9DASHLINE — Articles

Navigating Sinophobia amid Indonesia's economic ascent

Written by Dr Narayani Sritharan and Peter Rizkillah

Sinophobia in Indonesia is not merely a by-product of the BRI but a consequence of economic ambition intersecting with security concerns in a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape.

Emerging Issues, Southeast Asia9DLApril 5, 2024Navigating Sinophobia amid Indonesia's economic ascent, NARAYANI SRITHARAN, PETER RIZKILLAH, 9DashLine, China, Indonesia, geopolitics, Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Chinese lending, BRI-related loans, infrastructure, Sinophobia, Global South, Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII), US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, economic growth, debt sustainability, debt, AidData, Xi Jinping, Global Civilisation Initiative, Global Security Initiative (GSI), development tools, President Jokowi, Chinese investments, influx of Chinese workers, Chinese workers, immigration, labour migration, COVID-19 pandemic, Jakarta, PT Gunbuster Nickel Industry (GNI), nickel, nickel processing plant, Jiangsu Delong Nickel Industry, Morowali, Central Sulawesi, PT Virtue Dragon Nickel Industry (VDNI), Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesian labour regulations, labour disputes, labour unions, ferronickel smelter, Indonesia Country Climate and Development Report, data protection laws, tourist visas, ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute, visa-free, visa-waiver policy, North Sumatra, Dairi regency, regional security, Islamist extremist groups, Jamah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), counterterrorism, counterterrorism cooperation

Resurging monarchist sentiment in Nepal: Challenges to democratic redemption

Written by Manish Jung Pulami

The pro-monarchy protests are a reminder that Nepal’s democratic journey is far from over. While the monarchy may be a relic of the past, the underlying grievances that fuelled the latest protests remain relevant today.

Emerging Issues9DLDecember 21, 2023Manish Jung Pulami, Youth Organisation Nepal (YON), Communist Party of Nepal, Durga Prasai, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, national identity, nationalism, Nepal, corruption, federalism, Lalita Niwas Land Scam, Bhutanese Refugee Scam, 9dashline, Resurging monarchist sentiment in Nepal: Challenges to democratic redemption

Inconvenient truth — Young and unemployed in China

Written by Anand P. Krishnan

Clearly, unemployment captures the anxieties and disillusionment of youth on both sides of the Himalayan Gap. By the same count, there are no easy solutions for either government to manage, if not completely resolve, this crisis.

Emerging Issues9DLDecember 11, 2023Inconvenient truth — Young and unemployed in China, Anand P. Krishnan, China, PRC, Beijing, A4 protests, White Paper Protests, urban protests, zero-COVID policy, post-pandemic recovery, pandemic, COVID-19, real estate sector, US restrictions, technology transfer, Chinese entities, tech sector, investor confidence, Communist Party of China, CPC, India, unemployment, unemployment statistics, National Bureau of Statistics, employment crisis, Chinese leadership, economic data, university graduates, lower-paid work, remote areas, private sector, massive layoffs, hiring quotas, Chinese graduates, foreign universities, students, education abroad, university education, employers, employment market, job market, graduates, education, manufacturing, service sectors, blue-collar workforce, livestream sales, ride-hailing services, flexible employment, popular narrative, economic downturn, fiscal reforms, raising wages, social protection, pensions, medical insurance, higher welfare spending, Common Prosperity, Xi Jinping, welfarism, New Deal, human capital, disillusionment, involution, neijuan, tang ping, ‘Lying Flat’, ‘Let it Rot’, bai lan, hypercompetitive culture, culture of overwork, protests, economic transition, pro-market reforms, globalisation, socio-economic challenge, state-society relations, policymakers, balour, youth, young people, young graduates, 9DASHLINE

Which way for the Belt and Road?

Written by Francesco Giovanni Lizzi

Taking stock of the international context surrounding the summit, it is apparent that the BRI has been confronted by a number of challenges. President Xi's keynote speech coincided with mounting scepticism, especially from Europe and North America, concerning the prospective viability of the initiative.

