Editor's Picks — 9DASHLINE — Articles

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In Forum FOIP: AUKUS in a Free and Open Indo-Pacific

In Forum FOIP: AUKUS in a Free and Open Indo-Pacific

A decade after Japan launched its Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) vision, tensions between AUKUS and Pacific Island security priorities are reshaping regional geopolitics. As AUKUS strengthens military deterrence, Pacific nations prioritise climate security, sovereignty and nuclear non-proliferation. We invite several leading experts to examine whether competing security visions threaten regional stability, intensify US-China rivalry and undermine FOIP’s principles of peace and cooperation.

The Polar Silk Road: Nine Years On and Still Not a Master Plan for the Arctic

The Polar Silk Road: Nine Years On and Still Not a Master Plan for the Arctic

Written by Erdem Lamazhapov

Fears that the Polar Silk Road is an instrument for gaining control in the Arctic or over Greenland mistake what is essentially a slogan for a coherent, centrally-directed strategy. Still, while the slogan is heard less frequently these days, it has not yet fallen into obscurity. Under the right conditions, China might find it useful to defrost the Polar Silk Road.

China’s New Mobilisation Law Learns From Russia: Foreign Companies Should Too

China’s New Mobilisation Law Learns From Russia: Foreign Companies Should Too

Written by Stan Kwiatkowski

The time to reduce exposure is before a mobilisation order is issued, not after.

Editor's Picks9DLSeptember 30, 2026China’s new mobilisation law learns from Russia: foreign companies should too., 9DASHLINE, Stan Kwiatkowski, China, Russia, Mobilisation, Xi Jinping, Defence Mobilisation Law, Article 72, Article 46, Requisition, expropriation, National Defence Law, National People's Congress Standing Committee, Party Central Committee, Central Military Commission, Article 77

New Caledonia’s election settles little

New Caledonia’s election settles little

Written by Dr Paco Milhiet

Left unresolved, this deadlock carries its own strategic cost: renewed instability would further strain an already fragile economy, deter the investment needed to revive the nickel sector, and cast doubt on France’s capacity to manage its own territory.

Navigating our future together? The Philippines as a gender equality champion abroad, work in progress at home

Navigating our future together? The Philippines as a gender equality champion abroad, work in progress at home

Written by Athena Charanne Presto and Maria Tanyag

The Philippines has had real regional influence on gender equality, supported by a long lineage of female diplomats, policymakers, and civil society leaders who have helped shape ASEAN’s gender equality architecture since its early years.

China’s ‘silver tech’ revolution: A blueprint for Southeast Asia’s ageing societies?

China’s ‘silver tech’ revolution: A blueprint for Southeast Asia’s ageing societies?

Written by Khyati Singh

The potential to combine Chinese technological innovation with localised implementation means that Southeast Asia could yet transform its demographic challenge from a looming crisis into an engine of economically innovative and socially equitable growth.

What the evolution of China’s Health Silk Road means for the World Health Organisation

What the evolution of China’s Health Silk Road means for the World Health Organisation

Written by Paulo Afonso B. Duarte and Anabela Rodrigues Santiago

Through participation, financing, and programme implementation, the HSR enables China to translate practical health engagement into institutional influence within the WHO, shaping priorities and norms within the multilateral system.

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.

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.

China's dominance in Myanmar's rare earth resources: A growing risk for global supply chains

China's dominance in Myanmar's rare earth resources: A growing risk for global supply chains

Written by Ophelia Yumlembam

Given the Quad’s and the EU’s ongoing efforts to build resilient and diversified critical mineral supply chains, a more proactive and coordinated approach with other like-minded global actors is urgently needed — before China further consolidates its dominance over Myanmar’s REE resources and, by extension, the global REE supply chain.

Victory and sacrifice: The dual message behind China’s commemorations

Victory and sacrifice: The dual message behind China’s commemorations

Written by Vincent K.L. Chang

China and the United States should be willing to make concessions; treating compromises not as a sign of weakness, but as strategic wisdom. The rest of the world should ask what it can do to prevent escalation and avoid self-fulfilling threat perceptions, rather than contribute to them.

Trump’s Pakistan deal risks neglecting the plight of Imran Khan

Trump’s Pakistan deal risks neglecting the plight of Imran Khan

Written by Marcus Andreopoulos

While dealing with the military-backed government may assist Trump in reaching short-term agreements, constant disorder and popular uprisings will make it impossible for the benefits of such agreements to ever be felt.

