Canada and the Philippines: A fast-rising security partnership reshaping Ottawa's Indo-Pacific posture

Written by Jonathan Berkshire Miller

For the first time in years, Ottawa is treating the Indo-Pacific not as a region of opportunities to sample but as a theatre in which it must choose where to invest.

Emerging Issues, Pacific9DLNovember 18, 2025Canada and the Philippines: A fast-rising security partnership reshaping Ottawa's Indo-Pacific posture, 9DASHLINE, Jonathan Berkshire Miller, Canada, Philippines, South China Sea, Indo-Pacific, Visiting Forces Agreement, Second Thomas Shoal, Manila, Ottawa, Japan, Australia, Squad, United States

Trump’s second chance to make a first impression in Asia

Written by Chris Estep

Trump should decisively establish his administration’s approach to competition with China by issuing his own Interim National Security Strategic Guidance document and endorsing it in a televised speech from the Oval Office.

From Land to Sea: Australia and South Korea in the Indo-Pacific

Written by Dongkeun Lee

For South Korea, the persistent threat from North Korea remains a priority, making it reluctant to allocate resources to security concerns beyond the peninsula. Australia can bolster Seoul’s confidence by reaffirming its commitment to peninsular security.

Despite doubts, the Quad is here to stay

Written by Lucas Myers

The Quad’s role is clearer in 2024 than in 2017 or 2007. It coordinates and ensures the provision of public goods in an era of great power competition that is about much more than just traditional hard power security.

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New Zealand foreign policy: From ‘independence’ to ‘realism’?

Written by Dr Lucas Knotter

NZ’s supposedly ‘new’ foreign policy is thus neither truly independent, nor truly realist, nor prompted to safeguard Aotearoa’s public interest.

Pacific9DLSeptember 9, 2024New Zealand, 9DASHLINE, Lucas Knotter, New Zealand Foreign Policy: From ‘Independence’ to ‘Realism’?, indo-pacific, AUKUS

Wildcatting the Pacific: Seabed mining and the Pacific islands

Written by Drake Long

While the ISA Council could not agree on regulations, it did agree that it would from now on have oversight over the seabed mining application process instead of the ISA’s exclusive Legal and Technical Commission.

All change in Solomon Islands? Elections, a new prime minister, what comes next?

Written by Dr Tess Newton Cain

Prime Minister Manele is a career diplomat and is not given to the theatrical rhetoric we saw previously from his predecessor. He is a known quantity in the region and further afield in Canberra, Wellington, Beijing, and Washington.

Pacific9DLJune 10, 2024All change in Solomon Islands? Elections a new prime minister what comes next?, 9dashline, Tess Newton Cain, Solomon Islands, Elections, Manasseh Sogavare, Jeremiah Manele, Pacific

Nobody likes a bully: China’s grip over the South China Sea is slipping

Written by Jonathan Dorsey

China is not just bullying its SCS neighbours but is also targeting those perceived to impede its regional dominance, with the United States Navy (USN), Japan Self-Defense Force, and even Canada having been subjected to risky encounters.

The AUKUS controversy: Security issues in US-Australia relations under Biden and beyond

Written by Derek McDougall

If the US cannot increase the rate at which it builds submarines, Australia could find itself without submarines once the existing six Collins-class submarines can no longer be used.

Pacific9DLMay 9, 20249dashline, Derek McDougall, The AUKUS controversy: Security issues in US-Australia relations under Biden and beyond, AUKUS, United States, Australia, United Kingdom, Biden, Trump, Navy, submarines

A purported pact: China’s quest for security foothold in Papua New Guinea

Written by Thierry Lepani

As much is yet to be seen with the Australian and US pacts, a potential pact with China should cater to PNG’s problems, rather than solely serving as a solution to China’s strategic positioning in the Pacific.

Clashes in the South China Sea, looking back at the PCA Ruling

Written by Varenya Singh and Chetan Rana

China's persistent rejection of the tribunal's jurisdiction and ruling, along with its continuous assertion of sovereignty, underscores the limitations of international legal mechanisms in addressing deep-rooted geopolitical disputes.

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In Forum: 2024 — the South China Sea at a crossroads

The South China Sea remains one of the most potentially explosive regions in the world. What role can regional actors and organisations play in de-escalating the conflict and putting an end to the escalatory trends witnessed in 2023?

We invite several experts to assess the prospects for stability in 2024.

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NZ: Maori foreign policy to manage increasingly challenging relationship with China

Written by Bonnie Holster and Nicholas Ross Smith

Beyond the changing language of New Zealand’s strategic communications, its experimentation with a kaupapa Maori foreign policy has the potential to be transformative.

Movement on climate mobilities: developments from the Pacific Islands Forum

Written by Liam Moore

While alarmist reports of massive numbers of people potentially fleeing across borders because of climate change are incorrect and misunderstand the dynamics of migration, mobility — both within and between states — is a reality in the Pacific.

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Strategic competition in the South Pacific and its implications for New Zealand

Written by Dr Reuben Steff

While China’s activities are concerning, it should be made clear to Beijing that NZ’s and others’ responses in the security sphere are dependent on China’s approach to the region.

Papua New Guinea: The new epicentre of the Pacific contest

Written by Thierry Lepani

As China and the US push for greater influence in the Pacific, Papua New Guinea has seemingly become the first port of call for the two nations to solidify their standing in the region.

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The forgotten operation: What Australia’s Pacific policy can learn from the RAMSI intervention

Written by Dr Michael Wesley

If large numbers of Solomon Islanders see Australia as an indispensable partner, it will limit the ability of the country’s elected politicians to build closer partnerships with Australia’s strategic competitors in the Pacific.

AUKUS and Australia’s domestic opinion

Written by Sian Troath

Whether people oppose the acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines, have mixed views, or support it, they often do ground their assessments in strategic analysis and a consideration of other priorities.