Emerging Issues9DLNovember 16, 20239dashline, Which way for the Belt and Road?, Francesco Giovanni Lizzi, Belt and Road Initiative, Belt and Road, BRI, beijing, Xi Jinping, BRI Forum, 3rd BRI Forum, keynote speech, mega-infrastructure endeavours, China, PRC, Global Development Initiative, GDI, mounting scepticism, Europe, North America, economic growth, BRI debts, construction flaws, corruption concerns, BRI partner countries, ideological confrontation, geopolitical rivalry, bloc politics, de-risking agenda, Washington, Brussels, Chinese economic coercion, PRC leadership, unilateral sanctions, decoupling, supply chain disruption, BRI summits, EU institutions, connectivity, G7, environmental issues, corruption issues, procurement issues, infrastructure projects, Chinese loan commitments, environmentally sustainable development, livelihood assistance projects, vocational education cooperation, Luban Workshops, Green Investment Principles, Belt and Road Conference on Science and Technology Exchange, digital advancements, BRI framework, Global Initiative for Artificial Intelligence Governance, overseas coal projects, win-win cooperation model, win-win, debt trap diplomacy, trans-Caspian international transportation corridor, Kazakhstan, economic commitment, green and digital BRI ventures, multi-faceted foreign policy, Global Security Initiative, Global Civilisation Initiative, education, sustainable energy, poverty alleviation

Running from China: China’s youth dream of leaving

Written by Dr Franziska Plümmer

The risks of brain drain and demographic change are looming over the heads of Beijing’s policymakers and business leaders, who are also increasingly incentivising Chinese students to come back from abroad.

Emerging Issues9DLOctober 2, 2023Franziska Plümmer, Dr Franziska Plümmer, Running from China: China’s youth dream of leaving, 9dashline, refugees, China, zero-Covid measures, US, asylum, Canada, Australia, Latin America, pandemic, Chinese emigration, migration, Xi Jinping, UNHCR, International Organization for Migration, human rights activists, religious practitioners, exit bans, run-ology, White Paper Protests, lockdowns, travel restrictions, social control, under 40, Chinese society, discrimination, ageism, three-child policy, quiet quitting, neijuan 内卷, tangping 躺平, social media, Chinese netizens, runxue 润学, WeChat, emigrating, United States DIY, Southeast Asia, Colombia, Panama, censorship, brain drain, demographics, anti-emigration discourse, Chinese diaspora, workforce, national rejuvenation, dream of national rejuvenation, passport, 2023 Anti-Espionage Law, espionage, Safeguard Defenders, hostage diplomacy, hukou

A looming challenge: Women in Pakistan’s terrorism landscape

Written by Dr Amira Jadoon and Iqraa Bukhari

A shift towards utilising female fighters for pragmatic reasons would not be without precedent, as evidenced in case studies of Boko Haram or Islamic State affiliates in Southeast Asia. Pakistan, in particular, presents a largely “untapped female operative market”.

Emerging Issues, South Asia9DLSeptember 29, 20239DashLine, A looming challenge: women in Pakistan’s terrorism landscape, AMIRA JADOON, Iqraa Bukhari, Pakistan, terrorism, political violence, women, woman, female, Jamia Hafsa, terrorist attacks, Counterterrorism Department (CTD), Pakistan Air Force, Badaber, Shari Baloch, University of Karachi, Confucius Institutes, Chinese, Turbat, Noor Jahan Baloch, Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), Balochistan, Majeed Brigade, suicide attacker, paramilitary troops, Taliban (TTP), gender, women in terrorism, anti-state, Islamic State, female recruits, gender-blind counterterrorism, counterterrorism, Afghan jihad, mothers, daughters, wives, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), jihad, martyrdom, 9/11, Islamic State Khorasan, Afghanistan, Taliban, Baloch insurgency, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, sectarian, Sardar Bahadur Khan Women’s University, Dera Ismail Khan, Mullah Fazlullah, Islamic State's Bushra Network, Middle East, Boko Haram, Southeast Asia, anti-feminist narratives, misogynistic, liberals, ethnonational, A looming challenge: Women in Pakistan’s terrorism landscape

Revival of Bay of Bengal: Bhutan and Bangladesh agree on sea port access

Written by Bhumika Sevkani

The development of these seaports is particularly crucial for the smaller landlocked countries of South Asia such as Nepal and Bhutan.

