A More Comprehensive Plan to Push Back Against China’s Fishing Practices

War on the Rocks – More aggressively pushing back against Chinese illegal fishing practices is an opportunity for the U.S. government to highlight its global leadership in a way that directly defends the rules-based international order, challenges its most capable global competitor, helps rehabilitate the maritime environment, and increases the food security and economic opportunity for some of the world’s poorest and most helpless people.

India’s 3rd Nuke-Powered Submarine Spotted In Satellite Image; ‘Nuclear Triad’ Bolstered Amid China Threats

Eurasian Times – With an eye on China, India has been bolstering its military capabilities. In line with this, it launched its third indigenous nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSBN) in 2021. The latest satellite imagery showed the extended nuclear submarine, codenamed S-4, underlining the possibility that it has already been inducted into the Indian Navy.

(Thanks to Alain)

Anti-Piracy Lessons From the Seychelles

War on the Rocks – Trainees of the Seychelles Coast Guard didn’t expect to be baptized by fire when they left Victoria harbor that morning. Yet there they stood (or ducked for cover) on the deck as 7.62×39-mm cartridges from the pirates’ AK-47s whizzed over their heads. Seychellois commandoes reacted with the sang-froid that comes from experience. They quickly turned the guns of their Trinkat-class patrol vessel on the pirates in the fishing trawler they had forcibly seized only hours before. The pirates didn’t have a chance; they dropped their weapons and surrendered.

Solving the Houthi Threat to Freedom of Navigation

War on the Rocks – While imperfect, a U.N.-backed political process provides the most significant form of international leverage over the Houthis. If executed effectively, it has the potential to enforce Houthi compromise with other Yemeni political actors. Most importantly, it could provide the conditions necessary for an economic recovery that fosters economic cooperation with Yemen’s wealthy neighbors. Such a recovery process would provide powerful incentives discouraging renewed Houthi use of force in the region.

Make ASW Joint: Integrating the Joint Force Into Full Spectrum ASW

CIMSEC – During the Cold War, NATO maintained anti-submarine competency and internalized lessons learned during the Second World War. The collapse of the Soviet Navy during the 1990s shifted the U.S. focus to power projection ashore in the Balkans and the Middle East, and anti-submarine warfare competencies across the joint force atrophied. As the era of near-peer competition began, the Navy looked at ways to recapture the hard-fought competencies and lessons lost since the end of the Cold War. In particular, the whole government approach to anti-submarine warfare (ASW) was reintroduced, known as “full-spectrum ASW.” The Navy is the domain owner for undersea warfare. As such, the Navy must be prepared to educate and explain undersea warfare doctrine and its roles to the rest of the joint force so that lessons written in blood are not repeated.

The PLA’s New Information Support Force

China Aerospace Studies Institute – On Friday, 19 April, Xi Jinping, Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the Chinese Communist Part (CCP), attended a ceremony where he established a new ‘force’ of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the Information Support Force (ISF).  The ISF appears to have been cleaved from the former Strategic Support Force (SSF), which was essentially disbanded at the same ceremony.

China is Battening Down For The Gathering Storm Over Taiwan

War on the Rocks – Chinese war drums beat on as pundits hotly debate if or when Beijing will try to seize Taiwan by force. There is no apparent countdown to D-day for initiating a blockade or invasion, but major strategic indicators clearly show that General Secretary Xi Jinping is still preparing his country for a showdown. Developments under way suggest Taiwan will face an existential crisis in single-digit years, most likely in the back half of the 2020s or front half of the 2030s.

Maritime Capabilities Take Lion’s Share Of Australia’s Future Defence Investment

Naval News – At the National Press Club of Australia in Canberra, Defence Minister Richard Marles simultaneously unveiled the first ever “National Defence Strategy 2024” (NDS) plus the “Integrated Investment Program 2024” (IIP). The latter was the first release of the IIP since its last public iteration four years ago. The NDS continues on from last year’s Defence Strategic Review, and gives the raison d’être for Australia’s major boost in defence capability. Meanwhile, the IIP lists in detail what will be procured in the next decade, alongside approximate monetary amounts.

Information Warfare is Integrated Warfare

CIMSEC – The U.S. Navy should take concrete steps to further promote an integrated warfighting ethos which better incorporates all elements of the IW community, starting from initial officer training to senior level carrier strike group operations. By defining what it means to be an integrated information warfighter rather than just being an Intelligence Specialist, Cryptologist, Meteorologist, or Information Professional, the IW community will better educate, train, and most importantly, recruit the next generation of IW personnel. Equally important is the need to enhance retention. To further maintain the impressive cadre of IW personnel in service, the Navy should improve its career opportunities with better advanced training and cross-detailing availability. In the aftermath of these changes, IW will be better positioned to dominate the information environment and enable mission success.

The Rising Ransomware Tide, Chinese Spy Cranes, and the Biden Executive Order on Maritime Cybersecurity

War on the Rocks – In July of 2023, Japan’s largest port, Nagoya, fell victim to a lockbit ransomware attack, causing operations to grind to a halt and Toyota to suspend its import-export packaging lines. This was just one of many recent incidents within the larger marine transportation system and showcases how fragile the sector is to these attack profiles.

AUKUS Underwater Capability Developments Target Torpedo-Tube UUV System

Naval News – Details have been set out for four workstrands being developed, within Pillar 2 of the AUKUS trilateral strategic defence and security partnership, to generate new underwater battlespace capability for the Australian, UK, and US navies. One new capability priority is capacity to launch and recover uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs) from submarine torpedo tubes.