From strategic upgrading to sovereign AI: East Asia under renewed pressure
From strategic upgrading to sovereign AI: East Asia under renewed pressure

Written by Viktor Buzna

Just as steel, petrochemicals, and semiconductors once underpinned national resilience, computing power and AI ecosystems define economic and strategic autonomy today.

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East Asia9DLFrom strategic upgrading to sovereign AI: East Asia under renewed pressure, 9dashline, Viktor Buzna, AI, Artificial Intelligence, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, East Asia, China, robotics, PIPA, Personal Information Protection Act, AI sovereignty, IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking, Nuclear, AI Basic Plan, Sanae Takaichi, AI strategy, United States, semiconductor, Hungarian Institute of International Affairs
The road to Indonesia’s nickel industrialisation runs through China
The road to Indonesia’s nickel industrialisation runs through China

Written by Anoushka Singh

Without rewriting the terms on which capital and expertise enter the sector, Indonesia’s nickel future may continue to be shaped elsewhere, despite being mined at home.

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Southeast Asia9DLThe road to Indonesia’s nickel industrialisation runs through China, Anoushka Singh, 9DASHLINE, Indonesia, China, nickel, downstreaming, critical minerals, nickel export ban, electric vehicles, economic sovereignty, resource governance, industrial sovereignty, Morowali Industrial Park, Weda Bay Industrial Park, Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
Restraint or recalibration? US strategy in the Indo-Pacific
Restraint or recalibration? US strategy in the Indo-Pacific

Debate over Donald Trump’s “America First” strategy raises questions about whether the United States is pursuing restraint or reshaping its role in the Indo-Pacific region. We recently invited several experts to assess how shifting defence burdens to allies like Japan and South Korea is affecting deterrence and alliance credibility.

Together they explore the implications for regional stability and competition with China.

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Editor's Picks9DL9DASHLINE, Donald Trump, US defence, 2026 US national defense strategy, 2025 US National Security Strategy, Restraint or recalibration? US strategy in the Indo-Pacific, US strategy in Indo-Pacific, Anisa Heritage, Chris Estep, Alan Tidwell, Emma Whitmyer, Trump's transactional world, conditionality, alliance diversification, burden-sharing, transactional alliances, united states, restraint, US restraint in Indo-Pacific, self-reliance, foreign interference
COP30: The struggle for ambitious action in a shifting climate governance order
COP30: The struggle for ambitious action in a shifting climate governance order

Written by Luana Correia

Influence in climate diplomacy is becoming increasingly dispersed, as traditional agenda-setters fail to consolidate their authority, creating space for competing interests — and claims to leadership — to shape outcomes.  

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Faultlines9DL9DASHLINE, Luana Correia, COP30: The struggle for ambitious action in a shifting climate governance order, COP30, COP, european union, united states, India, China, Brazil, Paris Agreement, Climate change, climate diplomacy, climate financing, Donald Trump, BRICS, developing countries, renewable energy, multipolarity, climate cooperation, US withdrawal
Carney inaugurates 'global centrism': but how will the Indo-Pacific feature?
Carney inaugurates 'global centrism': but how will the Indo-Pacific feature?

Written by Quay Say Jye and Connor O’Brien

The thorny question remains what lines are not worth crossing, and when normative and institutional guardrails may prove strategically beneficial over the long term, especially for small and middle powers.

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Faultlines9DLCarney inaugurates 'global centrism': but how will the Indo-Pacific feature?, Quay Say Jye, Connor O'Brien, 9DASHLINE, World Economic Forum, global centrism, value-based realism, Canada, US, China, Indonesia, ASEAN, Southeast Asia, Board of Peace, Mark Carney, great power politics
China and the shifting nature of global health governance
China and the shifting nature of global health governance

Written by Jeremy Youde

If the existing liberal international order is indeed undergoing a profound and transformative shift, and not just a reaction to Trump’s foreign policy, then there is an opportunity for change that will better serve people all over the world — or a chance for humanity to fall further from its collective aspirations.

