WORLD ROUNDUPTons of Uranium Missing in Libya | Ukraine’s Cyber Defense Offers Lessons for Taiwan | A Solution for Japan’s Military Mismatch, and more

UN Nuclear Watchdog Warns Tons of Uranium Missing in Libya  (DW)
The IAEA has said tons of missing uranium “may present a radiological risk” and added that it has no idea who took it.

Criminal Charges Expected in Thailand Over Chinese Immigration  (Vijitra Duangdee, VOA News)
More than 100 Thai immigration officers are expected to face bribery-linked charges in the coming weeks after allegedly helping thousands of Chinese enter Thailand illegally to set up criminal businesses.

Water Wars: Marcos Vows Philippines ‘Will Not Lose One Inch of Its Territory’ in the South China Sea  (Teresa Chen, Alana Nance, and Han-ah Sumner, Lawfare)
Taiwan test-fires a missile believed capable of striking mainland China; the Chinese Coast Guard lased a Philippine vessel near disputed shoal; the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group and Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group operate in the South China Sea; and more.

Ukraine’s Cyber Defense Offers Lessons for Taiwan  (Lt. Col. Ames Hesson and Annie Fixler, Defense One)
The Ukraine war has filled the world with graphic images of a surprisingly capable underdog resisting the advances of a lumbering aggressor. But while the pictures are far less compelling, the story is the same in cyberspace: Ukrainian defenders have thwarted an onslaught of Russian cyberattacks. While credit for this success goes to the resilience, persistence, and professionalism of the Ukrainians, America’s efforts to improve their cyber capacity played a key role, and offer lessons for defending Taiwan from Chinese cyberattacks.

The Anglophone Military Alliance in Asia Is Seriously Ambitious  (Economist)
Australia and Britain plan to co-produce the new boat by building on a design for Britain’s future attack sub, known as an SSN(R). (An SSN is an attack submarine which carries conventional weapons and hunts other subs and ships, as opposed to an SSBN, which carries nuclear-armed ballistic missiles). Britain will build the first boats at Barrow in north-west England. Australia will learn from the prototypes, then build its own in Adelaide. The idea is to create an economy of scale, with Australian investment boosting British shipbuilding and a larger aggregate order lowering the cost to both countries.
American technology will suffuse this new “SSN-AUKUS”. America will provide its vertical-launching system, a set of tubes that can hold a greater number of missiles, and more advanced ones, than traditional torpedo tubes. No British attack submarine has had this capability. The defense industries of all three countries will be entangled to an unprecedented degree. Subsystems like communications gear, sonar and fire control should be compatible between the Anglo-Australian boat and the next American one. “We’ll almost be one joint nuclear submarine force,” says one official involved in the pact. It will be a “beautiful, blended submarine” gushes another.

A Solution for Japan’s Military Mismatch  (Samuel P. Porter, Foreign Policy)
If Japan fights a war in the near or distant future, it is likely to be against China. The Japanese government views a Chinese invasion of Taiwan as increasingly plausible, and judging by statements from senior Japanese government ministers in recent years, it’s likely the Japanese Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) would join the United States in defending Taiwan. Such a scenario would mark only the second time since the Korean War that Japanese forces have deployed to an active combat zone to defend a neighboring nation from invasion.
Given that Chinese naval dominance in Taiwanese waters all but precludes the possibility of deploying troops to Taiwan’s aid, the fighting is likely to take place in the air and on the seas—not on land. Despite this reality, Japan’s navy—the key actor that would lead any potential intervention—is distressingly understaffed due to chronic recruitment shortfalls. Japan’s army also faces significant manpower shortages. But most worryingly, Japan’s military personnel numbers are disproportionate to its present security needs at a time when the Japanese mainland faces no realistic threat of invasion.