There’s change afoot on Asian seas and you don’t have to look hard to find it. You’d be forgiven, however, for thinking that change is being entirely led by the People’s Republic of China. It’s fair to say the country, and its naval forces, are ambitious, but so too are its regional neighbours.





Among them, Australia has embarked on a hugely significant regeneration and re-capitalising of its naval force. Japan is also considering the naval capabilities it has and might need in the future – something that has never been thought likely since World War II. The Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force is said to be on the verge of an order for up to 100 F-35B fighter jets to be stationed on its helicopter-carrying destroyers.





“It’s ever clearer that it’s a very congested, as well as contested, environment. Everyone is enhancing their capabilities,” says Nick Childs, fellow and senior naval analyst with the International Institute for Strategic Studies. “Around the region a lot is going on.” This, in part, is why South Korea has stepped up its longstanding blue-water strategy.