US-China trade tariffs: The clash of national grievances

Written by Dr Anisa Heritage

The Trump administration's instigation of its trade liberation policy has generated fear about how it might also rashly unshackle itself from longstanding security arrangements.

Faultlines9DLApril 30, 20259DASHLINE, China, united states, ANISA HERITAGE, US-China trade tariffs: The clash of national grievances, Trump, tariffs, United States, Taiwan

Departing from isolationism: Japan’s emergence as a regional security actor

Written by Lionel Fatton

Amid China’s growing belligerence and strained Sino-Taiwanese relations, Tokyo is trapped in an intensifying deterrence-entrapment dilemma. To solve it, Japan has resolved to become more engaged in regional security dynamics to reduce the risk of cross-strait conflict, thereby lowering the probability of entrapment.

East Asia9DLOctober 15, 2024Lionel Fatton, 9dashline, Departing from isolationism: Japan’s emergence as a regional security actor, Japan, defence, regional security, Taiwan, China, united states

Mending trilateral cooperation amid differences: Japan-ROK-China

Written by Daria Kurushina

Whether the driver is counterbalancing China’s influence in the region, addressing economic unfairness and trade barriers, criticising the expansion of the US trilateral alliance systems in the region, or improving diplomatic ties, the three countries have too much in common to neglect their interdependence.

East Asia9DLJuly 18, 20249DASHLINE, Daria Kurushina, Mending trilateral cooperation amid differences: Japan-ROK-China, Japan, ROK, South Korea, CHina, Trilateral, centre of gravity, geostrategic competition, Republic of Korea, regional dynamism, regional dynamics, Japan-ROK-China Trilateral Summit, Trilateral Summit, security, economy, military, US alliance system in the Asia-Pacific, United States, Taiwan Strait, Northeast Asia, historic grievances, wastewater, Fukushima’s wastewater, wastewater release, Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, trade dependencies, Free Trade Agreement, FTA, wartime forced labour compensation, Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Korea-China 2+2 Diplomatic and Security Dialogue, Korea-China Export Control Dialogue, 2023 Camp David summit, united states, tariffs, Chinese EV, solar panels, and battery industries, standards, non-discriminatory regional trade, Korean Peninsula, peace, prosperity, North Korea, nuclear, spy satellite, Russia-North Korea partnership pact, Moscow, Pyongyang, US allies, Japanese seafood products, seafood imports, trilateral diplomacy, free trade negotiations, people-to-people exchange, public health, ageing society, population control, low fertility trap, population halving by 2100, demographic shifts, childcare support, parental leave, healthcare, demographic national emergency, nuclear threats, North Korean missile and nuclear threats, defence spending, Ministry of Population Strategy Planning, dependency ratio, eldery, New Dimension, counterbalancing, olive branch, overcapacity issues

China’s global security blueprint — implications for Western security agency

Written by Bernardo Mariani

Mindful of the fragilities surfacing in the international order, and tapping into widespread discontent in the Global South, China has come forward with a vision to reshape the global security architecture. Its security blueprint differs, both in principles and practice, from Western notions of a rules-based international order.

East Asia, Editor's Picks9DLMay 22, 20249dashline, China’s global security blueprint — implications for the Western security agency, Bernardo Mariani, China, security, Global Security Initiative (GSI), united states, Global security, western security agency, Xi Jingping

The Kim-Putin summit: thrusting Russia-US tensions into Northeast Asia

Written by Anthony V. Rinna

From a longer-term perspective, the summit between Kim and Putin could also thrust Moscow-Washington tensions into the Asia-Pacific in ways not seen since the Cold War.

Southeast Asian maritime states are hedging to stay afloat amidst US-China rivalry

Written by Hunter Marston

As US-China rivalry hardens, becoming more zero-sum, and China continues to challenge the territorial sovereignty of maritime Southeast Asian states, it will become increasingly difficult to sustain such hedging policies.

Papua New Guinea: The new epicentre of the Pacific contest

Written by Thierry Lepani

As China and the US push for greater influence in the Pacific, Papua New Guinea has seemingly become the first port of call for the two nations to solidify their standing in the region.

Pacific9DLJune 19, 20239dashline, Papua New Guinea: The new epicentre of the Pacific contest, THIERRY LEPANI, Papua New Guinea, Pacific, Pacific islands, China, united states, PNG, Australia, global superpowers, Port Moresby, Forum for India-Pacific Island Cooperation, FIPIC, Pacific Island nations, India, Prime Minister Modi, US President Joe Biden, New Zealand, Quad, Japan, US-PNG Defense Cooperation Agreement, DCA, US-PNG relations, military cooperation, Anthony Albanese, Quad summit, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US-Pacific Island Country Summit, Prime Minister James Marape, foreign policy, Chinese President Xi Jinping, APEC summit, Beijing, One-China policy, Connect PNG, Belt and Road Initiative, Asia Power Index 2023, Economic Relationships and Diplomatic Influence, protests, demonstrations, Washington, US military, security cooperation, bilateral relationship, PNG Defence Force, diplomacy, reciprocal visa arrangements, Asia-Pacific region, trade and investment, Blinken

Bite the hand that fed you: Imran Khan’s populist challenge for the military

Written by Marcus Andreopoulos

Out of office, Khan is proving to be a relentless source of pressure, first for Bajwa and now for Munir. Khan has accused the military of holding the country back during a time of economic and humanitarian catastrophe.

