The illusion of reform: Hun Manet’s Cambodia, three years on

Written by Vanly Seng

Reform has failed not through a lack of effort, but through a lack of will, as dismantling the system of authoritarian constitutionalism would directly undermine the CPP’s hold on power.

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.

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News9DLFebruary 27, 20269DASHLINE, 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

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.

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News9DLJanuary 30, 20269DASHLINE, 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

The Navigator’s December issue — out now!

This month’s briefs examine an Indo-Pacific shaped by hybrid insecurity: as the United States retreats from development leadership, middle powers step in to fill the void, while escalating climate disasters are redefining resilience, influence, and regional power.

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News9DLDecember 31, 20259DASHLINE, 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, COP30, Sheikh Hasina

Five days that shook ASEAN: How the Cambodia-Thailand border clash became a superpower showdown

Written by Chhay Lim and Chandarith Neak

Without institutional mechanisms that both parties accept as legitimate and binding, border disputes remain vulnerable to escalation and external intervention whenever domestic political pressures or regional tensions rise.

The Navigator’s November issue — out now!

This month’s features explore twin fragmentations reshaping the Indo-Pacific: the quiet construction of a north–south undersea security arc as South Korea joins Australia on the path to nuclear-powered submarines, and the near-collapse of COP30, which exposed a deepening crisis of trust at the heart of global climate governance.

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News9DLNovember 28, 20259DASHLINE, 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, COP30, Sheikh Hasina

Japan and Cambodia: Partners in a diplomatic balancing act

Written by Shin Kawashima

Japan and other US allies must strengthen ties with Southeast Asian countries to address US retrenchment, positioning themselves as credible alternatives for countries seeking to avoid over-reliance on China.

Despite Trump’s red carpet visit, Washington holds a weak hand in Southeast Asia

Written by Dr. Hunter Marston

With the Trump administration fixated on bilateral trade deals with individual countries, rather than the large multilateral trade deals that have shaped the region’s economic architecture in recent years, the US appears to be yesterday’s story, while Asia has moved on with the new rules of the road.

Southeast Asia9DLNovember 6, 2025Despite Trump's red carpet visit Washington holds a weak hand in Southeast Asia, Trump, 9DASHLINE, Southeast Asia, Chinese dominance, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, US-ASEAN Summit, US tariffs, Hunter Marston, trade negotiations, critical minerals, de-risking, US influence

The Navigator’s October issue — out now!

This month, we explore how Australia and Papua New Guinea’s Pukpuk Treaty is redefining defence cooperation through identity-based integration, while the IMF–World Bank meetings in Washington reveal how financial governance continues to constrain Global South autonomy.

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News9DLOctober 31, 20259DASHLINE, 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, Pukpuk Treaty, PNG, Papua New Guinea, IMF, World Bank, Trump, Timor-Leste

The Navigator’s October issue — out now!

This month, we spotlight the mounting pressures reshaping the Indo-Pacific: Beijing’s use of Martyrs’ Day as both a tool of domestic loyalty and an international signal of resolve highlights how nations are navigating turbulence on two fronts. Across the region, domestic instability — from popular protests to fragile governments — is constraining states’ ability to adapt to intensifying great power rivalry.

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News9DLSeptember 26, 20259DASHLINE, 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, Pukpuk Treaty, PNG, Papua New Guinea, IMF, World Bank, Trump, Timor-Leste

Discover the August issue of The Navigator – out now

This month, we spotlight India’s partnership with the Philippines, demonstrating sovereignty-sensitive maritime cooperation, while New Zealand’s expanding role in space highlights how smaller states assert strategic influence in high-tech domains.

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Discover the July issue of The Navigator – out now

This month, we spotlight Taiwan’s sweeping drone procurement drive — a decisive shift in defence strategy that underscores its push for self-reliance and asymmetric deterrence. We also track shifting regional dynamics, from landmark defence exercises in Australia and a new AUKUS treaty, to South Asia’s turbulent politics, Southeast Asia’s evolving alignments, and Europe’s role in the Indo-Pacific.

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In Brief with Mu Sochua, President of the Khmer Movement for Democracy

Drawing on her decades of experience in Cambodia’s pro-democracy movement, we discussed the country’s democratic decline, the growing influence of China, and the crucial role the international community — and Cambodia’s youth — must play in shaping a freer future.

