AUKUS — 9DASHLINE

In Forum USA250: The future of the liberal international order in the Indo-Pacific

As the US marks its 250th anniversary, we invite several key experts to analyse how a changing US foreign policy and regional minilateralism are reshaping Indo-Pacific geopolitics.

Indonesia’s strategic autonomy and the absence of Indo-Pacific trilateralism

Written by Muhammad Izzuddin Al Haq

If other middle powers in the Indo-Pacific follow Jakarta’s stance in resisting formal alignment, the region may become one where multilateral cooperation works in peacetime but falls short in crises, including grey zone escalation.

Drawing a new India-Philippines arc of maritime convergence

Written by Eerishika Pankaj and Rahul Karan Reddy

The concern Beijing has with an India-Philippines strategic partnership lies in its signalling of the rise of layered, maritime-centric, military cooperation emerging in China’s periphery — designed to reinforce a rules-based order and deter unilateral changes to the status quo in the global commons.

Indonesia, France, and the logic of strategic autonomy

Written by Aniello Iannone

France now joins a growing list of Indonesia’s strategic partners. It was a strategic moment in which a major European state and a rising regional middle power found common ground in their shared search for autonomy.

Europe and the Indo-Pacific9DLJuly 11, 2025Aniello Iannone, 9DASHLINE, Indonesia, France, asean, Macron, ASEAN, Indonesia France and the logic of strategic autonomy, AUKUS, Horizon 2050, Drones, Rafale Jets, Indo-Pacific, India, Vietnam, South China Sea, Minilateralism

Discover the December issue of The Navigator – Out Now

As the year comes to a close, the Indo-Pacific continues to witness dynamic shifts across the political, economic, and strategic landscapes.

This month's brief explores how China may be attempting to connect disputes in the South China Sea with its declared objective of reunification with Taiwan.

Subscribe today.

News9DLDecember 31, 2024The Navigator, 9DASHLINE, Indo-Pacific, ASEAN, The Bridge, EPinASEAN, European Parliament in ASEAN, Fiji, China, AUKUS, India, Donald Trump, South China Sea, Scarborough Shoal, David MacSweeney, Taiwan

The Navigator's November issue is out now

This month has been defined by developments that highlight both challenges and frustrations on the global and regional stage. In this issue, we look at India’s pollution crisis and the evolving landscape of connected vehicles.

Subscribe today.

News9DLNovember 29, 2024The Navigator, 9DASHLINE, Indo-Pacific, ASEAN, The Bridge, EPinASEAN, European Parliament in ASEAN, Fiji, China, AUKUS, Pollution, India, Donald Trump, Connected vehicles

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.

Pacific, Faultlines9DLNovember 26, 20249DASHLINE, Lucas Myers, Despite doubts, the Quad is here to stay, Quad, Quad Leaders’ Meeting, Quad Leaders' Summit, Delaware, US President Joe Biden, The Quad is here to stay, Delaware readout, Wilmington, US electoral season, New Delhi, Biden's home, New York, Japan, Australia, UN meeting, US scheduling conflicts, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Shigeru Ishiba, Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Quad collapsed, talk shop, counter-China coalition, Beijing, Southeast Asia, Pacific, Quad’s purpose., force for good, big-ticket infrastructure, 400 million doses, Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA), Indo-Pacific, USD 140 million for undersea cables, Open RAN network in Palau, Palau, Global South, undersea cables, USD 500 million cable network, testing us all, East and South China Seas, non-Quad countries, latticework” concept, US-centered alliance system, Western Pacific, AUKUS, the Squad, Asian NATO, minilaterals, US-centric security architecture, rules-based order coalition, US Coast Guard, Papua New Guinea, Papua New Guinea’s landslides, Typhoon Yagi, Kevin Rudd, 2024 Quad summit, 2022 Quad Summit in Tokyo, Harris administration, Republican Party, Asia First, Republican White House, Development Finance Corporation, allied burden sharing, India, United States, Here to stay, Minilateral grouping, Wilson Center

The Navigator's October issue is out now

This month, our briefs focus on Fiji’s renewed foreign policy vision and Europe’s evolving stance on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) amid rising geopolitical concerns.

Subscribe now.

News9DLOctober 25, 2024The Navigator, 9DASHLINE, Indo-Pacific, ASEAN, The Bridge, EPinASEAN, European Parliament in ASEAN, electric vehicles, Fiji, China, AUKUS

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

Southeast Asia wants US-China conflict to stay lukewarm

Written by Hunter Marston

Whatever the outcome of the US election in November, Southeast Asian states will continue hedging for as long as possible.

Faultlines9DLAugust 19, 2024Southeast Asia wants US-China conflict to stay lukewarm, Hunter Marston, 9DASHLINE, China, United States, Trump, AUKUS

NATO and Northeast Asia: A growing partnership

Written by Emma Chanlett-Avery

A decisive shift in US policy towards isolationism and “America First” could disrupt or downgrade ‘trans-Atlantic’ and Indo-Pacific alliances.

