NATO and Northeast Asia: A growing partnership

Written by Emma Chanlett-Avery

A decisive shift in US policy towards isolationism and “America First” could disrupt or downgrade ‘trans-Atlantic’ and Indo-Pacific alliances.

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US-China in 2024: One year after the spy balloon incident

Written by Rorry Daniels

While breakthroughs remain unlikely, the test in 2024 is whether the US and China can manage differences quietly and directly while under the political magnifying glass.

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In Forum: 2024 — US Strategy and the Indo-Pacific

To what extent can the US compete with China if it does not offer more economic opportunities to Indo-Pacific countries, especially due to mounting doubts about its reliability as a security guarantor in the region?

We invite several experts to assess this state of affairs.

Structural trends could force swing states to choose sides

Written by Marc Saxer

‘Partnerships of the Middle’ recognise the aversion of Asian powers against alliances and offer informal avenues of collaboration to safeguard global public goods.

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The United States and China: Two alternative visions of regional order

Written by Dr Matteo Dian

Both US allies and non-aligned partners are deepening their security relationship with Washington as their main insurance policy against increasingly frequent Chinese coercion.

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Decoupling from China is not so easy for Japan and Korea

Written by Dr Chang-min Lee

Although both allies of the US, Japan and Korea are forced to compete with each other economically, which is exacerbated by persisting political problems between Tokyo and Seoul.

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'Thawing' between Seoul and Tokyo — A false spring?

Written by Kevin Gray

The apparent ‘thaw’ of Korea-Japan relations is likely to be a ‘false spring’ rather than a genuine new era of bilateral relations and broader regional cooperation.

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Reading tea leaves: Taiwan’s November 2022 ‘midterm’ elections

Written by Alexander C. Tan

With the 2024 presidential and legislative elections about two years away — which might as well be an eternity in politics — the DPP has time to regroup and recalibrate its message.

Two years after coup, Myanmar junta adapts to isolation

Written by Hunter Marston

Western aid is far away and will remain hostage to both Myanmar’s immediate neighbours, with whom they must coordinate, and broader concerns about security on the European continent, where Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will grip Western leaders’ attention for the foreseeable future.

The US-Japan Alliance and Europe: Furthering the existing web of trilaterals and minilaterals

Written by Alice Dell’Era

From Europe’s perspective, these potential trilateral and/or minilateral consultative mechanisms could give European actors the space to voice their own outlook, ensuring that European viewpoints are incorporated into Japanese and American perspectives.

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Nguyen Phu Trong’s Beijing trip: Safeguarding regime-state security

Written by Phan Xuan Dung

As Vietnam’s most senior politician and the architect of the ‘bamboo diplomacy’ concept, Trong should promote efforts to update Vietnam’s strategic thinking, thereby enabling the country to bend and sway in the current geopolitical headwinds with greater flexibility.

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The EU ventures into the strategic “jungle”

Written by Mohammadbagher Forough

While tropes such as ‘values’ and ‘standards’ are promoted as the main feature of the Global Gateway’s connectivity agenda, African countries (and many others in Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America) will not overlook the fact that this promoted feature contrasts uneasily with neo-colonialist-sounding dichotomies like ‘garden/jungle’.

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Slowing the escalatory spiral over Taiwan

Written by Amanda Hsiao and Ivy Kwek

A long-lasting solution on Taiwan will be difficult to realise anytime soon. However, avoiding miscalculation and slowing the escalatory spiral that the parties are currently engaged in are achievable outcomes that Taipei, Washington, and Beijing should prioritise.

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Going global: Beijing’s bid to rewrite the rules of international security

Written by Sam Bresnick

If Beijing succeeds in impelling Global Security Initiative partners to revise existing security norms and arrangements (certainly a big ‘if’), the United States and its allies could find themselves increasingly constrained.

The US should prioritise the Indo-Pacific over Ukraine, but the clash of interests should not be overstated

Written by Áine Cooke

The US must ensure that it remains competitive by enhancing its military capabilities to deter an invasion of Taiwan, as well as by extending its diplomatic reach to counter China’s extensive regional engagement, and by formulating a comprehensive economic and climate policy.

US efforts to strengthen collective defence in Europe won’t come free for Asia

Written by Tom Corben

What will frustrate many in Asia is that the urgency evident in these new US commitments to collective defence in Europe is yet to be mirrored in parallel efforts in the Indo-Pacific.

Imposing CAATSA sanctions threatens the Quad

Written by Joshua Brannon

Whether through presidential waiver or the more comprehensive assurances afforded under Senator Cruz’s proposed CRUCIAL Act, India must be exempted from CAATSA sanctions if the Quad is to become an effective military counterweight to China in the Indo-Pacific.

The politics of Taliban recognition

Written by Michael Kugelman

For the United States, giving Kabul access to aid — including nearly USD $10 billion in foreign reserves frozen by Washington — is hard to justify without recognising the regime.