Written by Seungwan Kim and Jun Sun Yoo
Washington increasingly expects allies not only to share regional defence burdens but also to expand industrial capacity, co-invest in critical technologies, and assume greater responsibility for deterring China. An East Asian AUKUS framework could align with these expectations by signalling Seoul’s commitment to Indo-Pacific security while adding industrial and operational depth to alliance deterrence.
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In this In Brief discussion, Editor-in-Chief Dr Yatana Yamahata and Managing Editor Naledi Tilmann share their vision for the platform’s future, outlining a renewed focus on inclusive Indo-Pacific analysis that highlights under-represented states, youth-led movements, and non-state actors shaping regional security.
Read MoreWritten by Jonathan Berkshire Miller
For the first time in years, Ottawa is treating the Indo-Pacific not as a region of opportunities to sample but as a theatre in which it must choose where to invest.
Read MoreThis month, Zsuzsa and Richard are joined by David MacSweeney to reflect on the year just past and assess the key political, economic, and strategic issues set to shape EU–ASEAN relations and the wider Indo-Pacific in 2026, including five priority areas to watch as regional and external actors navigate an increasingly complex strategic environment.
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Read MoreWritten by Faye Simanjuntak
Malaysia’s National AI Roadmap reveals tension between its stated ambitions and the industrial reality taking shape. Although Malaysia has courted notable investments into AI datacentres, there is limited focus on cultivating the upstream capabilities that Malaysia identifies as central to its long-term competitiveness.
Read MoreThis month’s briefs examine an Indo-Pacific shaped by hybrid insecurity: as the United States retreats from development leadership, middle powers step in to fill the void, while escalating climate disasters are redefining resilience, influence, and regional power.
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Read MoreWritten by Stefania Benaglia
If the EU and India choose realism over rhetoric and build trust not only between governments but also among businesses, innovators, and people, the 2026 Summit could mark a genuine turning point — one where strategic clarity finally replaces political symbolism.
Read MoreWritten by Federica Cidale
While she broke a significant glass ceiling, her policy positions, from historical revisionism and expanded national security powers to restrictive immigration policies, reinforce existing conservative structures.
Read MoreWritten by Emanuele Ballestracci
Italy cannot rival the hard-power presence of France or the UK, nor does it aspire to. Instead, it has constructed a pathway based on economic cooperation, private-sector activism, and steady institutional ties, which over time create the trust needed to expand into political and security spheres.
Read MoreThis month, Zsuzsa and Richard are joined by Hunter Marston to reflect on the latest developments in EU–ASEAN relations: the latest ASEAN summit, Timor-Leste’s entry as a full member, and how the recent conclusion of the EU–Indonesia CEPA is helping transform the region.
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Read MoreWritten by Chhay Lim and Chandarith Neak
Without institutional mechanisms that both parties accept as legitimate and binding, border disputes remain vulnerable to escalation and external intervention whenever domestic political pressures or regional tensions rise.
Read MoreThis month’s features explore twin fragmentations reshaping the Indo-Pacific: the quiet construction of a north–south undersea security arc as South Korea joins Australia on the path to nuclear-powered submarines, and the near-collapse of COP30, which exposed a deepening crisis of trust at the heart of global climate governance.
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Read MoreWritten by Shin Kawashima
Japan and other US allies must strengthen ties with Southeast Asian countries to address US retrenchment, positioning themselves as credible alternatives for countries seeking to avoid over-reliance on China.
Read MoreWritten by Yatana Yamahata
Solidarity among Southeast Asians has strengthened pro-democracy movements across the region and, in doing so, fostered a sense of shared regional identity. ASEAN, however, does not mirror nor reinforce this solidarity. Instead, it remains constrained by its founding principle of non-interference.
Read MoreWritten by Kristina Lozinskaya
More can and should be done to deter, protect from, and respond to Chinese cyberattacks. If leveraged appropriately, the Quad can offer a powerful counter to China’s growing cyber threats.
Read MoreWritten by Dr. Hunter Marston
With the Trump administration fixated on bilateral trade deals with individual countries, rather than the large multilateral trade deals that have shaped the region’s economic architecture in recent years, the US appears to be yesterday’s story, while Asia has moved on with the new rules of the road.
Read MoreWritten by Aniello Iannone
ASEAN’s future will not be determined by declarations or summit communiqués. It will hinge on whether the organisation can transcend the comfort of paralysis and confront the contradictions that sustain it.
Read MoreThis month, we explore how Australia and Papua New Guinea’s Pukpuk Treaty is redefining defence cooperation through identity-based integration, while the IMF–World Bank meetings in Washington reveal how financial governance continues to constrain Global South autonomy.
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