Written by Jing Ge
Taiwan’s undersea cables are not only a communications vulnerability; they are also a test of crisis discipline in the Indo-Pacific. In a Taiwan Strait crisis, a severed cable could be read as an accident, a coercive signal, or the opening move in a larger confrontation.
Read MoreWritten by Eve Register
The protection of human rights has long been a founding principle of the EU. While the GSP+ programme represents an opportunity to advance this goal, human rights will remain subordinated to other priorities as long as the Commission leverages the programme to extract strategic advantage.
Read MoreWritten by Percy Yixuanchen Yu
The lesson for Taiwan is uncomfortable but necessary. The AI shield is not a shield unless it is supported by social resilience, Taiwan's own diplomatic voice, and democratically authorised security policy.
Read MoreWritten by Anuttama Banerji and Dr. Sahar Khan
A central weakness in the partnership is the absence of shared operational experience. Unlike US treaty allies, India has not participated in high-intensity contingencies alongside US forces. This limits trust, slows decision-making, and increases the risk of misalignment.
Read MoreWritten by Daniel McIntyre
The immediate results of her trip may yield modest concessions, perhaps on tourism or the lifting of restrictions on Taiwanese imports. But without a sustained reduction in military pressure and an end to large-scale exercises, these would be quickly eclipsed.
Read MoreWritten by Viktor Buzna
Just as steel, petrochemicals, and semiconductors once underpinned national resilience, computing power and AI ecosystems define economic and strategic autonomy today.
Read MoreWritten 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.
Read MoreWritten 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.
Read MoreWritten by Yatana Yamahata
Solidarity among Southeast Asians has strengthened pro-democracy movements across the region and, in doing so, fostered a sense of shared regional identity. ASEAN, however, does not mirror nor reinforce this solidarity. Instead, it remains constrained by its founding principle of non-interference.
Read MoreWritten by Jemima Holborow
Without CBRs, Pacific Islands face reduced financial inclusion and slower development. For the US, it risks pushing the region toward central bank digital currencies and de-dollarisation; a trend that could weaken US financial influence.
Read MoreWritten 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.
Read MoreWritten 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.
Read MoreWritten 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.
Read MoreThis 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.
Subscribe today.
Read MoreThis 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.
Subscribe today.
Read MoreWritten by Thijs Stegeman
For Europe to help Taiwan significantly scale its drone production capacity, and to de-risk its own drone supply chains, the EU should make Taiwan a partner in the Readiness 2030 initiative.
Read MoreWritten 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.
Read MoreThis 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.
Subscribe today.
Read More