The Quad’s public goods approach: countering the BRI

Written by Muhammad Faizal Bin Abdul Rahman

Even as it coordinates with other Indo-Pacific strategies and the G20, the priority for the Quad should be to make the geopolitical landscape more amenable to engagement with ASEAN.

Emerging Issues9DLApril 26, 20239DashLine, The Quad’s public goods approach: countering the BRI, Muhammad Faizal bin Abdul Rahman, Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), Quad, China, geopolitics, 2008 global financial crisis, ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA), trade, Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), economic coercion, Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), South China Sea, public goods, vaccines, cybersecurity, critical and emerging technologies (CET), outer space, offset China’s influence, Quad Ministerial Meeting, New Delhi, free and open Indo-Pacific, India, US, Australia, Japan, East China Sea, emerging norms, rules, and standards, open, transparent, and secure 5G networks, Open-RAN (Radio Access Network) solutions, Huawei, China's ‘national champions', Nokia, Ericsson, Prague Proposals on Telecommunications Supplier Diversity, democratic values, norms and rules on digital infrastructure development, supply chains, authoritarian governments, countries of origin, surveillance of Uighurs in Xinjiang, transparency, The State of Southeast Asia 2023 Survey Report, ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, China's Global Security Initiative (GSI), Munich Security Conference (MSC), Singapore's Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen, AUKUS, missile defence drills, South Korea, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Exercise Malabar, Malaysia, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Indo-Pacific NATO, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, minilaterals, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, alliance, European Union’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, Japan’s ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific’ vision, connectivity, G20, 2019 Osaka Summit, Putin-Wang meeting in Moscow, Russia, ASEAN dialogue partners, Singaporean Foreign Minister George Yeo, democracy vs. authoritarianism, Canada, China-US tensions, THE QUAD’S PUBLIC GOODS APPROACH: COUNTERING THE BRI

2023: Global governance for the seabed sinks further still

Written by Drake Long

The ground laid in 2022 will ensure that state-backed exploration of seabed mining will continue, and 2023 may see the first steps taken towards commercial-scale exploitation of the seabed.

Emerging Issues, Most Popular9DLApril 19, 20239dashline, 2023: Global governance for the seabed sinks further, United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, UNCLOS, ocean health, maritime economy, international waters, rare earth metals, test extraction, exploitation of marine areas, environmental concerns, international community, maritime treaty, international seabed, conservation, environmentalists, Pacific, commercial interests, seabed, conservationists, UN Intergovernmental Conference, High Seas Treaty, maritime borders, Third Conference on the Law of the Sea, deep sea, International Seabed Authority, ISA, deep-sea geography, private companies, marine genetic resources, pharmaceutical research, Mining Code, UN Ocean Conference, island nations, small island nations, Nauru, Clarion Clipperton Zone, The Metals Company, TMC, manganese, nickel, cobalt, environmental impact assessment, extraction, NORI, Palau, mining moratorium, fragile ecosystems, ocean floor, seafloor, polymetallic nodules, seabed mining, noise pollution, deep sea creatures, exploitation, environmental damage, commercial exploitation, commercial-scale exploitation, state funds, continental shelf, Japan, China, South China Sea, The Philippines, deep-sea resources

Beijing uses border villages to secure territorial claims

Written by Harry Thursby-Pelham

With India constructing roads and border villages leading up to the LAC in response to China’s construction, it looks like tensions on the border will continue in the foreseeable future.

Emerging Issues9DLMarch 30, 20239DashLine, Beijing uses border villages to secure territorial claims, Harry Thursby-Pelham, Tibet, Tibet Autonomous Region, India, China, LAC, Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Congress, 19th Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Congress, India-China border, India-China border dispute, Plan for the Construction of Well-off Villages in the Border Areas of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) (2017-2020), xiaokang, 'xiaokang’ villages, People’s Republic of China, fortification, permanent infrastructure, disputed Tibetan border region, Tibet’s history, Mongols, British India, Qing Dynasty, Simla Convention, McMahon Line, Tibetan-Indian Border, Line of Actual Control (LAC), Arunachal Pradesh, suzerain, independence, 1962 Sino-Indian War, South Tibet, occupation, sovereignty, nuclear weapons, military, modern warfare, globalisation, international community, United Nations, uti possidetis, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Deng Xiaoping, ‘biding one’s time’ (tao guang yang hui), hard power, infrastructure, ethnic minority, rural revitalisation, Shigatse, Lhokha, Nyingchi, Ngari, Indian Foreign Ministry, Tibetans, Han Chinese, Global Times, South China Sea, Philippines, 2015 Hague Tribunal, Exclusive Economic Zone, judicial legitimacy, Woody Island, New Delhi, Beijing, international law, Indian Union Cabinet, Vibrant Village Programme, Galwan Valley, BEIJING USES BORDER VILLAGES TO SECURE TERRITORIAL CLAIMS

