9DASHLINE — Articles

The Navigator’s June issue — out now

The Navigator’s June issue — out now

This month’s brief examines Taiwan–Lithuania relations, where shared experiences of external pressure have driven closer political and tech cooperation. Five years on from Vilnius hosting Taiwan’s Representative Office, the relationship remains strongest politically, while delivering more limited economic outcomes — highlighting the challenge of turning strategic alignment into tangible shared success. Alongside this, our regional review explores an Indo-Pacific defined by fragmentation and adaptation.

Join our briefing today and stay ahead of the curve.

News9DLJune 26, 20269DASHLINE, US, United States, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Samoa, South China Sea, India-Pakistan, India, Pakistan, France, New Caledonia, Cambodia, Pacific Islands, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Tonga, PNG, Papua New Guinea, Trump, Myanmar, Elections, Iran, LNG, Energy, Sri Lanka, Arctic, Russia, Europe, Lithuania

New Episode - Energy shocks and strategic choices: How Southeast Asia is navigating turbulence in the Middle East

New Episode - Energy shocks and strategic choices: How Southeast Asia is navigating turbulence in the Middle East

In this episode, Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy and Richard Heydarian are joined by Dr. Huong Le Thu of the International Crisis Group for a timely discussion on how Southeast Asia is responding to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Together, they explore how the crisis is being interpreted across the region, from differing diplomatic positions and domestic political pressures to the growing impact of energy shocks and disruptions to global shipping routes.

Subscribe now and never miss an episode.

News9DLJune 24, 2026EPinASEAN, 9DASHLINE, Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy, Richard Heydarian, Indo-Pacific, ASEAN, European Parliament, The Bridge, Southeast Asia, China, India, Association of the Southeast Asian Nations, European Parliament in ASEAN, Huong Le Thu, Energy shocks and strategic choices: How Southeast Asia is navigating turbulence in the Middle East, Middle East, Iran

NATO and the IP4: Caught between ambition and restraint

NATO and the IP4: Caught between ambition and restraint

Written by Liselotte Odgaard

As US strategy increasingly prioritises the Indo-Pacific while delegating greater responsibility to allies, NATO-IP4 cooperation is likely to deepen selectively — focusing on functional areas such as technology, maritime security, and resilience — rather than evolving into a fully institutionalised global alliance framework.

Faultlines9DLJune 18, 2026Liselotte Odgaard, NATO and the IP4: Caught Between Ambition and Restraint, 9DASHLINE, NATO sumiit, EU, Indo-Pacific NATO, Nato, IP4, security partnership, middle power, Quad, minilateral cooperation, US-China competition, US-EU-China Relations, NATO-IP4 Partnerships

Taiwan’s undersea cables are an Indo-Pacific crisis test

Taiwan’s undersea cables are an Indo-Pacific crisis test

Written by Jing Ge

Taiwan’s undersea cables are not only a communications vulnerability; they are also a test of crisis discipline in the Indo-Pacific. In a Taiwan Strait crisis, a severed cable could be read as an accident, a coercive signal, or the opening move in a larger confrontation.

Faultlines9DLJune 12, 2026Taiwan’s Undersea Cables Are an Indo-Pacific Crisis Test, Jing Ge, 9DASHLINE, undersea cables, Indo-Pacific region, Gray Zone, Grey Zone tactics, Infrastructure, infrastructure competition, maritime security cooperation, submarine cable infrastructure, Taiwan, China, resilience, critical infrastructure, grey-zone activities, grey-zone pressure

Navigating our future together? The Philippines as a gender equality champion abroad, work in progress at home

Navigating our future together? The Philippines as a gender equality champion abroad, work in progress at home

Written by Athena Charanne Presto and Maria Tanyag

The Philippines has had real regional influence on gender equality, supported by a long lineage of female diplomats, policymakers, and civil society leaders who have helped shape ASEAN’s gender equality architecture since its early years.

Taiwan's democratic trilemma after Beijing

Taiwan's democratic trilemma after Beijing

Written by Percy Yixuanchen Yu

The lesson for Taiwan is uncomfortable but necessary. The AI shield is not a shield unless it is supported by social resilience, Taiwan's own diplomatic voice, and democratically authorised security policy.

East Asia9DLJune 3, 2026Percy Yixuanchen Yu, 9DASHLINE, Taiwan's democratic trilemma after Beijing, Taiwan, US-China, US-China-Taiwan, trilemma, Xi-Trump summit, Beijing, silicon shield, Trump-Lai call, democracy

The Navigator’s May issue — out now

The Navigator’s May issue — out now

May highlights a defining trend across the Indo-Pacific: economic pressure and strategic competition are increasingly intertwined, as heatwaves, energy shocks, and supply-chain strain drive states to hedge more actively in a fragmented global order. This month’s feature examines Europe’s growing “strategic self-containment” in its China policy, reflecting a wider pattern of anticipatory restraint as states recalibrate under geopolitical pressure.

Join our briefing today and stay ahead of the curve.

News9DLMay 29, 20269DASHLINE, US, United States, Indo-Pacific, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Samoa, South China Sea, India-Pakistan, India, Pakistan, France, New Caledonia, Cambodia, Pacific Islands, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Tonga, PNG, Papua New Guinea, Trump, Myanmar, Elections, Iran, LNG, Energy, Sri Lanka, Arctic, Russia, Europe

China’s ‘silver tech’ revolution: A blueprint for Southeast Asia’s ageing societies?

China’s ‘silver tech’ revolution: A blueprint for Southeast Asia’s ageing societies?

Written by Khyati Singh

The potential to combine Chinese technological innovation with localised implementation means that Southeast Asia could yet transform its demographic challenge from a looming crisis into an engine of economically innovative and socially equitable growth.

