EU — 9DASHLINE — Articles

Why Climate Disaster Risk Belongs in Defence Agreements

Written by Ambika Vishwanath and Priyanka Bhide

The growing number and diversity of disasters in the Indo-Pacific region call for a more methodical approach between countries that share borders.

Southeast Asian states are looking for options, but the United States isn’t giving them much to work with

Written by Hunter Marston

The recent Russia-ASEAN Summit is only the latest example of a more diffuse and loosely organised world order, in which Washington plays a less central role, and its rivals are calling the shots. While this emerging multipolar order is currently fuelling regional anxieties of instability and conflict in Southeast Asia, it is likely to be the new normal.

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.

NATO and the IP4: Caught between ambition and restraint

Written by Liselotte Odgaard

As US strategy increasingly prioritises the Indo-Pacific while delegating greater responsibility to allies, NATO-IP4 cooperation is likely to deepen selectively — focusing on functional areas such as technology, maritime security, and resilience — rather than evolving into a fully institutionalised global alliance framework.

Faultlines9DLJune 18, 2026Liselotte Odgaard, NATO and the IP4: Caught Between Ambition and Restraint, 9DASHLINE, NATO sumiit, EU, Indo-Pacific NATO, Nato, IP4, security partnership, middle power, Quad, minilateral cooperation, US-China competition, US-EU-China Relations, NATO-IP4 Partnerships

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.

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.

Fair and balanced EU-India relations: what mutual benefit really requires

Written by Stefania Benaglia

If the EU and India choose realism over rhetoric and build trust not only between governments but also among businesses, innovators, and people, the 2026 Summit could mark a genuine turning point — one where strategic clarity finally replaces political symbolism.

Europe and the Indo-Pacific, South Asia9DLDecember 20, 2025Fair and balanced EU-India relations: what mutual benefit really requires, Stefania Benaglia, 9DASHLINE, EU, India, India-EU, EU-India Free Trade Agreement, Trade, strategic partnership, Trade and Technology Council, private sector, public-private partnerships

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.

The European Union needs a more pragmatic foreign policy in the Indo-Pacific

Written by Angelo M’BA

Perhaps counter-intuitively, only an approach less concerned with morals and more with pragmatic engagement can pave the way for the EU to spread its values in the Indo-Pacific.

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.

Building bridges: EU–Taiwan–ASEAN connectivity for a multipolar world

Written by Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy and Julia Gurol-Haller

Together, the EU, Taiwan, and ASEAN can redefine connectivity not as a geopolitical tool for influence, but as a platform for empowerment, resilience, and strategic autonomy in the Global South.

Europe and the Indo-Pacific, Southeast Asia9DLSeptember 24, 20259DASHLINE, Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy, Julia Gurol-Haller, Taiwan, ASEAN, EU, connectivity, trilateral cooperation, multipolarity, New Southbound Policy, Global South, China, sustainability, connectivity dialogue, Building bridges: EU–Taiwan–ASEAN connectivity for a multipolar world

Diplomacy in an age of disruption: The EU-China summit

Written by Gunnar Wiegand

While major breakthroughs are unlikely, progress on economic issues is possible and could help restore a measure of stability and predictability for companies and citizens on both sides.

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

Impasse: Why losing the US still won’t bring Europe closer to China

Written by Nicholas Bequelin

The paradox of Sino-European relations is that, while they are fundamentally in poor shape and unlikely to find a way out of their current impasse, they are also remarkably stable.

Indonesia in BRICS: New chapter or familiar story?

Written by Dominique Fraser and Dr Premesha Saha

Indonesia will need to ensure that it carefully balances its commitments to BRICS alongside its responsibilities and obligations within ASEAN and its existing relationships with Western nations like the US and the EU.

Towards explicit criteria for de-risking? What the new European Commission has in store vis-à-vis China

Written by Dr Una Aleksandra Bērziņa-Čerenkova

Risks remain for Europe not just internally, but also externally, as China's support for Russia in its war against Ukraine and US pressure for a unified transatlantic approach limit the EU's room for manoeuvre.

Europe and the Indo-Pacific9DLFebruary 19, 20259DASHLINE, Towards explicit criteria for de-risking? What the new European Commission has in store vis-à-vis China, UNA ALEKSANDRA BĒRZIŅA-ČERENKOVA, EU, European Union, European Commission, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Ursula von der Leyen, China, geopolitics, EU's China policy, partner-competitor-rival trifecta, de-risking, critical raw materials, supply chains, EV imports, anti-subsidy investigation, 2019 strategic outlook, Political Guidelines, cooperation-competition-rivalry, “no-limits” friendship, Russia, economic security, economic statecraft, G7, resilient, rare earths, semiconductor, Mission letter, European Green Deal, Maroš Šefčovič, Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) Forum, AI, US, Chinese military, tariff, Japan, high value-added markets, US bipartisan anti-China stance, Beijing, PRC, EU member states, China-Russia relationship, US President Joe Biden, Ukraine, Donald Trump, Hungary, Germany, Slovakia, transatlantically

Europe braces for a turbulent ride with China

Written by Victor De Decker

However, a key question remains: to what extent can European authorities strike a deal with China while facing coercive pressure from the Trump administration on the one hand and Beijing’s inflexible negotiation tactics on the other?

Europe and the Indo-Pacific, Most Popular9DLJanuary 28, 20259DASHLINE, China, EU, Germany, China-Europe relations, EVs, Tarrifs, Trump 2024, Victor De Decker, European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, Trade war, Chinese EVs, Trump 2.0

Georgia is in danger of being caught in China’s web

Written by Tamara Obgaidze

The proposed development of a deep-water port at Anaklia could position Georgia as a key hub for trade between Europe and Asia, which aligns with China’s broader ambitions to expand its influence through infrastructure investments.

Europe and the Indo-Pacific9DLOctober 24, 2024Georgia is in danger of being caught in China’s web, China, Georgia, Russia, EU, Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative, Global Civilisation Initiative, NATO, Belt and Road Initiative, dept-trap diplomacy, Black Sea, Tamara Obgaidze