Pacific Winds 20260618

A daily collection of news affecting the Asia-Pacific region

Alliances

South Korea’s Lee asks Trump to lead peaceful diplomacy with North Korea
Reuters 20260616
https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/south-koreas-lee-asks-trump-lead-peaceful-diplomacy-with-north-korea-2026-06-16/

Trump vows to play role in advancing Korean Peninsula issues: Seoul official
Yonhap 20260617
https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20260617009751315

China releases white paper on global governance
Xinhua 20260617
https://english.news.cn/20260617/1f8d87aeb963490186f3aacb09fa4087/c.html

Trump’s Defense Demands Are Pushing Asian Allies Toward China
CFR 20260617
https://www.cfr.org/articles/trumps-defense-demands-are-pushing-asian-allies-toward-china

US Navy flexes soft power in ‘renewed pivot’ to Southeast Asia amid regional rivalry
SCMP 20260617
https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3357424/us-navy-flexes-soft-power-renewed-pivot-southeast-asia-amid-regional-rivalry

US holds off blacklisting China’s DeepSeek, more than 100 firms deemed security risks, sources say
Reuters 20260617
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/us-holds-off-blacklisting-chinas-deepseek-more-than-100-firms-deemed-security-2026-06-17/

Takaichi and Trump talk Indo-Pacific as Mideast crisis overshadows G7 summit
Japan Times 20260617
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/06/17/japan/politics/takaichi-trump-g7-china-indopacific/

Takaichi’s G7 Diplomacy: Take Lead in Fostering Cooperation, Including on Stockpiling Measures
Yomiuri 20260617
https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/editorial/yomiuri-editorial/20260617-333202/

Takaichi's hype of China's export restrictions at G7 summit aims to deflect attention from its provocations, exposes strategic anxiety: Chinese experts
GT 20260617
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202606/1363812.shtml

Micronesia-Marianas (2^nd Island Chain+)

Indo-Pacific Command chief sounds alarm on China war threat in private report to Congress
WashTimes 20260616
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/jun/16/indo-pacific-command-chief-sounds-alarm-china-war-threat-private/

George Washington Carrier Strike Group in Guam for First Port Call of Spring Patrol
USNI 20260617
https://news.usni.org/2026/06/17/george-washington-carrier-strike-group-in-guam-for-first-port-call-of-spring-patrol

U.S., Philippine Coast Guards conclude joint pre-exercise engagements in Guam ahead of historic RIMPAC participation
USCG FM/SG 20260716
https://www.dvidshub.net/news/567967/us-philippine-coast-guards-conclude-joint-pre-exercise-engagements-guam-ahead-historic-rimpac-participation

U.S., Philippine Coast Guards hold joint pre-exercise engagements in Guam
USCG FM/SG 20260716
https://www.dvidshub.net/image/9754980/us-philippine-coast-guards-hold-joint-pre-exercise-engagements-guam

Island Waves

Pacific security at crossroads
Fiji Times 20260617
https://www.fijitimes.com.fj/pacific-security-at-crossroads/

Australia’s budget support to Fiji rises to $260M
Fiji Times 20260617
https://www.fijitimes.com.fj/australias-budget-support-to-fiji-rises-to-260m/

Australia boosts support for new hospital
FBCN 20260617
https://www.fbcnews.com.fj/news/australia-boosts-support-for-new-hospital/

China says the Pacific should not be an arena for geopolitical rivalry
Fiji Sun 20260617
https://fijisun.com.fj/news/nation/china-says-the-pacific-should-not-be-an-arena-for-geopolitical-rivalry

China, Pacific island countries to forge closer cooperation via platforms
Xinhua 20260616
https://english.news.cn/20260616/0a0f5effb26a48cba0ff962fd5846463/c.html

“How true is this friendship?” PM questions Samoa–NZ Treaty of Friendship
Samoa Observer 20260617
https://www.samoaobserver.ws/category/samoa/120458

US Coast Guard ship to patrol Fiji waters
Fiji Times 20260617
https://www.fijitimes.com.fj/us-coast-guard-ship-to-patrol-fiji-waters/

U.S Coast Guard to support Fiji’s maritime efforts
FBCN 20260617
https://www.fbcnews.com.fj/news/u-s-coast-guard-to-support-fijis-maritime-efforts/

Bougainville’s Toroama accuses PNG of breaching Melanesian Agreement
RNZ 20260617
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/pacific/598493/bougainville-s-toroama-accuses-png-of-breaching-melanesian-agreement

UN Decolonisation Committee pressed to act on New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Guam and Tokelau
PINA 20260617
https://pina.com.fj/2026/06/17/un-decolonisation-committee-pressed-to-act-on-new-caledonia-french-polynesia-guam-and-tokelau/

Fresh land reclamation work begins at Henoko for U.S. base transfer
Japan Times 20260617
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/06/17/japan/landfill-start-henoko-transfer/