How ASEAN should respond to Myanmar’s manufactured parliament

How ASEAN should respond to Myanmar’s manufactured parliament

Written by Linn Thit Htoo

A protracted war that the Tatmadaw cannot win, but remains capable of sustaining, is becoming an increasingly poor investment for China.

Southeast Asia9DLMay 21, 2026Linn Thit Htoo, 9DASHLINE, Myanmar, ASEAN, Tatmadaw, NUG, National Unity Government, National League for Democracy, China, Min Aung Hlaing, Elections, UN security Council, Belt and Road Initiative, Shan State, How ASEAN should respond to Myanmar’s manufactured parliament

India’s AI summit contradictions could undermine its credibility as an alternative to the US-China digital models

India’s AI summit contradictions could undermine its credibility as an alternative to the US-China digital models

Written by Kushang Mishra

Instead of using this platform to champion a fairer system as an emerging leader of the Global South, the Indian government appeared content to secure a seat at the global power table and seek investments from the very Big Tech companies it has itself criticised in the past.

Indonesia’s strategic autonomy and the absence of Indo-Pacific trilateralism

Indonesia’s strategic autonomy and the absence of Indo-Pacific trilateralism

Written by Muhammad Izzuddin Al Haq

If other middle powers in the Indo-Pacific follow Jakarta’s stance in resisting formal alignment, the region may become one where multilateral cooperation works in peacetime but falls short in crises, including grey zone escalation.

Stabilised risk: Thailand’s patronage-technocrat alliance under the 2026 oil shock

Stabilised risk: Thailand’s patronage-technocrat alliance under the 2026 oil shock

Written by Apipol Sae-Tung

The regime’s institutional architecture is designed for continuity, but the energy crisis has introduced a level of volatility that requires a more agile and transparent response than the regime’s patronage-driven conservative roots traditionally allow.

Southeast Asia9DLMay 14, 2026Stabilised risk: Thailand’s patronage-technocrat alliance under the 2026 oil shock, 9DASHLINE, Apipol Sae-Tung, Thailand, Oil, Iran, Bhumjaithai Party, BJT, Anutin Charnvirakul, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, Middle East, Oil Fuel Fund

Convergence without cooperation: Why US–India maritime cooperation isn’t ready for a crisis

Convergence without cooperation: Why US–India maritime cooperation isn’t ready for a crisis

Written by Anuttama Banerji and Dr. Sahar Khan

A central weakness in the partnership is the absence of shared operational experience. Unlike US treaty allies, India has not participated in high-intensity contingencies alongside US forces. This limits trust, slows decision-making, and increases the risk of misalignment.

Strategic Autonomy under pressure: Cambodia’s multi-geared hedging in a post-multilateral world

Strategic Autonomy under pressure: Cambodia’s multi-geared hedging in a post-multilateral world

Written by Chandarith Neak and Chhay Lim

Cambodia’s partners would do well to start seeing it for what it is: a small state with its own interests, its own history, and no good options — only hard choices.

Myanmar's future will not resemble its past

Myanmar's future will not resemble its past

Written by Hunter Marston

The root of Myanmar’s crisis is political: as long as the military holds power, the country will be at war, and the economy will underperform.

Southeast Asia9DLMay 6, 2026Myanmar’s Future Will Not Resemble Its Past, Hunter Marston, 9DASHLINE, Myanmar, military junta, Min Aung Hlaing, Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar Coup, USDP, sit-tat, civil resistance, People's Defence Forces, grassroots opposition

New Episode - The art of the deal: EU and ASEAN trade and the power of cinema

New Episode - The art of the deal: EU and ASEAN trade and the power of cinema

In this episode, Bernd Lange MEP joins us for an in-depth conversation on EU trade negotiations with ASEAN partners — including Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines — and what they mean for Europe's geoeconomic future in the region, as well as the key issues on the road to agreement.

Subscribe now and never miss an episode.

News9DLMay 5, 2026EPinASEAN, 9DASHLINE, Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy, Richard Heydarian, Indo-Pacific, ASEAN, European Parliament, The Bridge, Southeast Asia, China, India, Association of the Southeast Asian Nations, Bernd Lange MEP, European Parliament in ASEAN, The Art of the Deal: EU and ASEAN Trade and the Power of Cinema

The Impact of Franco-German competition on India-EU security cooperation

The Impact of Franco-German competition on India-EU security cooperation

Written by Sapna Suresh

Going forward, the success of India-EU defence cooperation hinges on whether Paris and Berlin can set aside their differences and prioritise the broader strategic picture of ensuring European strategic autonomy.

Europe and the Indo-Pacific9DLMay 4, 2026India-EU, France, germany, arms sales, Franco-German Relations, Indo-French Relations, arms exports, arms trade, Future Combat Aircraft System, security ties, The Impact of Franco-German Competition on India-EU Security Cooperation, Sapna Suresh, 9DASHLINE

The Navigator’s April issue — out now

The Navigator’s April issue — out now

This month’s brief examines a system under increased strain: as conflict in the Middle East drives energy shocks and exposes fragile supply chains, Indo-Pacific states are navigating growing constraints — hedging across partners, absorbing economic pressure, and exploring alternative routes such as the Arctic’s emerging “Polar Silk Road” to preserve access, resilience, and strategic flexibility.

Join our briefing today and stay ahead of the curve.

News9DLMay 1, 20269DASHLINE, US, United States, Indo-Pacific, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Samoa, South China Sea, India-Pakistan, India, Pakistan, France, New Caledonia, Cambodia, Pacific Islands, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Tonga, PNG, Papua New Guinea, Trump, Myanmar, Elections, Iran, LNG, Energy, Sri Lanka, Polar Silk Road, Arctic, Arctic Silk Road, Russia