Europe and the Indo-Pacific, East Asia, Most Popular9DLAugust 8, 20249DASHLINE, Emma Chanlett-Avery, NATO and Northeast Asia: A growing partnership, NATO, NATO Summit, Washington, Biden administration, Joe Biden, foreign policy, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia, White House, the Indo-Pacific Partners (IPP), Russia’s aggression, China’s support of Russia’s war in Ukraine, China, Russia, Ukraine, NATO-IPP relationship, Northeast Asia, European allies, Asian democracies, international liberal order, Tokyo, Seoul, South China Sea (SCS), East China Sea, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, information security, counter-piracy, China as a strategic challenge, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Moscow, Russia’s annexation of Crimea, Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Yoon Suk Yeol, NATO Summit in Madrid, sanctions, humanitarian aid, defence industry, Poland, arms exports, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, DPRK, anti-aircraft systems, Beijing, Putin-Kim summit, nuclear weapons, missiles, Pyongyang, Minilaterals, US-South Korea-Japan, US-Japan-Philippines, AUKUS, Quad, Biden-Harris administration, Donald Trump, isolationism, US Congress, GOP vice presidential candidate JD Vance, defence planners, America First

A new era dawns: Labour’s Indo-Pacific offer

Written by Sam Hogg

Labour has chosen to keep its Indo-Pacific cards close to its chest. Success for a future British government in the region will require dexterity and a robust understanding of what regional players want.

Europe and the Indo-Pacific, Most Popular9DLJuly 15, 20249dashline, Sam Hogg, A new era dawns: Labour’s Indo-Pacific offer, UK, indo-pacific, Labour left office in 2010, Downing Street, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, Philippine President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, People's Republic of China (PRC), AUKUS, CPTTP, Quad, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, South Korea, Japan, driving force for global trade, Conservative Party, tilt to the Indo-Pacific, Tilt, John Healey, David Lammy, Shadow Foreign and Defence Secretaries David Lammy and John Healey, Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, Strategic Defence Review, party’s manifesto, Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP), South China Sea, Penny Wong, flourishing economy, innovative, PRC, Five Eyes, G7, partnerships with their Taiwanese counterparts, Taiwan, Indonesia, India, Beijing’s grey zone activities, China Strategic Risk Institute, cyber-security dialogue with Taiwan, 2023 UK-Singapore Cyber Dialogue, GCHQ, HMS Spey, Energy Independence Act, Pacific Island nations, Securonomics, three of the world’s five largest economies by 2050, Inflation Reduction Act, Downing Street Accord., Downing Street Accord, City of London, critical minerals, artificial intelligence, non-sensitive sectors, regional players, HMS Spey’s visits, 2023 UK-Singapore Cyber Dialogue., Indo-Pacific policy, British universities, Labour government, Australia, Indo-Pacific tilt, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, naval vessels, QUAD, CPTPP, 4 July, UK goes to the polls

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

In Forum: 2024 — US Strategy and the Indo-Pacific

To what extent can the US compete with China if it does not offer more economic opportunities to Indo-Pacific countries, especially due to mounting doubts about its reliability as a security guarantor in the region?

We invite several experts to assess this state of affairs.

Australia-China relations: Where to now?

Written by Elena Collinson

After seven years marked by bullying and heavy-handed tactics by Beijing, episodes of diplomatic inelegance by Canberra, and the asperity of mutual criticism, Australia-China relations have tentatively shifted to a more normalised state.

How the UK supports regional order in the Indo-Pacific

Written by Dr Thomas Wilkins

Despite dangers closer to home and straitened finances, London does appear to be committed to the region, even if the implementation of some aspects of its new strategic approach remains patchy.

Europe and the Indo-Pacific9DLNovember 30, 2023How the UK supports regional order in the Indo-Pacific, Dr Thomas Wilkins, 9Dashline, Great Britain, France, EU, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean, resident power, minilateral engagements, Indo-Pacific Strategy, Integrated Review, Integrated Review Refresh, EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, Global Britain, liberal international order, Royal Navy, multilateral military exercises, Development Assistance, China, Japan, India, ‘over the horizon’ partner, James Cleverly, networks and grids, Free and Open Indo-Pacific, Australia, Singapore, TALISMAN SABRE military exercises, UK-Japan Strategic Partnership, British Defence Singapore Support Unit, AUKUS, Global Combat Aircraft Programme, Partnership for the Blue Pacific, Five Power Defence Arrangements, New Zealand, Malaysia, ASEAN, Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement toward Transpacific Partnership

New Zealand votes for change, but to what end?

Written by Lucas Knotter

Labour promised a lot of change but apparently did not feel it had to back such promises up with meaningful policy reform. It is implausible that New Zealand’s new conservative government will not fervently commit to such reforms.

Why the Philippines and Indonesia have warmed to AUKUS

Written by Julian Neuweiler and Patrick Triglavcanin

Continuing efforts in transparency are also important. A formal mechanism for communication should be established between AUKUS members and Southeast Asia.

Southeast Asia, In Focus9DLNovember 1, 2023Why the Philippines and Indonesia have warmed to AUKUS, 9DashLine, Julian Neuweiler, Patrick Trigclavcanin, AUKUS, US, UK, Australia, Philippines, Indonesia, diplomacy, military, Southeast Asia, next-generation nuclear-powered submarines (SSNs), foreign policy, national security, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, nuclear arms race, 9th ASEAN-United States (US) Summit, peace, ASEAN centrality, ASEAN, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Philippines-Australia Ministerial Meeting (PAMM), counterbalance, President Joko Widodo, partners, Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry, San Diego, SSN-AUKUS, arms race, power projection, communication, transparency, Australia-Indonesia ‘2+2’ meeting, Australia’s Chief of Navy, Singapore, Integrated Review’s 2023 ‘refresh’, Integrated Review, middle-ground powers, confidence building, United Kingdom, Russia’s war against Ukraine, South China Sea, international norms, geopolitical, geopolitics, geopolitical calculus, international order, United Nations Charter, G20, Manila, maritime militia, Philippine Navy, Coast Guard, fishermen, Scarborough Shoal, Prabowo Subianto, Ganjar Pranowo, Anies Baswedan, Canberra, Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, International Atomic Energy Agency, Quad