Forum: The Rules-Based International Order in the Indo-Pacific

In recent years discussions among scholars, analysts, and policymakers have focused on the nature, transformation, and/or ostensible crisis of the rules-based international order. We invite three experts to offer differing perspectives on these ongoing debates in the context of the Indo-Pacific in this Forum for 9DASHLINE.

Emerging Issues9DLFebruary 8, 20239dashline, Forum: The Rules-Based International Order in the Indo-Pacific, rules-based international order, NON-ALIGNMENT, VAN JACKSON, Indo-Pacific, strategic non-alignment, Sri Lanka, Asian political economy, minor powers, sovereign debt, India, worker precarity, East Asian development model, global economic order, Sino-US competition, United States, China, spheres of influence, zero-sum, Indonesia, East Timor, Singapore, Pacific Island nations, Non-Aligned Movement. As great powers try to, great powers, Cold War, hedging, Third-World politics, FLEUR JOHNS, Multilateral, automated socio-technical systems, diplomacy, Automatic Identification System (AIS), mangrove forests, Indo-Pacific lionfish, ecology, GEORGE LAWSON, international order, Covid pandemic, war in Ukraine, costs of living, Western power, liberal, AUKUS, Taiwan, Myanmar, financial crisis

The Bougainville Autonomous Region: Balancing independence and foreign relations

Written by Dr Lucas Knotter

While it is tempting to view the relatively small island of Bougainville as merely drifting into the geopolitical whirlwinds of more powerful actors in the region, we should not forget that Bougainville also maintains considerable leverage in relation to these actors.

Pacific, Emerging Issues9DLJanuary 31, 20239dashline, Bougainville, Bougainville Autonomous Region, Lucas Knotter, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit, APEC, Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific, FTAAP, Antony Blinken, Papua New Guinea, US, James Marape, China, Xi Jinping, Pacific islands, Pacific island states, trade partner, Friend to all; Enemy to None, PNG, China-US tensions, Autonomous Region of Bougainville, ARB, 2019 referendum, PNG-US-China geopolitics, sovereignty, 2001 Bougainville Peace Agreement, Ishmael Toroama, Era Kone Covenant, post-referendum agreements, Bougainville independence, international recognition, independence, Panguna copper mine, natural resources, anti-colonial struggles, Australia, mine workers, environmental destruction, Bougainville Civil War, Sam Kauona, Belt and Road Initiative, Solomon Islands, 2021 unrest, Beijing, Global Fragility Act, GFA, 2015 Bougainville Mining Act, Taipei, Sovereign Wealth Fund, Richard Marles, defence

Counter-polarisation and political expediency in Indonesia

Written by Greg Fealy, Sally White, and Burhanuddin Muhtadi

If we place the 2021 survey results beside data from other credible surveys over the past decade, it is possible to conclude that the high point of polarisation occurred during and between the 2014 and 2019 elections, but has since declined.

Papua New Guinea in 2022: Key issues and future challenges

Written by Teddy Winn

The challenge for the incoming government will be to continue upholding PNG’s foreign policy practice of ‘friends to all, enemies to none’ while not destabilising existing bilateral arrangements the country has with its regional partners, including its closest and long-time partner, Australia.

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”.

Indonesia: The cost of repressing Islamists

Written by Nava Nuraniyah

The attack on an Ahmadiyah mosque in Sintang, West Kalimantan on 3 September is but one indication that the existing anti-radicalism campaign has merely served as a political weapon to target government enemies, rather than defending minorities.

Australia’s place in the contest for technological leadership

Written by Jennifer Jackett

Australia has a critical stake in how the US navigates strategic and economic trade-offs of technology cooperation and competition with China.