This month’s features explore twin fragmentations reshaping the Indo-Pacific: the quiet construction of a north–south undersea security arc as South Korea joins Australia on the path to nuclear-powered submarines, and the near-collapse of COP30, which exposed a deepening crisis of trust at the heart of global climate governance.
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Read MoreThis month, we explore how Australia and Papua New Guinea’s Pukpuk Treaty is redefining defence cooperation through identity-based integration, while the IMF–World Bank meetings in Washington reveal how financial governance continues to constrain Global South autonomy.
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Read MoreWritten by Geo Dzakwan Arshali
Jakarta has never been aimless in its approach to the Koreas — it seeks to de-escalate tensions on the peninsula by keeping dialogue alive, even with an isolated Pyongyang, while simultaneously deepening cooperation with a democratic Seoul and its Western allies.
Read MoreThis month, we spotlight the mounting pressures reshaping the Indo-Pacific: Beijing’s use of Martyrs’ Day as both a tool of domestic loyalty and an international signal of resolve highlights how nations are navigating turbulence on two fronts. Across the region, domestic instability — from popular protests to fragile governments — is constraining states’ ability to adapt to intensifying great power rivalry.
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Read MoreWritten by Emanuele Ballestracci
Italy cannot rival the hard-power presence of France or the UK, nor does it aspire to. Instead, it has constructed a pathway based on economic cooperation, private-sector activism, and steady institutional ties, which over time create the trust needed to expand into political and security spheres.
Read MoreThis month, we spotlight India’s partnership with the Philippines, demonstrating sovereignty-sensitive maritime cooperation, while New Zealand’s expanding role in space highlights how smaller states assert strategic influence in high-tech domains.
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Read MoreThis month, we spotlight Taiwan’s sweeping drone procurement drive — a decisive shift in defence strategy that underscores its push for self-reliance and asymmetric deterrence. We also track shifting regional dynamics, from landmark defence exercises in Australia and a new AUKUS treaty, to South Asia’s turbulent politics, Southeast Asia’s evolving alignments, and Europe’s role in the Indo-Pacific.
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Read MoreDrawing on her decades of experience in Cambodia’s pro-democracy movement, we discussed the country’s democratic decline, the growing influence of China, and the crucial role the international community — and Cambodia’s youth — must play in shaping a freer future.
Read MoreWritten by Aniello Iannone
France now joins a growing list of Indonesia’s strategic partners. It was a strategic moment in which a major European state and a rising regional middle power found common ground in their shared search for autonomy.
Read MoreWritten by Hunter Marston
Southeast Asian anxieties with the Trump administration’s turn toward protectionist trade policies were evident in the May 2025 ASEAN Summit, when the regional bloc expressed ‘deep concern’ with US tariffs.
Read MoreThis month our briefs examine shifting US engagement: new Pacific travel restrictions threaten Washington’s influence, while South Korea’s pragmatic diplomacy may clash with a potential Trump foreign policy reset. Across the region, leaders face a volatile mix of economic strain, diplomatic frictions, and intensifying rivalries — from South Asia’s post-crisis diplomacy to renewed tensions in Southeast Asia and growing unease in East Asia.
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Read MoreThis month we cover the India-Pakistan flare-up that reignited nuclear concerns, followed by a burst of regional diplomacy. Our briefs examine how China and India are turning foreign policy into a tool of domestic control — through maritime coercion in Beijing’s case, and treaty-based pressure from New Delhi.
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Read MoreWritten by Patrizia Cogo Morales
Like the US and France, other European countries and their private sectors should enhance their engagement with India, given the significant potential in military procurement deals and the defence industry overall.
Read MoreWritten by Anouk Wear
Novel threats from the Hong Kong government are already causing real consequences for Hong Kongers in the EU — activists and more ‘ordinary’ citizens alike — and they are creating new challenges for advocacy from civil society and diplomatic channels.
Read MoreWritten by Mathieu Droin and Emanuele Rossi
Irrespective of the strategic framing, France and Italy are both seeking ways to prevent disruptions to freedom of navigation and political instability in this vast region given the potential ripple effects for their domestic stability, notably due to illegal migration.
Read MoreWritten by Megan Khoo
Anything less than preventing a Huawei factory in France blatantly disregards France’s current restrictions on Huawei, French national security, and the greater security of the EU.
Read MoreWritten by Taylah Bland
The US-China competition and efforts at cooperation epitomised by the Sunnylands Statement can both contribute to the two biggest polluters taking concrete action in global climate change mitigation and adaptation work.
Read MoreWritten by Jason Chumtong and Soth Chhayheng
The initial months of Hun Manet’s rule have been guided by public interest and the introduction of long-term strategies for the nation's progress to 2050, prompting reflection on the advancement of his vision for Cambodia's role in the region.
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