9dashline — 9DASHLINE

China sees a chance in Nepal with Left Alliance

Written by Dr Rishi Gupta

Nepal has reportedly conveyed that it would prefer to receive more grants from China instead of taking high-interest loans under the development partnership, including for BRI projects.

Editor's Picks9DLMay 2, 2024China sees a chance in Nepal with Left Alliance, 9dashline, Rishi Gupta, Asia Society Policy Institute, Nepal, China, Left Alliance, Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Narayan Kaji Shrestha, Wang Yi, India, South Asia, Tibet, Kathmandu, Belt and Road Initiative, BRI, Global Security Initiative

Harmony over hostility: Key to the India-Middle East-Europe economic corridor

Written by Anshu Meghe and Siddharth Sridhar

Currently, IMEC represents a bold vision more than a reality. Only time will reveal whether IMEC can transition from concept to reality, facing the challenge of meeting its member states’ high expectations.

Europe and the Indo-Pacific9DLMay 1, 20249dashline, IMEC, Inida, Middle east, Anshu Meghe, Siddharth Sridhar, Europe, G20, Arabian Sea, Harmony over hostility: Key to the India-Middle East-Europe economic corridor

What multipolar world order and for whom?

Written by Dr Felix Heiduk and Dr Johannes Thimm

Currently, the global balance of power is shifting again, according to many, in the direction of multipolarity. But even if one accepts the concept of polarity in principle, the question immediately becomes which states could be considered as additional poles. China certainly qualifies, but beyond that?

Charting the future: US elections and the evolving US-Japan alliance

Written by Dr Elli-Katharina Pohlkamp

In Japan’s business sector, the speculative phrase “moshi tora”, meaning “if Trump” has become widespread, indicating various industrial scenarios developed in the Japanese business sector for the possibility of a Trump presidency.

The case for a Franco-Italian spearhead in the Mediterranean-Indo-Pacific continuum

Written 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.

Europe and the Indo-Pacific9DLApril 23, 20249dashline, Mathieu Droin, Emanuele Rossi, France, Italy, The Case for a Franco-Italian Spearhead in the Mediterranean-Indo-Pacific Continuum, indo-pacific, Mediterranean, Navy, cooperation, Indo-Mediterranean

From silence to resilience: The evolving narrative of feminism in Japan

Written by Dr Minakshi Keeni

Japan's ranking in global gender equality indices signals room for improvement, reinforcing the persistent need for initiatives that encourage greater involvement of women in political leadership roles.

Editor's Picks9DLApril 19, 20249dashline, From silence to resilience: The evolving narrative of feminism in Japan, Minakshi Keeni, Japan, feminism, gender, gender inequality, Global Gender Gap Index, South Korea, China, women, gender parity, GDP, empowering women, empowerment, Japanese feminism, societal norms, Meiji era, Confucian values, society, women's rights, Japanese society, gender equality, modernity, feminist, suffrage, comfort women, comfort women statues, 2015 ‘comfort women’ agreement, Imperial Japanese Army, slavery, sexual slavery, wartime sexual slavery, right to vote, World War II, Confucian norms, ryōsai kenbo, Meiji Civil Code of 1898, 1947 Constitution, Feminist movements, Raicho Hiratsuka, Seito, Beate Sirota Gordon, Fusae Ichikawa, suffragist, women's movement, wage disparities, children, Tokyo Medical University, maternity leave, gender biases, bias, marriage, motherhood, Mizuho Fukushima, gender roles, Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 2016, Japanese politics, gender gap, sexist, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) of Japan, 2022 Upper House election, Japanese Association of Women in Politics (JAWP), Ryoko Akamatsu, Yuriko Koike, Tokyo, women's representation, Japanese Imperial Family, monarchy, Imperial House Law of 1947, Princess Mako, Chrysanthemum Throne, male-only succession, Kei Komuro, Emperor Naruhito, #MeToo, #MeToo movement, sexual harassment, assault, collectivism, social harmony, Survivors, Shiori Ito, Japan Sport Association (JSPO), NO! Spohara, Kanako Otsuji, Land of the Rising Sun

China-Maldives military agreement: an upgrade to the bilateral relationship

Written by Lea Thome

The Maldives finds itself caught in a tug-of-war between India and China. However, Malé under Muizzu’s presidency has shown increasing openness towards China as it strives to navigate the balance between the two countries and maintain its own sovereignty.

In Conversation with Walter F. Hatch

9DASHLINE recently had the pleasure of speaking with Dr Walter Hatch about his latest book Ghosts in the Neighborhood: Why Japan Is Haunted by Its Past and Germany Is Not.

