, mobility, politics, and access.