South Asia, Editor's Picks9DLSeptember 3, 20259DASHLINE, Trump’s Pakistan Deal Risks Neglecting the Plight of Imran Khan, Donald Trump, Imran Khan, US, Pakistan, US-Pakistan relations, Marcus Andreopoulos, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Democracy in Pakistan, Pakistani protests

Economic spillover: tariffs overshadow annual Asian defence dialogue

Economic spillover: tariffs overshadow annual Asian defence dialogue

Written by Juliet Lee

It is incorrect to assume that the imposition of tariffs on allies will not impact defence partnerships, and the US risks being left behind by the world’s fastest-growing and most dynamic region, where countries see the convergence of security and economic development differently.

Editor's Picks9DLJune 25, 20259DASHLINE, Juliet Lee, US tariffs, Defence, Economic spillover: tariffs overshadow annual Asian defence dialogue, Trade, Shangri-La Dialogue, asean, United States, China, US, Security, Europe

Has Australia turned its back on free trade?

Has Australia turned its back on free trade?

Written by Melissa Conley Tyler and Viet Dung Trinh

By balancing domestic production and free trade, the Future Made in Australia Act aims to promote economic growth, create jobs, and support Australia's transition to a net-zero emissions economy.

China's preferred endgame in Ukraine is a hybrid peace

China's preferred endgame in Ukraine is a hybrid peace

Written by Dr Justyna Szczudlik

Sympathising with the idea of hybrid peace is a dangerous trap for the West. The only way to undermine Sino-Russian alignment, deter China from aggressive moves, and defend the rules-based order is to do everything possible to help Ukraine win the war.

Asia’s climate puzzle: COP29 and the path forward

Asia’s climate puzzle: COP29 and the path forward

Written by Betty Wang

The COP29 negotiations underscored the potential for China and India to act as critical players in facilitating global climate progress, yet the lack of meaningful results highlighted the accompanying challenges.

Editor's Picks9DLJanuary 13, 20259DASHLINE, Betty Wang, COP29, Asia, climate, Asia’s Climate Puzzle: COP29 and the Path Forward

Gender parity in Southeast Asia: An imperative for democracy, political empowerment, and growth

Gender parity in Southeast Asia: An imperative for democracy, political empowerment, and growth

Written by Farwa Aamer

Economic marginalisation, including limited access to higher-paying jobs and decision-making roles, often constrains women's ability to advance politically, creating a cycle where economic disadvantages also feed into underrepresentation in political leadership.

Southeast Asia, Editor's Picks9DLNovember 19, 20249DASHLINE, Farwa Aamer, South East Asia, Gender Parity in Southeast Asia: An Imperative for Democracy, Political Empowerment, and Growth, Gender

In Forum: Donald Trump re-elected, the Indo-Pacific reacts

In Forum: Donald Trump re-elected, the Indo-Pacific reacts

In this In Forum, 9DASHLINE asks several experts what to expect from the next US administration and its potential impact on the Indo-Pacific region.

Editor's Picks9DLNovember 11, 20249DASHLINE, Donald Trump re-elected, the Indo-Pacific reacts, Matthew sussex, Kei koga, Yuki Tatsumi, andrea chloe wong, Kate clayton, Kate Clayton, Australia must adapt swiftly, Reaganesque 'Peace through strength', Trump's transactional world, grand strategic bargains, US security partner, iron-clad, Russia, China, American politics, misty-eyed sentiments, America first, transactional, Shigeru Ishiba, US-Japan alliance, 2 percent of GDP, Donald Trump, Ukraine war, gaza, Trump administration, Shinzo abe, Free and Open Indo-Pacific, Asian NATO, Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), cultivate a personal relationship with Trump, National Security Advisor, latticework of alliances and partnerships, bilateral negotiations, equitable alliance, tough decisions, force Japan to make tough decisions, industrial security, positive disruptor, more uncertainties for the philippines, Japan faces tough national security decisions, Manila, protectionism, Filipinos, 350, 000 Filipinos, US Department of Homeland Security, 5th largest unlawful immigrant population, immigration, household spending, South China Sea, boosting defence cooperatio, maritime aggression, AUKUS's future in doubt, AUKUS Agreement, Australia, Philippines, Japan, AUKUS Agreement is in trouble, Indo-Pacific, US-Australia relations, Climate, Critical Minerals and Clean Energy Transformation Compact, tariffs, Southeast Asia, diplomatic footprint in the Pacific, Pacific, climate change, Quad, middle powers, Joe Biden, US disinterest, America, India, climate change cooperation, Europe, Pacific Islands, Jake Sullivan, multilayered security framework