comprehensive strategic partnership — 9DASHLINE

Hungary’s bet on China: Smart move or desperate attempt?

Written by Dr Tamás Matura

Playing a balancing act between the East and the West, Orbán hopes to boost his international political clout and the economic development of Hungary by cosying up to other illiberal world leaders such as China’s Xi Jinping.

Europe and the Indo-Pacific9DLMarch 4, 20249dashline, Hungary’s bet on China: Smart move or desperate attempt?, Dr Tamás Matura, Hungary, China, Viktor Orbán, Beijing, Budapest, illiberal governments, Xi Jinping, Chinese investors, Western investors, China policy, Sino-Hungary, EV industry, Central Europe, EU, Orbán, Eastern Opening Policy, comprehensive strategic partnership, pro-China policies, veto, Council veto, human rights abuses, EU proposals, South China Sea, Russia-Ukrainian war, 16+1 framework, Baltic states, Poland, Czechia, Romania, diplomatic resources, economic resources, friendship, diplomacy, Beijing's strategic interests, EU statements, Hungarian economy, Chinese economic presence, Chinese capital, European automotive industry, Berlin, BRI, Budapest-Belgrade railway line, EU technological standards, Chinese factories, Serbia, multinational manufacturers, transportation corridor, infrastructure, EV, manufacturing exports, European economic crisis, domestic companies, crony capitalism, unemployment, guest workers, hatemongering, migrants, migration, minority groups, foreign workers, countryside, veto power, 16+1 cooperation, middleman strategy

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.

Editor's Picks, Pacific9DLFebruary 2, 2024In Forum: 2024 — South China Sea at a crossroads, 9DASHLINE, south china sea, SCS, China, Philippine, Philippine navy, The Philippines, vessels, Chinese vessels, freedom of navigation, United States, trade, shipping, US-China competition, escalation, CYBER, ELINA NOOR, non-claimant states, Code of Conduct (CoC), Code of Conduct (CoC) negotiations, military, international law, cross-domain, ASEAN, norms of responsible state behaviour, 2015 United Nations Group of Governmental Experts of Developments in the Field of Information and Telecommunications in the Context of International Security, APILA SANGTAM, Beijing, Vietnam, India, Manila, United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), UNCLOS, 2016 Arbitral Award, comprehensive strategic partnership, 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, grey zone, Exclusive Economic Zones, Indonesia, Malaysia, NONG HONG, geopolitical rivalry, naval, military exercises, oil and gas exploitation, COLLIN KOH, unilateral, multilateral, littorals, Second Thomas Shoal, Taiwan, PRATNASHREE BASU, Belt and Road Initiative, strategic autonomy, de-escalation, containment, Japan, rules-based order, UN, United Nations, In Forum: 2024 — the South China Sea at a crossroads

Germany’s Indo-Pacific aspirations and realities

Written by Dr Rafal Ulatowski

Germany is too weak militarily to change the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific. Its military presence satisfies the expectations of the regional middle powers and of the United States while having only a minor adverse impact on Germany’s relations with China.

Europe and the Indo-Pacific9DLJanuary 10, 20249DashLine, Germany’s Indo-Pacific aspirations and realities, Rafal Ulatowski, Germany, Indo-Pacific, European Union, EU, bilateral, regional powers, liberal international order, open markets, China, trade, Chinese-German cooperation, intergovernmental consultations, German-Chinese partnership, Policy Guidelines for the Indo-Pacific, National Security Strategy, Strategy on China, German Navy, German frigate Bayern, German National Security Strategy, German Strategy on China, US-Chinese competition, diversifying, diversification, democratic values, German-Chinese relations, comprehensive strategic partnership, Federation of German Industries (BDI), partner, competitor, Italy, important partner, systemic rival, military presence, Bayern frigate, Operation Rapid Pacific, Australia, symbolic, middle powers, Japan, India, South Korea, Singapore, democracies, shared values, resilient supply chains, German arms exports, investments, export, Taiwan, Hing Kong, Hong Kong, malaysia, Thailand, FDI, Luxembourg, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, de-risking, decoupling, Alliance 90/The Greens, Social Democrats, German companies, sensitive technologies, United Kingdom, Bundeswehr, Zeitenwende, NATO, defence spending, 2 per cent goal, Berlin, United States, confrontation, strategic interests, SIPRI, Russia-Ukrainian war, dependence, great powers, COVID-19 pandemic

Inviting Indonesia to become the Quad’s inaugural strategic dialogue partner

Written by Ridvan Kilic

Ultimately, in order to secure its maritime boundary in the North Natuna Sea, Indonesia needs the support of like-minded strategic partners from the Quad more than ever.

