ASEAN on migrant rights: Making process, not progress

Written by Liberty Chee

As Southeast Asia, and indeed most other world regions age, without an increase in public spending on welfare, more and more migrant women will likely be called on for providing caring services.

Countering disinformation together: First steps towards stronger EU-Taiwan ties

Written by Meghan Shoop

Future cooperation could include Taiwanese and EU think tanks working with one another to study authoritarian regimes’ current disinformation strategies and the effectiveness of various efforts to combat disinformation.

An enduring crisis: Assessing the state of Japan’s North Korea policy

Written by Sebastian Maslow

With the US pushing its agenda of ‘integrated deterrence’ in Asia and North Korea testing new missiles, pressure on Japan to obtain capabilities to strike enemy bases will likely gain further momentum.

Taiwan in Japan’s security puzzle: Abe’s 'uncontroversial' Taiwan statement

Written by Stephen Nagy

This approach suggests that Tokyo and strong advocates of explicitly articulating Taiwan’s importance to Japan’s security (such as Abe) will see policy towards Taiwan and China through the lens of Japan’s economic security concerns.

Russia's anti-satellite weapons test: A strategic flash in the pan

Written by Joe Varner

Needless to say not only does China want to protect its proxy against India but also bristles at any event that strategically places India on an equal footing with Beijing as it fights its psychological war for the hearts and minds of Central Asia and the Indo-Pacific.

In Brief with Ji Seong-ho, National Assembly Member

The European Union can play several critical roles with respect to North Korea. The first is to enact a ‘North Korean Human Rights Act’. Such a law only exists in the Republic of Korea, the US, and Japan.

Assessing the Biden Administration’s policy toward the Indo-Pacific

Written by Jacob Stokes

Biden’s prioritisation of allies and close partners could leave the rest of the region’s states unsure about their role and those of the region’s legacy multilateral institutions, such as ASEAN and the East Asia Summit.

Webinar: Green theatre: Exploring partnerships for joint climate action and energy security

Together with our partner, The Council for Strategic and Defense Research we are delighted to announce the second event in our four-part series which will focus on climate action and energy security within and across the Indo-Pacific.

In Brief: FutureMap founder, Dr Parag Khanna

Chinese investment through the BRI is just part of the story, because if managed correctly, it is the first mover that unlocks greater investment from other powers and corporations, and leads to growth that ultimately helps countries pay their debts.

Memory under assault: Rewriting history and banning commemoration in Hong Kong 

Written by Jeppe Mulich

Too many young people have been politicised by the events of the past two years, and many of them now bear physical and mental scars, forming an embodied communal archive that will be hard to control. Commemoration, like dissent, is going underground.

High ambitions but no teeth in China’s environmental guidelines for investing abroad

Written by Mirela Petkova

If China is to rightfully claim environmental leadership, the conduct of Chinese companies going abroad should be guided by stricter environmental domestic standards, rather than merely the one's host states provide.

Why the European Parliament’s support for Taiwan matters

Written by Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy

The EU’s foreign and security policy is indeed driven by member states and any decision on EU policy concerning China and Taiwan, or any third country for that matter requires the unanimous support of all EU member states.

Japan’s climate policy in light of COP26

Written by Florentine Koppenborg

There is a striking disconnect between Japan’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets on the one hand and the energy strategy adopted to achieve them. An important step would be to reduce Japan’s reliance on coal, the single biggest cause of climate change.

Indigenous deterrence capabilities and inter-Korean relations

Written by Elisabeth Suh

The upcoming presidential elections in March 2022 will set Seoul’s tone for the next five years. Which scenario is more likely to unfold in the medium-term, however, depends also on North Korea and the broader geopolitical setting.

In Conversation: Kerry Brown on “China’s World”

On one hand, there is a China that is complex, runs on different drivers depending on the issue one is talking about and is often poor at communicating, or resentful that it needs to communicate and do things that it sees everyone else doing without the need to explain themselves.

Australia’s defence policy in the grey zone

Written by Benjamin Herscovitch

Without discounting the possible threats that nuclear-powered submarines are designed to head off, Australia’s immediate priority remains competition with China in numerous scenarios short of war.

The politics of Taliban recognition

Written by Michael Kugelman

For the United States, giving Kabul access to aid — including nearly USD $10 billion in foreign reserves frozen by Washington — is hard to justify without recognising the regime.

With the exclusion of Myanmar’s junta, can ASEAN remain relevant and effective in the Myanmar crisis?

Written by Joy Joy

Most importantly, ASEAN and the international community must recognise that the future of Myanmar belongs to its people. They must listen to the voices of the Burmese people and their democratically-elected representatives while making meaningful engagements to help resolve the crisis.