In Conversation9DLApril 12, 2024Walter F. Hatch, 9dashline, Ghosts in the neighborhood: Why Japan is haunted by its past and Germany os not, In Conversation with Walter F. Hatch, Germany, Japan, United States, European Union, NATO, Europe, Asia

France’s stance on first-ever European Huawei factory underscores EU’s inaction on China

Written 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.

Europe and the Indo-Pacific, Faultlines9DLApril 11, 2024Huawei, France’s stance on first-ever European Huawei factory underscores EU’s inaction on China, 9dashline, Megan Khoo, France, 5G, EU, China

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.

India and Bangladesh must address climate migration together

Written by Soraya Kishtwari

As there is no clear legal framework whereby governments or international bodies are able to categorise and process migrants displaced by climate change, many struggle in legal limbo.

South Asia9DLApril 8, 20249dashline, 9DL, Soraya Kishtwari, India and Bangladesh Must Address Climate Migration Together, Climate change, UNDP, climate migrant, Climate Crisis, india, Bangladesh, climate change mitigation, climate refugee, Sundarbans, climate governance, migrant crisis, India-Bangladesh relations

Don't expect any breakthroughs in India-Pakistan relations

Written by Syed Ali Zia Jaffery

Lacking confidence and bandwidth, Pakistan’s new government is unlikely to prioritise improving ties with India. If anything, India will be way down the pecking order of its policy actions.

South Asia9DLApril 4, 2024Syed Ali Zia Jaffery, 9dashline, Dont expect any breakthoughs in India-Pakistan relations, India, Pakistan, conflict, cooperation, ceasefire, LoC, Kashmir

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.

BRI 2.0: Reflecting on the past, charting the future

Written by Kelly Antoinette Khyriem

As criticisms propel the initiative towards a BRI 2.0, if China actively addresses and mitigates risks associated with its projects by enhancing transparency and accountability frameworks, it has the potential to outpace the emerging alternatives that are challenging the BRI.

East Asia9DLMarch 29, 20249dashline, BRI 2.0: Reflecting on the past, charting the future, Kelly Antoinette Khyriem, Xi Jinping, China, PRC, Belt and Road Initiative, BRI, Maritime Silk Road, digital infrastructure, trade policy coordination, financial cooperation, multilateral institutions, Memoranda of Understanding, geopolitical strategy, domestic development, US-led international order, ‘string of pearls’ theory, Chinese investments, naval bases, Indian Ocean, crucial shipping routes, debt-trap diplomacy, BRI-related loans, Sri Lanka, economic sovereignty, debt trap narrative, governance deficiencies, corruption, 1Malaysia Development Berhad, 1MDB, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, CPEC, human rights abuses, BRI infrastructure, BRI commitments, large-scale infrastructure projects, sustainability, ecology, carbon dioxide emissions, environmental implications, EU, US, India, transparency, labour rights, EU-Asia Connectivity Strategy, Global Gateway Initiative, Blue Dot Network, Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, PGII, G20 Leaders' Summit, hydropower plants, solar farms, 5G, public-private partnerships, Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, Digital Silk Road, e-commerce initiatives, BRI 2.0, Green Belt and Road, renewable energy, Clean Silk Road, Silk Road Economic Belt, Hambantota Port, Kenya, Zambia, Malaysia, debt management, digital connectivity, debt burdens, renewable energy investment, AIIB

US-Japan-South Korea trilateral cooperation: Overcoming the populist threat

Written by James Kaizuka

Deeper institutionalisation of security cooperation, bilaterally between Japan and South Korea and trilaterally also including the United States, can head off all of these threats and ensure that the ‘inaugural’ Indo-Pacific Dialogue is not the ‘only’ Indo-Pacific Dialogue.

East Asia9DLMarch 27, 20249dashline, US-Japan-South Korea trilateral cooperation: Overcoming the populist threat, James Kaizuka, Japan, South Korea, US, trilateral, Indo-Pacific Dialogue, Populism, Washington, cooperation, mutual threats, Security, GSOMIA intelligence-sharing agreement, GSOMIA, Soviet, Tsushima Strait, nationalism, Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida, South Korea’s President Yoon, President Biden, authoritarian threat, democracy, Republican Party, President Trump, US allies, trans-pacific, transatlantic, isolationist, free-riding, Beijing, Moscow, Pyongyang, depoliticising, Seoul, Tokyo, populism, elections, South Korea’s National Assembly, Democratic Party, Yoon’s Japan policy, Liberal Democratic Party, Nippon Kaigi, revisionism, Takaichi Sanae, Yasukuni Shrine, Ukraine, territory, history, reparations, wartime compensation, nuclear terrorism, Fukushima’s wastewater, Fukushima, Fukushima water, 1923 Kanto earthquake, second Trump presidency, Anti-military base movements, Alkonis affair, America First, Chinese disinformation, espionage, election interference, Camp David summit, NATO, European Union, Southeast Asia, Seibou Bunri, seikei bunri, diplomacy, defence

The EU’s Global Gateway Initiative: Infrastructure cooperation with Southeast Asia

Written by Dr Alfred Gerstl and Nick Nieschalke

The investment in the Global Gateway Initiative (GGI) indicates the EU’s stronger global focus on infrastructure and connectivity partnerships within a dedicated scheme.

