Can’t Anybody Play This Game? US FON Operations and Law of the Sea

This article originally featured on Lawfare. It may be read in its original form here.  By Raul “Pete” Pedrozo and James Kraska The United States has been unable to synchronize successful air and sea freedom of navigation (FON) operations in the South China Sea with an erratic diplomatic message and a legal case that is too clever … Continue reading Can’t Anybody Play This Game? US FON Operations and Law of the Sea

China’s Anti-Piracy Flotillas: By the Numbers

On April 3, the 20th anti-piracy flotilla of the People’s Liberation Army Navy got underway for operations off the Horn of Africa.  Since the arrival off Somalia of the first Chinese anti-piracy flotilla in January 2009, approximately three flotillas have successively served annually in that region.  Simple data compiled from open sources on the deployments of … Continue reading China’s Anti-Piracy Flotillas: By the Numbers

Another Unsinkable Aircraft Carrier

By Ian Sundstrom As part of a broader project of land reclamation, beginning in November China started efforts to develop Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands. As of late November the reef had been built up to 3,000 meters long and between two and three hundred wide. This makes it large enough, in the … Continue reading Another Unsinkable Aircraft Carrier

Germany Needs a Permanent Naval Presence in the Indian Ocean

The call for more German engagement in international security is not misguided. There are core interests to protect between Gibraltar and East Asia. As politics by other means, this includes showing the flag East of Suez. Maritime Core Interests Recently, James Rogers argued that European geostrategy in the Indo-Pacific is not European, but rather only … Continue reading Germany Needs a Permanent Naval Presence in the Indian Ocean