South Asia, Power Politics9DLFebruary 22, 20239DashLine, Bite the hand that fed you: Imran Khan’s populist challenge for the military, Marcus Andreopoulus, Pakistan, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, General Asim Munir, Chief of Army Staff (COAS), elections, military, tensions with India, Taliban, Afghanistan, Durand Line, Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP, Islamabad, military aid, Washington, united states, Beijing, Imran Khan, populism, populist rhetoric, Russia, mafia media, general election of 2018, Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan Muslim League (N), General Pervez Musharraf, 1999 military coup, Sharif and Bhutto Zardari dynasties, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), domestic policy, defence, security, and foreign policy, civilian government, financial crisis, military budget, celebrity politicians, Donald Trump, anti-establishment statements, corruption, political elite, cult of personality, us versus them, minority rights, equality, Islamic welfare state, geo-economics, Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), mob lynchings, blasphemy laws, primacy of the military, Chief Minister of Punjab Aleem Khan, military’s intelligence wing (ISI), Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed, Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, conspiracy, Arshad Sharif, United States Capitol

2023: The future of CEE-China relations

9DASHLINE asked a select group of experts to assess Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries’ relations with China and how they expect them to evolve in 2023.

Europe and the Indo-Pacific9DLJanuary 16, 20239dashline, 2023: The future of CEE-China relations, JUSTYNA SZCZUDLIK, VUK VUKSANOVIC, VALENTINA VENGUST, STEFAN VLADISAVLJEV, Central and Eastern European, CEE, China, 17+1, 14+1, Beijing, 2022, 2023, Russia, Ukraine, Russia-Ukraine war, PRC-CEE, PRC-CEE relations, economic cooperation, security concerns, critical infrastructure, high-tech industry, backsliding, democratic backsliding, coercion, Lithuania, EU common market, 'no-limits' friendship, Moscow, 16+1 summit, Huo Yuzhen, Estonia, Latvia, Jiang Yu, US, united states, Taiwan, security guarantor, NATO, China-CEE format, Czech Republic, Greece, Chinese investments, security concern, security guarantees, Washington, Belarus, Belt and Road Initiative, BRI, Serbia, Hungary, Middle Corridor, Albania, North Macedonia, cooling-off period, joint statement, territorial integrity, sovereignty, diplomatic missions, Baltic countries, EU-China relations, China-CEE cooperation, cooperation mechanism, Sino-Serbian cooperation, territorial disputes, free trade agreement

Chinese space debris spells trouble for the South China Sea

Written by Jay L Batongbacal

While China’s accomplishments as a new space power are truly impressive, its emerging record for safety and responsibility leaves very much to be desired.

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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

Cyberspace and the DPRK: Evolving cyber strategy

Written by Abhishek Sharma

The DPRK’s targeting of US public and private organisations shows how far it will go to challenge the US. The (geo)political divide in technology will only make it more problematic.

East Asia9DLSeptember 2, 20229DASHLINE, Cyberspace and the DPRK: evolving cyber strategy, Abhishek Sharma, North Korea, DPRK, Nuclear weapons, south korea, US, US-ROK, united states, Korea, South Korea, Pyongyang, cyber, cyberspace, cyberattacks, cybercrime, Cyber warfare, Cyber attack, cybersecurity, Cyber, Cyber Attacks, juche, cyber capabilities, Japan, military, cyber operation, byungjin, Kim Jong-un, Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il, spying, Surveillance, espionage, sanctions, Cyber Warfare Guidance Unit (Bureau 121), Lazarus Group, Lazarus, non-state actors, technology, cyber strategy, Russia, China, computer, Northeast Asia, Sony Pictures Entertainment, cyber warriors, Sony, Bangladesh Central Bank, hacker, hackers, hack, FBI, crypto, cryptocurrency, Chainanalysis, blockchain, data, Data theft, Bithumb, KuCoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin, Axie Infinity, US Department of Treasury, Tornado Cash, UN Sanctions Panel Committee on North Korea, Intelligence, US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, cyber threats, R.O.K., Anne Neuberger, Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology, ROK-US Working Group Meeting on the DPRK Cyber Threat, Budapest Convention, allies, bilateral, minilateral, multilateral

The China-Russia ‘no-limits’ friendship in full swing

Written by Justyna Szczudlik

Possible concessions from China would neither be cost- and condition-free, nor change the nature of Beijing-Moscow ties. The best way for the West to deal with the China-Russia alignment is to acknowledge that these bonds are strong and to improve its own resilience and deterrence capacities.

What Kim Jong-un’s diplomacy tells us about Sino-NK relations

Written by Darcie Draudt

Looking forward to when the pandemic winds down, China will likely test the appetite in Pyongyang for bilateral and even multilateral meetings on denuclearisation and sanctions relief, especially at the working level.

European warships alone cannot save the South China Sea and Washington knows it

Written by Moises de Souza and Dean Karalekas

The recent G7 decision to invest US$40 trillion in infrastructure projects to rival China’s BRI in developing countries is an excellent step in this direction as long as it includes a long-term commitment with the recipient nations, principally when dealing with those located within Southeast Asia’s geopolitical landscape.

Branding is the Quad’s biggest problem

Written by Hayley Channer and Ella Parker

Importantly, labelling additional members as ‘plus’ countries automatically relegates them to a lower status than full-membership countries, creating the impression that they are add-ons rather than equal partners.

Pacific9DLAugust 30, 2021china, indo-pacific, quad, quadrilateral security initiative, south korea, japan, australia, india, united states, exercise malabar, pacific, asean, vietnam, new zealand