Pacific9DLDecember 12, 20229DashLine, Inviting Indonesia to become the Quad’s Inaugural Strategic Dialogue Partner, Ridvan Kilic, Indonesia, Quad, strategic dialogue partner, non-alignment, ASEAN, ASEAN centrality, Jakarta, US-China hegemonic competition, US, China, Southeast Asia, North Natuna Sea, North Natuna Sea Exclusive Economic Zone, Exclusive Economic Zone, EEZ, sovereignty, strategic partnership, Quad countries, rules-based maritime order, Indo-Pacific, alignment, inaugural strategic dialogue partner, Joko Widodo, President Joko Widodo, Widodo, Jokowi, Global Maritime Fulcrum, GMF, economic cooperation, trade partners, Beijing, Belt and Road Initiative, BRI, infrastructure development, regional maritime power, Indonesian navy, maritime security, nine-dash line, South China Sea, SCS, non-claimant state, gas field, oil and gas drilling, Garuda Shield exercise, Indonesian National Armed Forces, Nusantara, Natuna archipelago, Makassar Strait, air force, navy capabilities, regional military capabilities, Washington, advanced fighter jets, Chinese assertiveness, Batam, Anthony Blinken, Retno Marsudi, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, freedom of navigation, japan, Natuna Islands, growing military build-up, military equipment and technology, bilateral relationship, india, Shared Vision of Maritime Cooperation, Andaman Sea, Sabang Deep Seaport, Aceh, Australia, Canberra, comprehensive strategic partnership, 2021 Australia-Indonesia security deal, Albanese Labor Government, Australia-Indonesia strategic partnership, Bahasa, Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Penny Wong, Anthony Albanese, military training, joint exercises, military hardware, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Indo-Pacific Partnership Maritime Domain Awareness, IPMDA

Australia comes out of China’s ‘deep freeze’

Written by Melissa Conley Tyler

Australia’s export industries will hope to see progress in the coming months. Because the trade restrictions were not formalised, they are easy and quick to reverse — if there is the political will to do so.

Pacific9DLDecember 5, 20229DashLine, Australia comes out of China’s ‘deep freeze’, Melissa Conley Tyler, G20, G20 summit, Australia, China, Anthony Albanese, Xi Jinping, diplomacy, bilateral meetings, Chinese-Australian diaspora, comprehensive strategic partnership, free trade agreement, cyber attacks, espionage, foreign interference, human rights abuses, foreign investment, Huawei, 5G network, foreign-interference legislation, human rights advocacy, Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Covid-19 inquiry, diplomatic freeze, import restrictions, defence, Li Keqiang, East Asia Summit, trade blockages, Taiwan, Russia, economic coercion, Australian Labor Party, ALP, Liberal–National coalition, Richard Marles, China-Australia relations, trade restrictions, export industries, James Laurenceson, Cheng Lei, Yang Hengjun, Australian government

Nguyen Phu Trong’s Beijing trip: Safeguarding regime-state security

Written by Phan Xuan Dung

As Vietnam’s most senior politician and the architect of the ‘bamboo diplomacy’ concept, Trong should promote efforts to update Vietnam’s strategic thinking, thereby enabling the country to bend and sway in the current geopolitical headwinds with greater flexibility.

Power Politics9DLNovember 18, 20229DashLine, Nguyen Phu Trong’s Beijing trip: Safeguarding regime-state security, Phan Xuan Dung, Nguyen Phu Trong, Trong, 20th Chinese Communist Party Congress, Vietnamese Communist Party, VCP, Beijing, China, Hanoi, Xi Jinping, Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic partnership, regime-state security, Russia-Ukraine war, Biden administration, authoritarian regimes, political stability, political survival, Marxist-Leninist one-party state, vietnam, Doi Moi economic reform, Doi Moi, united states, international relations, Olaf Scholz, Jacinda Ardern, Joe Biden, President Biden, comprehensive strategic partnership, bamboo diplomacy, post-Cold War era, pluralistic democracy, colour revolutions, US-led liberal democracy, Washington, peaceful evolutions, Biden's National Security Strategy, non-democracies, international rules-based order, socialist democracy, Marxist-Leninist ideology, socialist regime, CCP, Chinese Communist Party, South China Sea, United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, bilateral trade, Vietnamese imports, export diplomacy, supply chains, domestic political legitimacy, human rights, Obama, regime change