Europe and the Indo-Pacific, In Focus9DLMarch 26, 20249dashline, The EU’s Global Gateway Initiative: Infrastructure cooperation with Southeast Asia, Dr Alfred Gerstl, Nick Nieschalke, EU, European Union, Indo-Pacific strategy, EU Global Gateway Initiative, Global Gateway Initiative, GGI, Indo-Pacific, Africa, Global South, geostrategic challenges, geo-economic challenges, EU institutions, EU member states, China, BRI, private sector, EU funds, Europe-Asia connectivity programme, infrastructure, connectivity partnerships, Brussels, Southeast Asia, alternative models of governance, economic benefits, values-based foreign policy, rules-based order, ASEAN, US, investment, de-risking, green transition, supply chains, energy supply, environment, health, education and research, energy, digital connectivity, UN SDG, sustainability, cooperation, Bac Ai hydropower plant, Vietnam, energy imports, net zero carbon emissions, electricity, hydropower, Hanoi, Beijing, environmental damages, lighthouse project, Philippines, Copernicus, natural disasters, climate change, Manila, soft power tool, geopolitical ambitions, security actor

Xi’s purge and corruption in the PLA

Written by Lyle J. Morris

Corruption in China’s military is not a case of a “few bad apples”. Rather, it is indicative of a PLA that has systemic problems with corruption whereby kickbacks and buying and selling of promotions have been standard practice for decades.

East Asia9DLMarch 25, 20249dashline, lyle J morris, Corruption in the PLA and Xi’s purge, People’s Liberation Army (PLA), Chinese President Xi Jinping, China-watching community, National People’s Congress (NPC), PLA Rocket Force (PLARF), China’s conventional and nuclear missile programme, Gen. Ding Laihang, PLA Air Force, Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Liu Shiquan, China North Industries Group, China Aerospace Science, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, chair of weapons manufacturer China North Industries Group, China Aerospace Science & Industry Corp executive Wang Changqing, Defence Minister, Li Shangfu, Qin Gang, national security violations, Wu Guohua, the deputy commander of the PLARF, General Armaments Department, Major General Li Mingquan, General Equipment Support Department of the General Armaments Department, EDD, PLARF, SOE, Lin Biao, CIA, Inner Mongolia, Sino-Soviet border conflict, Cold War, Mao, Directive 1, Directive 2, James Mulvenon, graft, military readiness, China’s nuclear strategy, PLA leadership, whistle blower, whistle-blower, China’s military bureaucracy, corruption, i’s senior technocrats, Xi’s purge and corruption in the PLA

As the Philippines’ 'agency' in West Philippine Sea rises, so too does its infrastructure development

Written by Joshua Bernard Espeña

In the Philippine context, the country’s newfound middle-power position offers the Southeast Asian state the ability to navigate uncertainties based on clearly defined national interests, and doubling down on its commitment to develop its infrastructures in the West Philippine Sea is one of the ways to do it.

Southeast Asia9DLMarch 21, 20249dashline, Joshua Bernard Espeña, Philippines, Philippine sea, maritime infrastructure development, Anti-Access/Area-Denial operations, A2/AD, South China Sea, SCS, drones, imagery intelligence devices, agency, assertive transparency, revisionist moves, middle-power, Southeast Asia, national interests, Philippine Congress, infrastructure development, Martin Romualdez, economic development, resource base, natural resources, Manila, diplomacy, China, Beijing, theory of victory, strategic culture, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Marcos Jr., National Security Policy (NSP) 2023-2028, NSP 2023-2028, multipolar world, national sovereignty, territorial integrity, national security, resupply missions, joint exercises, construction development, John Mearsheimer, foreign policy objectives, informational spheres, like-minded allies, domestic politics, external powers, foreign policy, Philippine-US alliance, Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement, EDCA, Northern Luzon, Huang Xilian, Taiwan, Comprehensive Archipelagic Defence Concept, CADC, Armed Forces of the Philippines, AFP, Mavulis Island, Basco, Batanes province, American interests, Chinese power, Taiwan Strait, West Philippine Sea, Philippine Department of National Defence, archipelagic security, geostrategic agency, Rodrigo Duterte, Philippine-China relations, Malacañang Palace, Cheloy Serafil, Xi, Pantaleon Alvarez, appeasement, Jonathan Malaya, territory, multi-domain future warfare, warfare, As the Philippines’ 'agency' in West Philippine Sea rises, so too does its infrastructure development