Author: Defenceline Webdesk

Last year, reports surfaced that Indonesia was considering acquiring an aircraft carrier for the first time in its history. This prompted a heated debate over whether Indonesia truly needed an aircraft carrier. In an article published in The Diplomat, I argued that Indonesia didn’t need such an acquisition, at least for the time being, for a variety of reasons. The arrival of the KRI Sriwijaya, as the new vessel is known, thus marks the end of one discussion and the start of another. The key question now is whether Indonesia can turn the ship into a sustainable military capability. On…

On the night of February 21, 2026 Pakistan launched air and missile strikes on three border provinces in Afghanistan. What was Pakistan bombing? Suspected camps of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan – the TTP for short – and the Islamic State of Khorasan Province.  The Taliban regime in Afghanistan retaliated by hitting Pakistani border posts.  Pakistan then upped the ante. Its military launched Operation Ghazab Lil-Haq — which means Righteous Fury — against Afghanistan.  “Our patience has now run out. Now it is open war between us,” Pakistan’s defense minister said on February 27.  Pakistan and Afghanistan have engaged in numerous strikes…

The latest meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping led to much anxiety in Taiwan, with fears that Trump could potentially throw Taiwan under the bus in the course of negotiations with Xi. The two leaders agreed to dialogue on AI, as well as tariff reductions on $30 billion in “non-sensitive goods” going both ways. Even so, readouts between the two sides differed as to what was agreed to be purchased, and any discussion of semiconductors, chips, and export controls was not mentioned.  Besides trade deals, there have been few concrete outcomes from the meeting to…

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung asked U.S. President Donald Trump to help restart talks between the United States and North Korea in an unannounced meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on September 22, according to the Blue House, the presidential office of South Korea. The Blue House also said that Trump reaffirmed his willingness to engage with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The talks were arranged at the last minute. In the 30-minute meeting. Lee asked Trump to create a breakthrough amid almost no direct contact between the two Koreas. The two leaders also agreed…

The summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping achieved one central objective: stabilization. It did not resolve the China-U.S. rivalry but helped contain it, by restoring a more predictable framework for managing tensions over trade, technology, and geopolitics.  Its main concrete outcome was modest: a two-month extension, until January 2027, of the trade truce first agreed after the Trump-Xi meeting in Busan a year ago, when Washington lowered tariffs and Beijing suspended export controls on rare earths and other critical minerals. The two sides also activated the China-U.S. Boards of Trade and Investment and mutual support for…

The Royal Brunei Air Force (RBAirF), which turned 60 in June, finds itself in a rapidly changing geostrategic environment, characterized by conflict and instability. Brunei is unlikely to suffer outright military aggression but could face spillover effects of increased super power confrontation in the region.  Brunei’s recent defense white paper identified major power rivalry, regional and global conflicts, radicalization, and rapidly advancing disruptive technologies as sources of concern. It also laid out a path to secure national sovereignty and territorial integrity. The RBAirF is actively looking to expand its means to do so, including with plans to acquire medium-range ground-based…

WASHINGTON — The US Navy, along with the UK Royal Navy and Air Force, used the decommissioned guided-missile frigate Klakring for target practice this month, in part to test the outer range limits of the SM-6 missile among other munitions tests. The sinking exercise, or SINKEX, was part of Exercise Atlantic Thunder 2026 and took place in the North Atlantic, the US Navy told reporters today. Its goal was to bolster skills in live-firing against a surface target at sea, as well foster interoperability between the US and the UK for long-range maritime sinking operations, according to the Navy.  “Atlantic…

The mass street uprising that overthrew Bangladesh’s long-serving prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, in August 2024 did more than just reset the politics of a nation. It completely broke the security architecture of eastern South Asia. For 15 years, India’s foreign policy in its immediate neighborhood relied on a single, unwavering rule: keep Hasina stable, and India’s eastern border remains secure. Today, that strategy has brought about a major crisis. Hasina is living in exile on Indian soil, while a newly elected government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) runs Dhaka. A Bangladeshi court has…

As the Pentagon overhauls its acquisition system, it should take lessons from recent and ongoing wars, a new report argues.From Israel, the U.S. should learn that “operational feedback should be treated as a strategic resource.” writes Barak Seener, an associate research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, in a report released Monday. And from Ukraine, the U.S. can learn “the strategic value of competition, decentralization, and commercial innovation.”Additionally, Seener writes, “software-defined warfare requires software-defined acquisition.” In the future, acquisition models should “treat software as a continuously developing capability, rather than a completed product.” These changes and more are necessary, he writes,…

Registering a marriage in South Korea could soon come with a 1 million won government payment, roughly $700. The proposed cash payment would replace a tax credit that currently reduces eligible newlyweds’ income tax by up to 1 million won per couple. The new payment would also reach couples with no income, who cannot benefit from an income tax reduction. On September 1, the Korean Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF), which supervises family welfare policy, proposed the payment as part of a record 2.12 trillion won budget for next year. The budget would also extend its courtesy to…