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Faultlines9DLChina and the shifting nature of global health governance, Jeremy Youde, 9dashline, China, United States, Trump, World Health Organisation, WHO, covid, COVID-19, Pandemic, Health diplomacy, Xi Jinping, Beijing, Health Silk Road, Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Europe, Wang Yi
The grey-zone of interest: How China tests Indonesia’s South China Sea strategy
The grey-zone of interest: How China tests Indonesia’s South China Sea strategy

Written by Omar Rasya Joenoes

The challenge, therefore, is to transform ambiguity from a reactive posture into a deliberate and integrated strategy — one that manages asymmetry without allowing incremental pressure to redefine the strategic status quo.

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Southeast Asia, Editor's Picks9DLThe grey-zone of interest: How China tests Indonesia’s South China Sea strategy, Omar Rasya Joenoes, 9dashline, South China Sea, Indonesia, Indonesian Navy, China, ASEAN, Grey Zone, North Natuna Sea, Natuna Islands, Prabowo Subianto, Singapore, UNCLOS, Bakamla, Australia, Japan, India, France, EU, Malacca Strait, Central European Institute of Asian Studies, Indo-Pacific
The Navigator’s February issue — out now!
The Navigator’s February issue — out now!

This month’s brief examines a hardening strategic landscape: as grey-zone drone incursions test Europe’s resolve, Indo-Pacific states grapple with contested political transitions and mounting internal pressures that complicate deterrence, resilience, and regional stability.

Join our briefing today and stay ahead of the curve.

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News9DL9DASHLINE, US, United States, Indo-Pacific, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Samoa, South China Sea, India-Pakistan, India, Pakistan, France, New Caledonia, Cambodia, Pacific Islands, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Tonga, PNG, Papua New Guinea, Trump, Myanmar, Elections, drones
Economic security moves India-Japan relations into a new strategic phase
Economic security moves India-Japan relations into a new strategic phase

Written By Simran Walia

Institutional mechanisms for economic security cooperation require clear roadmaps, regulatory predictability, and policy coordination to attract increased Japanese participation in India’s high-technology sectors.

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In Focus9DLEconomic security moves India-Japan relations into a new strategic phase, 9dashline, Simran Walia, Japan, India, Semiconductor, Modi, Indo-Pacific, Cobalt, Nickle, EV, electric vehicles, Make in India, Atmanirbhar Bharat, COVID-19, Pandemic, Japan International Cooperation Agency, AI, Japan-India Private Sector Dialogue on Economic Security, QUAD, China, ASEAN, Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, Manohar Parrikar Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses
Interpreting crime data in Japan's immigration debate
Interpreting crime data in Japan's immigration debate

Written by Peter Chai

If Japan is to navigate rising immigration without fuelling social division, public debate must move beyond simplified crime narratives. When officials discuss crimes by “foreigners” in isolation without historical context or comparisons with overall crime trends and across subgroups, they risk creating an unbalanced narrative and fuelling concerns about xenophobia.

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East Asia, Faultlines9DL9DASHLINE, Peter Chai, Interpreting crime data in Japan’s immigration debate, Japan, immigration, Japanese immigration, Japanese foreign nationals, Japan foreign labour, Crime statistics, Japan crime, Sanae Takaichi, Kimi Onoda, xenophobia, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)
The tech test: New Zealand’s independence in a connected world
The tech test: New Zealand’s independence in a connected world

Written by Phuong Nguyen

The era of digital independence is closing fast. From 5G to AI, the Indo-Pacific is fragmenting into competing ecosystems centred on Washington and Beijing.

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Faultlines9DL9DASHLINE, Phuong Nguyen, The tech test: New Zealand’s independence in a connected world, New Zealand, Aotearoa, US, China, AI, 5G technology, cloud services, cloud technology, digital policy, techno-nationalism
Prabowo’s presidency: Meals, power, and China
Prabowo’s presidency: Meals, power, and China

Written by Nathaniel Schochet and Peyson Hunt

The MBG programme stands as both a policy initiative and a political symbol of the Prabowo administration: ambitious in scope, reinforced by the military, and directed by an executive willing to subordinate bureaucracy and norms in pursuit of their goals.

