Shinzo Abe’s Cabinet announced recently that it approved the constitutional reinterpretation to allow Japan a “limited” right to collective self defence. The decision was taken to overturn a 67-year ban on allowing the Japanese Self-Defence Force to assist close allies should they come under attack following heightened tensions in the region. Full Article »

Commodore (Rtd) Anthony Franklin, former Chief of Defence of Trinidad & Tobago, outlines his nation’s key concerns as it aims to provide effective seakeeping in the Caribbean within a reasonable budget. Naval forces must prepare to tackle the issues of maritime piracy and deal with large-scale humanitarian problems in the face of natural disasters, as well as meet standard national defence requirements. Full Video »

Defence IQ continues its coverage of US maritime patrol developments with this audio programme featuring insight from Lt. Cdr. Ian Bastek. As the US Coast Guard's HC-130J Platform Manager, Bastek tells us how the aircraft has been enhanced since its introduction to the USCG a decade ago and what he feels are the technologies and TTPs that must be enhanced to see effective maritime patrol continue in the years to come. Full Podcast »

Trans-regional initiatives require coherence and complementarity in terms of their framework and design if they are to prove themselves effective and attain their set targets. Part II of this series examines the confluence of ideas in relation to the proposed integrated air and maritime surveillance capability in the Caribbean Basin as envisaged under U.S. defense in depth principles, and its parallelisms within the Cocaine Route Program SEACOP and AIRCOP projects. Full Sector Report »