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 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

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.

East Asia9DLDecember 18, 2025First female Prime Minister in Japan: symbol of progress or status quo?, 9DASHLINE, japan, Sanae Takaichi, Federica Cidale, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan’s Self-Defence Force, China, LGBT

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.

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

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

Balancing the peninsula: Indonesia’s diplomacy between the two Koreas

Written by Geo Dzakwan Arshali

Jakarta has never been aimless in its approach to the Koreas — it seeks to de-escalate tensions on the peninsula by keeping dialogue alive, even with an isolated Pyongyang, while simultaneously deepening cooperation with a democratic Seoul and its Western allies.

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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From Momentum to architecture: Making trilateralism work for Korea, Japan, and the United States

Written by Yun Kyung Kim

Korea and Japan now have an opportunity to redefine their roles — not as competing spokes but as co-architects of a trilateral framework that can anchor stability in the Indo-Pacific. For Washington, embracing this shift means sharing agenda-setting space with allies to maximise American interests and maintain primacy.

East Asia9DLAugust 20, 20259DASHLINE, Yun Kyung Kim, From Momentum to Architecture: Making Trilateralism Work for Korea, United States, japan, South Korea, North Korea, Semiconductor, China, Indo-Pacific, Supply chains

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

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

Between Trump and turmoil: South Korea’s balancing act

Written by Dr Wongi Choe

A more fundamental security challenge may emerge from the Trump administration’s evolving defence posture, which could reorient US global military priorities, including troop deployments in South Korea, to better deter China.

East Asia, Power Politics, Most Popular9DLJune 19, 20259DASHLINE, Dr. Wongi Choe, Between Trump and turmoil: South Korea’s balancing act, South Korea, Trump, Yoon Suk Yeol, ICBM, North Korea, Korean Peninsula, DPRK, Russia, Putin, Kim Jong-un, Pyongyang, Seoul

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

Discover the April issue of The Navigator – out now

This month we explore rising economic tensions in Northeast Asia, as Japan and South Korea respond to a new wave of US tariffs. We also turn to Myanmar, where a devastating earthquake has worsened an already dire humanitarian crisis. Despite urgent calls for aid, the junta is blocking relief efforts while pushing ahead with its plans for elections amid ongoing conflict.

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News9DLApril 25, 2025Trump, ASEAN, Taiwan, The Navigator, 9DASHLINE, US, United States, Indo-Pacific, China, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Samoa, USAID, Myanmar, Russia, Myanmar earthquake, tariffs