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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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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New Episode - Looking Ahead to 2026: What Will Shape EU–ASEAN Relations and the Indo-Pacific

This month, Zsuzsa and Richard are joined by David MacSweeney to reflect on the year just past and assess the key political, economic, and strategic issues set to shape EU–ASEAN relations and the wider Indo-Pacific in 2026, including five priority areas to watch as regional and external actors navigate an increasingly complex strategic environment.

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Malaysia's gamble: turning data centres into industrial power

Written by Faye Simanjuntak

Malaysia’s National AI Roadmap reveals tension between its stated ambitions and the industrial reality taking shape. Although Malaysia has courted notable investments into AI datacentres, there is limited focus on cultivating the upstream capabilities that Malaysia identifies as central to its long-term competitiveness.

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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First female Prime Minister in Japan: symbol of progress or status quo?

Written by Federica Cidale

While she broke a significant glass ceiling, her policy positions, from historical revisionism and expanded national security powers to restrictive immigration policies, reinforce existing conservative structures.

Italy–Malaysia relations: A cornerstone of Rome’s Indo-Pacific engagement

Written by Emanuele Ballestracci

Italy cannot rival the hard-power presence of France or the UK, nor does it aspire to. Instead, it has constructed a pathway based on economic cooperation, private-sector activism, and steady institutional ties, which over time create the trust needed to expand into political and security spheres.