January 26, 2022
What critics miss on ASEAN’s Indo-Pacific Outlook
With its strongman leader and pro-China outlook, analysts remain doubtful about Cambodia’s pledge to ‘strengthen ASEAN centrality’ under its chairmanship in 2022. The prospect of reinforcing an ASEAN-centred region, as envisioned by the ASEAN’s Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, is also being……
January 22, 2022
Abe was key to the Indo-Pacific’s evolution
This is a transitional moment for the Indo-Pacific. Regional governments are forging new security relationships—the Japan-Australia partnership is the leading edge, as various European governments jostle for inclusion—and new institutions are emerging—from AUKUS to the Quad in the security sphere…
January 21, 2022
Can Bakamla Be at the Forefront of Indonesia’s Natuna Sea Strategy?
In recent years, Indonesia’s Maritime Security Agency (Bakamla) has grown in prominence as a key actor in securing the country’s maritime interests in the Natuna Sea. However, Bakamla’s controversial acknowledgement as a maritime “coordinating body” (in the eyes of other maritime security agencies)…
January 14, 2022
Philippines Confirms Purchase of BrahMos Supersonic Missile System
The Philippines has officially become the first foreign nation to acquire the potent Indian-Russian BrahMos supersonic anti-ship missile, strengthening its navy’s ability to safeguard its sovereign claims in the South China Sea.
January 14, 2022
US State Department Study Dismisses China’s ‘Unlawful Maritime Claims’ in South China Sea
The U.S. State Department concluded in a new legal analysis that “the PRC asserts unlawful maritime claims in most of the South China Sea, including an unlawful historic rights claim.”
January 7, 2022
Philippines’ BrahMos Cruise Missile Purchase Takes Another Step Forward
The acquisition would equip the Armed Forces of the Philippines with a potent deterrent against Chinese adventurism in the South China Sea.
January 7, 2022
The limits of a securitized Japanese FOIP Vision
Critics of Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) vision conflate it with an anti-China containment strategy. They see it as an extension of the former Trump administration’s Indo-Pacific strategy. Others see the “free and open” aspect of FOIP as hypocritical as Japan actively courts…
January 1, 2022
America’s Militarist Drift in the Indo-Pacific
The Biden administration has returned a sense of normalcy to Asia policy. Unfortunately, that includes continuing a military-first approach to Asia.
December 31, 2021
Choppy conditions in the South China Sea
The ongoing COVID-19 crisis stalled the intended conclusion of the proposed South China Sea Code of Conduct (COC) by 2021. Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr remarked that the negotiations between ASEAN and China ‘went nowhere’. ASEAN countries and China have a tough job cut out…