The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed.
The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan.
The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow.
The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture, Miyako Island and Ishigaki Island, as well as Batan Island in the Philippines, it said.
Meanwhile, Japan is planning to deploy Hyper Velocity Gliding Projectiles (HVGP) for “island defense” in Kyushu and Hokkaido islands, while the Philippines intends to station BrahMos anti-ship missiles in western Luzon and Palawan province.
“These stated military deployments have greatly enhanced a key maritime denial capability of the US and its allies in the first island chain,” the report says.
The report provides a map illustrating the locations of these military deployments, showing that the range for HVGPs could reach 900km.
The NMESIS and BrahMos anti-ship missile systems have a range of approximately 290km, covering a large part of the waters surrounding the first island chain, the report says.
To further defend the first island chain, the US has also partnered with other allies, including Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Australia and New Zealand, the report says.
The US’ latest National Security Strategy report issued on Dec. 4 positions the Asia-Pacific region as the focal theater for US global competition, the report says.
The US strategy also identifies three core priorities: maintaining the openness of critical sea lanes, strengthening US forward deployments in the Indo-Pacific region, and sharing defense responsibilities with allies, it says.
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said in a testimony before the US Senate Committee on Armed Services on Dec. 7 that China’s expanding fighter force and missile systems significantly complicate US air operations, making denial defense a strategic reality within the first island chain, the report says.
As Paparo said, the US urges allies to jointly enhance defense capabilities to deter the threat from China, the report says.
The US and 18 other countries — along with NATO, the EU and the G7 — have reiterated multiple times this year the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, the report says.
The EU and Germany said in August and October respectively that the Taiwan Strait is subject to the UN Charter principle prohibiting the use of force.
Both call for China to jointly maintain world peace as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the report says.
Support for Taiwan continues to rise as the status of the Taiwan Strait is key to the safety of the Indo-Pacific region and the international community, it adds.
Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain, while crowds in Taipei braved the elements to watch Taipei 101’s display. South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, with a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball was to drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from the 240m Sky Tower. Smaller community events were canceled across New Zealand’s
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
RSS