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In Forum: 2024 — the South China Sea at a crossroads

The South China Sea remains one of the most potentially explosive regions in the world. What role can regional actors and organisations play in de-escalating the conflict and putting an end to the escalatory trends witnessed in 2023?

We invite several experts to assess the prospects for stability in 2024.

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While the world softens on the Taliban, Afghans continue to suffer

Written by Chris Fitzgerald

The international community should leverage the Taliban’s desire for recognition and the need to solve Afghanistan’s problems with improving human rights in the country.

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Why China is an unlikely mediator in the Russia-Ukraine war

Written by Dr Eva Seiwert

Despite China’s interest in increasing its involvement in crisis resolution, it remains unclear whether Beijing is willing to mediate, and whether it can be a fair broker, in the Russia-Ukraine war.

In Conversation with Agathe Demarais

9DASHLINE recently had the pleasure of speaking with Agathe Demarais to discuss her timely and important book Backfire: How Sanctions Reshape the World Against U.S. Interests.

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UNSC Resolution 2669 and the future of the Myanmar crisis

Written by Sadia Korobi

ASEAN members must realise that short-term economic benefits in Myanmar cannot overshadow the history of ineffective and unreliable military regimes in the country since independence.

Normative power Taiwan? Human rights and Taiwan-EU relations

Written by Marcin Jerzewski

In the context of Taiwan-EU relations, the primary objective of cooperation on human rights should be to address the main areas of concern delineated by the EU.

Best of 2022: Russia’s War and the International Order

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February last year took the international community by surprise and raised concerns about the precedent this might set especially for China’s policy vis-à-vis Taiwan. The differing responses from countries, particularly established and rising powers, were also scrutinised, and implications were drawn for global governance and the international order.

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In Conversation with Salvador Santino Fulo Regilme Jr.

We recently had the pleasure of speaking with Salvador Santino Fulo Regilme Jr. about his latest book, Aid Imperium: United States Foreign Policy and Human Rights in Post-Cold War Southeast Asia.

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South China Sea: An environmental tragedy of the commons

Written by Sabrina Moles

Tensions in the South China Sea are creating a dangerous, competitive pattern in the relations among the countries involved. Sovereignty claims, together with the urgent demand for food, energy resources, and profits are all defining a set of priorities that are increasingly disregarding environmental damage.

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The problem is not a power transition

Written by Michael J. Mazarr

The US-China relationship is not accurately captured as a power transition, but it is a clash of an often self-righteous leading power and a dissatisfied challenger. That recipe is one of the most combustible in world politics.

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The fate of the Indo-Pacific: Lessons from Ukraine and US diplomacy towards Taiwan

Written by Reuben Steff and Martin Jirušek

Should war or a system of neo-Cold War style blocs emerge, it will be US allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific that form the new frontlines and that have the most to lose.

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A domestic audience for a global spotlight: Indonesia’s G20 presidency and the Bali Summit

Written by Radityo Dharmaputra and Demas Nauvarian

The Global South can play an essential role as the host of a peace forum after the G20 Summit, and Indonesia — following its historical role in the Bandung Conference and the Non-Aligned Movement — can be the initiator of such a forum.

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China, transnational organised crime, and Southeast Asia’s SEZs — is this Quid pro quo?

Written by Marco Neveu and Charlie Thame

Xi’s anti-corruption projects in the mainland seem to have sparked a degree of outward mobility by the triads from the authoritarian domestic core towards the more liminal and experimental periphery of Chinese influence.

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Death penalty in Southeast Asia: Disturbing trends

Written by Susannah Patton

The mixed picture for the death penalty in Southeast Asia, especially in countries where the death penalty is being actively debated, such as Malaysia, suggests that further advocacy by Australia and other like-minded countries would be timely.

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See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil — China’s reaction to the OHCHR’s Xinjiang report

Written by David O’Brien

In the run-up to next month’s key National Party Congress meeting when Xi Jinping will almost certainly extend his rule, possibly for the rest of his life, there can be no criticism, no focus on what is happening, no words to be spoken.

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China refuses to ‘acknowledge’ US one-China policy

Written by Pak K. Lee and Anisa Heritage

In order to minimise the chances of conflict with Beijing, Washington must now clarify its one-China policy rather than maintain strategic ambiguity over the matter of Taiwan’s indeterminate status.

Tale of two summits: Why Jacinda Ardern said no to the Commonwealth, but yes to NATO

Written by Geoffrey Miller

And given the focus on Western unity and solidarity in recent months, there’s every chance Jacinda Ardern would travel together with Anthony Albanese on any European side-trip to Ukraine — on a joint ANZAC solidarity mission.

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Bitcoin to bombs: Illicit money and the preservation of Kim Jong-un

Written by Casey Babb

If he is going to be compelled to behave differently, or if regime change is the end goal, policymakers, practitioners, and cyber experts need to cut off North Korea’s digital “bank robbers”.