Written by Wen Lii
Kinmen and Matsu continue to face challenges from across the Strait — whether in the form of sand dredgers or false narratives — their location on the border continues to offer us a glimpse of China’s increasingly diverse toolbox of exerting influence, while also spurring Taiwan and the rest of the democratic world to devise more creative methods of coping with them.
Read MoreWritten by Robert Clark and Jyotsna Mehra
A bold and ambitious foreign policy steeped in new trade deals is integrating Global Britain further into the Indo-Pacific, and with it, a new age of geostrategic relations with India is underway. Many in New Delhi are counting on this growing convergence of their strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific to triumph over the shadows that their colonial history continue to cast on their bilateral relations.
Read MoreWritten by Elli-Katharina Pohlkamp
As a middle power, Japan has the potential to enhance its role. In maintaining its partnerships with the United States and in balancing its deep economic ties with China it can lay the course and mediate in policies that concern itself, the United States and others in Southeast Asia.
Read MoreThe situation in Hong Kong further deteriorated last week with the arrest of over 50 pro-democracy activists under the new Beijing-imposed national security law. Has time run out for democracy in Hong Kong? Here is a collection of excellent short reads from our contributors that explore its past, present, and future.
Read MoreWritten by James Laurenceson
Tokyo, New Delhi, and Jakarta have all had serious challenges with Beijing, but their relations never fell to the depths of the current China-Australia tensions. These countries might offer some useful advice here, too.
Read MoreWritten by Charmi Mehta
The time is opportune for the US to rebuild its goodwill by integrating climate diplomacy within the larger umbrella of foreign policy outreach. We saw a glimpse of this in 2016 during Obama’s China visit when the two largest carbon-emitting nations pledged emission cuts and financial contributions post-Paris.
Read MoreAs this year draws to a close we recap events through ten of our most-read articles. As an entirely independent platform, we remain committed to connecting Europe and the Indo-Pacific while also seeking to showcase the next generation of leading thinkers. Thank you to all our contributors and we look forward to offering yet more high-quality analysis next year.
Read MoreWritten by Blake Herzinger
Malabar 2020 may be trumpeted as a triumph of the Quad, but defining it as a ‘Quad exercise’ is unnecessarily narrow, and would likely preclude participation from other countries in the future, should the organisers wish to include them.
Read MoreWritten by Manali Kumar
Although the motivations underlying the protests in Hong Kong and Thailand are different from those in India and the US, in all cases they indicate growing popular dissatisfaction with prevailing institutions and political leadership in each country.
Read MoreWritten by Tony Walker
The Australian media has also played a role in amplifying anti-Beijing viewpoints to such an extent, it has had a deadening effect on reasonable discussion about managing the country’s China policy more effectively.
Read MoreWritten by Melissa Conley Tyler
Australia has no ability to remake China into a completely different country. We need to live with it. This means both standing up to China and getting along — hardening our defences, while ensuring our economic prosperity. Without an economy, a country can’t pay to keep itself safe.
Read MoreWith Audrey Tang
There are various propositions, like data trust, data coalitions, data cooperatives but the core idea is how not to fall into authoritarian intelligence on one side, and surveillance capitalism on the other. This is where Taiwan can help, it is my ambition, and, I think, is also an ambition for the EU.
Read MoreWritten by David Hutt and Bradley J. Murg
Reliance on China for Cambodia’s economic recovery is likely to further fuel anti-China sentiment in the country – with pre-COVID-19 patterns of anti-China, nationalist discourse returning and strengthening.
Read MoreWritten by Manali Kumar
The United States is heading towards difficult times and needs to get its house in order before it can play any kind of substantive global leadership role. Trump’s first presidency has not just injured America’s moral standing but has also undermined the country’s credibility among its friends and allies.
Read MoreWritten by Kuan-Ting Chen
Whoever occupies the White House after November has now clearly experienced first-hand that Taiwan can indeed help. With enough work already carried out here in Taipei, Washington has an unparalleled opportunity to elevate the status of this small but mighty nation to a regional leader — in line with its own goals for engagement with the Indo-Pacific region.
Read MoreWritten by Amelia Hadfield and Chris Logie
Driven by massive suburban shifts, including shifts driven by women voters and wider demographic changes, Georgia and Texas have together shifted towards Biden.
Read MoreWritten by Lucas Knotter
For the rest of the world, similarly, this means that they can expect much the same from New Zealand’s foreign policy, which continues to balance its relationship with China and its Pacific connections. In many respects, New Zealand will continue to be considered, and consider itself, as a force of progress and innocent whimsy in world politics.
Read MoreWritten by Stephen Nagy and Hanh Nguyen
Surveys conducted by American and European Union Chambers of Commerce showed that more than 80 per cent of businesses do not have relocation plans. Despite rising labour costs and geopolitical tensions, China still holds several critical advantages — high-skilled labour, a giant market, adequate infrastructure, and complex supply chains for business.
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