In Brief9DLJuly 17, 2025Mu Sochua, 9DASHLINE, In Brief, Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Cambodia, Cambodian politician, Khmer Movement for Democracy, Cambodia’s pro-democracy movement, Cambodia’s youth, Cambodia in 1989, Paris Peace Agreements of 1991, civl society, Hun Sen, regime, Prime Minister Hun Manet, single-party rule, Khmer Rouge, Hun Manet, Bristol University, West Point, father’s legacy, repression, corruption, opposition figures jailed, social media, democratic reforms, Cambodian activists, NGOs, advocacy groups, South Korea, Malaysia, Australia, Thailand, dissidents, attacks on dissidents, Lim Kimya, Cambodia National Rescue Party, Bangkok, assassinated, global support network, disinformation, EU, curtailing of free media, shrinking civil society, political opposition, conditionality clauses, trade agreements, Cambodian government, high-ranking officials, Marco Rubio, human rights, Southeast Asia, Cambodian Democracy and Human Rights Act, China, Chinese firms, Xi Jinping, Phnom Penh, Trump administration, promoting democracy, Washington, Hun regime, USAID, Funan Techo Canal, ghost towns, China’s infrastructure investments, Paris Peace Agreements, UK, US, Laos, Debt Trap Diplomacy, vassal state, political change, France, policymakers, online platforms, protests in Seoul, In Brief with Mu Sochua, President of the Khmer Movement for Democracy

Southeast Asia deepens hedging amid Trump 2.0 turbulence

Written by Hunter Marston

Southeast Asian anxieties with the Trump administration’s turn toward protectionist trade policies were evident in the May 2025 ASEAN Summit, when the regional bloc expressed ‘deep concern’ with US tariffs.

Southeast Asia9DLJuly 1, 2025Southeast Asia deepens hedging amid Trump 2.0 turbulence, 9DASHLINE, Hunter Marston, South East Asia, United States, Cambodia, Singapore, Philippines, New Zealand, Canada, France, Southeast Asia, Trump, Shangri-La Dialogue

Discover the June issue of The Navigator – out now

This month our briefs examine shifting US engagement: new Pacific travel restrictions threaten Washington’s influence, while South Korea’s pragmatic diplomacy may clash with a potential Trump foreign policy reset. Across the region, leaders face a volatile mix of economic strain, diplomatic frictions, and intensifying rivalries — from South Asia’s post-crisis diplomacy to renewed tensions in Southeast Asia and growing unease in East Asia.

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News9DLJune 27, 2025Trump, ASEAN, Taiwan, The Navigator, 9DASHLINE, US, United States, Indo-Pacific, China, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Samoa, South China Sea, India-Pakistan, India, Pakistan, France, New Caledonia, Macron, Cambodia, Pacific Islands, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Tonga

A superpower diminished: Trump’s chaotic foreign policy is undermining US credibility in Asia

Written by Dr Hunter Marston

Despite the opportunity presented by American retrenchment, China lacks the soft power to step in as a natural leader and its economic and political influence continue to be met with suspicion by regional elites.

Discover the May issue of The Navigator – out now

This month we cover the India-Pakistan flare-up that reignited nuclear concerns, followed by a burst of regional diplomacy. Our briefs examine how China and India are turning foreign policy into a tool of domestic control — through maritime coercion in Beijing’s case, and treaty-based pressure from New Delhi.

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News9DLMay 30, 2025Trump, ASEAN, Taiwan, The Navigator, 9DASHLINE, US, United States, Indo-Pacific, China, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Samoa, Russia, tariffs, Indus Water Treaty, South China Sea, India-Pakistan, India, Pakistan, Kashmir, Nuclear, France, New Caledonia, Macron, Mu Sochua, Cambodia

Navigating the middle: Japan-Cambodia relations and the challenge of geopolitical competition

Written by Dr Sophal Ear

Cambodia offers a litmus test: if Japan can sustain influence there, it may do so across mainland Southeast Asia.

Southeast Asia9DLMay 29, 20259DASHLINE, Sophal Ear, Navigating the middle: Japan–Cambodia relations and the challenge of geopolitical competition, Khmer Rouge, Cambodia, Japan, United States, China, diplomacy, development, peacebuilding, foreign policy, agency, Great power rivalry, Tokyo, liberal values, Southeast Asia, defense diplomacy, Cambodia’s Ream base, 1991 Paris Peace Agreements, United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC), Official Development Assistance (ODA), aid, bilateral donor, Sihanoukville, soft infrastructure, authoritarianism, Phnom Penh, Strategic Partnership, international norms, rule of law, maritime security, ASEAN, South China Sea, Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) framework, Yōko Kamikawa, human resource development, digital connectivity, climate change, US tariffs, transhipment, public debt, United Nations Human Rights Council, debt trap, European Union, “Everything But Arms” scheme, sanctions, democratic backsliding, Hun Manet, “multi-vector” diplomacy, Beijing, alignment, national interest, liberal internationalism, Belt and Road Initiative, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), civil society, Cultural diplomacy, Japan-Cambodia Kizuna Festival, Japanese pop culture, ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, State of Southeast Asia surveys, Ream Naval Base, Vietnamese People’s Navy, South China Sea (SCS), multilateralisation, Cold War, Soviet, balancing, non-alignment, middle power, FDI, The Asia Foundation, Cambodia-Japan Cooperation Center (CJCC), Navigating the middle: Japan-Cambodia relations and the challenge of geopolitical competition