Indo-Pacific Monitor
I am pleased to share with you the Indo-Pacific Monitor, Vol. VI, Issue 8, for the month of August 2025, authored by Cmde. Lalit Kapur (Retd.), Senior Fellow for Maritime Strategy.
President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos Jr. visited India from August 04-08, upgrading bilateral relations to a strategic partnership and formalising a plan of action to guide it for the next five years. The partnership spans cooperation in the political; defence, security and maritime; economic, trade and investment; science and technology; connectivity; legal, cultural, and regional and multilateral cooperation domains. In parallel, Indian Naval ships carried out their maiden bilateral maritime cooperation activity with the Philippines in the South China Sea.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Tokyo for the 15th annual Leaders’ Summit on August 29-30. Among the agreements concluded were an ambitious joint vision for the next decade, a new declaration on security cooperation and an action plan for human resource exchange. An investment target of 10 trillion yen from Japan to India was set for the next decade. Following the visit, Prime Minister Modi headed to Tianjin, China for the 25th SCO Summit commencing August 31.
Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka made his first visit to New Delhi in his current capacity from August 24-26. India and Fiji reaffirmed their resolve to build a broad-based, inclusive and forward-looking partnership spanning defence, health, agriculture, trade and investment, culture, sports, education and skill development, among other areas.
South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung made has maiden visits as President to Tokyo and Washington DC on August 23 and 25 respectively. The visits placed South Korea’s relations with both countries on the growth path, putting to rest concerns about emerging strains in these relationships.
Thailand’s Constitutional Court removed suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office on August 29, holding her guilty of ethical misconduct.
The US-India 2+2 Intersessional Dialogue between senior officials took place on August 25, indicating that channels of communication remain open and there is some progress on cooperation notwithstanding the steep tariffs imposed by the US on exports from India.
China continued with its maritime assertions in the Western Pacific, with its Coast Guard pushing Japanese fishing vessels out of the territorial waters of the Senkaku Islands and unilateral resource development in the East China Sea. China and Russia exercised in the Sea of Japan from August 03-05. This was followed by their annual Pacific Patrol by warships.
Australia expelled the Iranian Ambassador and three diplomats citing credible evidence that Iran had orchestrated attacks against Australia’s Jewish community in Sydney and Melbourne in the last quarter of 2024. It also withdrew all its diplomats from Teheran, effectively severing relations between the countries.
Australia announced the selection of Japan’s Mogami-class as the preferred platform for its future frigate fleet. The announcement, which marked Japan’s most consequential defence hardware export after easing restrictions on military transfers in 2014, signalled improvement in prospects for defence equipment cooperation with India, among others.
Japan’s Defense Ministry requested a record budget of 8.8 trillion Yen (about $ 60 billion, 1.37% of projected GDP) for fiscal 2026 on August 29.
A Chinese Coast Guard vessel collided with a Chinese destroyer in the vicinity of Scarborough Shoal while both were trying to stop a Philippines vessel from entering the region on August 11. The extent of casualties is not known.
USS Higgins conducted the second Freedom of Navigation operation of the current Trump Administration in the South China Sea on August 13.
Pakistan’s third Hangor-class submarine, Mangro, was launched at the Wuchang Shipyard in Wuhan, China, on August 15. Four submarines of the class are being built in China, the rest will be built in Pakistan.
The Indian Navy commissioned two stealth frigates, INS Himgiri and Udaygiri, at Visakhapatnam on August 26.
These and other developments are covered in this Indo-Pacific Monitor Vol. VI, Issue 8. To read about them, please see the PDF attached.