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Southeast Asia9DLPrabowo’s presidency: Meals, power, 9dashline, Nathaniel Schochet, Peyson Hunt, China, Indonesia, Makan Bergizi Gratis, MBG, Joko Widodo, Beijing, Washington, Middle East, Japan, Canada, Netherlands, Australia, Russia, BRICS, SCO, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, OECD, Board of Peace, North Natuna Sea, south china sea
Youth-led protest movements across South and Southeast Asia seek a political reset 
Youth-led protest movements across South and Southeast Asia seek a political reset 

Written by Adhiraaj Anand

Deeper and more sustained transnational exchanges could foster new regional identities and solidarities between national protest movements, as well as increase their resilience and capacity for innovation.

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Emerging Issues, South Asia, Southeast Asia9DLYouth-led protest movements across South and Southeast Asia seek a political reset, 9dashline, Adhiraaj Anand, Gen-Z, Indonesia, Timor-Leste, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Protest, Prabowo Subianto, #KaburAjaDulu, Reformasi, #ReformasiDikorupsi, Nepal, Nepo babies, #ResetIndonesia, Marcos, Duterte, Sheikh Hasina, Awami League, Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Jamaat-e-Islami, Hong Kong Protests, #SEAblings, Milk Tea Alliance, Muhammad Yunus, Sushila Karki, German Institute for Global and Area Studies, GIGA
Bangladesh’s defence diversification and pivot to networked security
Bangladesh’s defence diversification and pivot to networked security

Written by Taufiq E. Faruque and Rubiat Saimum

Bangladesh no longer intends to operate as a peripheral state within an India-centric security order in South Asia, but as a globally connected security actor seeking to maximise strategic autonomy over its procurement choices, maritime posture, and regional role.

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South Asia, Faultlines9DLTaufiq E. Faruque, Rubiat Saimum, Bangladesh’s Defence Diversification and Pivot to Networked Security, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, China, US, defence diversification, naval cooperation, network-centric statecraft, networked security, Muhammad Yunus, Sheikh Hasina, Rohingya, Bay of Bengal, defence procurement, military diplomacy, election
Countering cognitive warfare: Lessons for the EU from Taiwan
Countering cognitive warfare: Lessons for the EU from Taiwan

Written by Jia Yin Chen and Luc van de Goor

Crucially, countering cognitive warfare is not just about timely dissemination of factual counter-narratives. It must also build each citizen’s defences against disinformation — making them more skeptical of the information they receive and willing to actively verify it or debunk it.

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Europe and the Indo-Pacific, Emerging Issues9DL9DASHLINE, Taiwan, China, cognitive warfare, digital disinformation, Countering cognitive warfare: lessons for the EU from Taiwan, EU, Russia, Election disinformation, Jia Yin Chen, Luc van de Goor, Social media disinformation, Taiwan-China, EU-Russia, Taiwan Election 2024, censorship, EU disinformation policy
Europe's dependency on critical minerals: How China keeps EU industry on a tight leash
Europe's dependency on critical minerals: How China keeps EU industry on a tight leash

Written by Kristofers Krumins

In a bid to power green and digital transitions, Europe is struggling with its dependence on Chinese exports that expose it to coercion, industrial disruption, and geopolitical pressure.

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Europe and the Indo-Pacific9DLKristofers Krumins, 9DASHLINE, EU-China relations, critical minerals, rare earths, Chinese dominance, EU-China trade, The Netherlands, Germany, European industries, Dependency, microchips, Russian oil and gas, trade policy coordination, Policy coordination, European autonomy, Nexperia, strategic dependencies, european industry, Europe's dependency on critical minerals: How China keeps EU industry on a tight leash
The Navigator’s January issue — out now!
The Navigator’s January issue — out now!

This month’s briefs examine an international order in rupture: across the Indo-Pacific, middle powers are hedging through overlapping, issue-based partnerships, even as Myanmar’s sham election exposes the limits of values-based realism in an increasingly pragmatic global landscape.

Join our briefing today and stay ahead of the curve.

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News9DL9DASHLINE, US, United States, Indo-Pacific, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Samoa, South China Sea, India-Pakistan, India, Pakistan, France, New Caledonia, Cambodia, Pacific Islands, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Tonga, PNG, Papua New Guinea, Trump, Timor-Leste, Myanmar, Elections