This demonstrates how cyber operations have evolved beyond merely gathering intelligence. Cyber operations now function as tools for coercion and competition, influencing the balance of power across the Indo-Pacific. Beyond the sheer number of cyber incidents, patterns in their objectives distinguish cyber operations in the Indo-Pacific from those in other regions. Skirmishes might not cause immediate destruction, but they foster digital coercion and raise the risk of escalation. Cyber skirmishes in the Indo-Pacific mark the cutting edge of strategic competition, where adversaries test limits and normalise coercion.