Taiwan + SCS

What launch of Himars rockets towards Taiwan Strait says about Taipei’s battle plans
SCMP 20260617
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3357332/what-launch-himars-rockets-towards-taiwan-strait-says-about-taipeis-battle-plans

Mainland warns DPP against seeking independence through external forces after US military personnel reportedly deployed at intel bureau in Taiwan island
GT 20260617
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202606/1363793.shtml

How CCP’s ‘peaceful reunification’ bodies push its line globally
ASPI 20260617
https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/how-ccps-peaceful-reunification-bodies-push-its-line-globally/

G7 leaders oppose unilateral changes to Taiwan Strait status quo
Taiwan News 20260617
https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/news/6384688

China says it will take countermeasures to new Taiwan intelligence gathering site
Reuters 20260617
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-says-it-will-take-countermeasures-new-taiwan-intelligence-gathering-site-2026-06-17/

Taiwan’s top diplomat seeks tighter Philippine ties against China coercion
Nikkei 20260617
https://asia.nikkei.com/politics/international-relations/taiwan-tensions/taiwan-s-top-diplomat-seeks-tighter-philippine-ties-against-china-coercion

Chinese mainland will continue to strengthen management and control over waters east of Taiwan island: spokesperson
GT 20260617
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202606/1363792.shtml

China reaffirms respect for Pacific sovereignty
FBCN 20260617
https://www.fbcnews.com.fj/news/china-reaffirms-respect-for-pacific-sovereignty/

Taiwan tracks 6 Chinese naval ships around country
Taiwan News 20260617
https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/news/6384516

Any activities China conducts around Huangyan Dao, including scientific research, constitute legitimate rights of a sovereign state: Chinese FM
GT 20260617
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202606/1363815.shtml

Preserving South China Sea rights means exercising them
ASPI 20260617
https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/preserving-south-china-sea-rights-means-exercising-them/

Australia’s Military Operations in the South China Sea
SCS Newswire 20260615
https://southchinaseanewswire.com/australias-military-operations-in-the-south-china-sea/

Capabilities

US Army’s ‘Tropic Lightning’ Division ponders transformation lessons from Philippine war games
Defense News 20260617
https://www.defensenews.com/global/asia-pacific/2026/06/17/us-armys-tropic-lightning-division-ponders-transformation-lessons-from-philippine-war-games/

The complications that China’s build-up brings to nuclear balance
ASPI 20260617
https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/the-complications-that-chinas-build-up-brings-to-nuclear-balance/

Closing gaps: Japan’s evolving missile air- and missile-defence capabilities
IISS 20260616
https://www.iiss.org/online-analysis/military-balance/2026/06/closing-gaps-japans-evolving-missile-air--and-missile-defence-capabilities/

Lawmakers Push for More New Sensors to Track Hypersonic and Ballistic Missiles
Air & Space 20260617
https://www.airandspaceforces.com/lawmakers-new-sensors-hypersonic-ballistic-missiles-warning-polar-satellites/

Australia Makes Seabed Warfare a Top Defence Priority
Naval News 20260617
https://www.navalnews.com/event-news/cne-2026/2026/06/australia-makes-seabed-warfare-a-top-defence-priority/

Who Cut the Cable? AUKUS and the Future of Undersea Security
AIIA 20260617
https://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/australianoutlook/who-cut-the-cable-aukus-and-the-future-of-undersea-security/

As the Iran war comes to a close, is the US pulling warships back to the west Pacific?
SCMP 20260617
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3357439/iran-war-comes-close-us-pulling-warships-back-west-pacific

China’s expanding presence in the Pacific and Indian oceans
ASPI 20260618
https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/pressure-points-chinas-expanding-presence-in-the-pacific-and-indian-oceans/

Goodbye INDOPACOM: Pentagon reverts back to Pacific Command
Breaking Defense 20260617
https://breakingdefense.com/2026/06/goodbye-indopacom-pentagon-reverts-back-to-pacific-command/

Fair winds, INDOPACOM: Pentagon returns command name to US Pacific Command
Defense News 20260617
https://www.defensenews.com/news/pentagon-congress/2026/06/17/fair-winds-indopacom-pentagon-returns-command-name-to-us-pacific-command/

Why Trump’s Pentagon Abandoned ‘Indo-Pacific’
FP 20260617
https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/06/17/indo-pacific-strategy-trump-military-command-indopacom-pacom/

PACOM is back – but it never went away
Lowy 20260617
https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/pacom-is-back-but-it-never-went-away

Power

We Just Saw the Limit of American Military Might
NYTimes 20260617
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/17/opinion/iran-war-us-military-power.html

America’s Loss to Iran Will Unravel Geopolitics
Bloomberg 20260617
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2026-06-17/america-s-loss-to-iran-will-unravel-geopolitics

Countering China:Agencies Provided Over $1 Billion but Have Not Assessed Overall Results of Projects
GAO 20260617
https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-26-107822.pdf

Exercises

Japan-U.S. Bilateral Exercise
JMSDF 20260617
https://www.mod.go.jp/msdf/en/release/202606/20260617en.pdf