Australia  / China  / Indo-Pacific  / Singapore  / United States
Defense Posturing Has Crippled Legitimate Dialogue in Singapore
June 6, 2023

The tenor of the annual Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD), Asia’s premier security conference, has changed dramatically for the worse. Its 20th iteration, held in Singapore over the weekend, was partly a culmination of growing tensions in the Indo-Pacific between rival hegemonic powers, the United States and China. It began early, when Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu rejected a face-to-face meeting with his American counterpart Lloyd Austin, until the U.S. “corrected its mistaken actions,” with speculation that it was because of prior incidents, including former U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan and incidents involving Chinese spy balloons in February.


China  / East Asia  / India  / Indo-Pacific
In turbulent Indo-Pacific, Quad must hold firm – and act fast
June 2, 2023

At a recent meeting of the four members of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue in Hiroshima, namely the United States, Japan, India, and Australia, leaders outlined a series of critical issue areas that continue to impact stability in the Indo-Pacific region. These included the vulnerability of undersea Internet cables, the protection of vital sea lines of communication (SLOCs), and the broader preservation of a rules-based international order. As the Group of Seven has provided the world’s richest countries the opportunity to talk tough on “economic coercion” on the part of China, so too should the Quad send an equally strong message about China’s territorial and maritime ambitions.


Southeast Asia  / Thailand
Reinventing Pheu Thai
May 29, 2023

As early as January, in many parts of Thailand, the north in particular, Pheu Thai posters featuring the fresh-faced Paetongtarn Shinawatra were as ubiquitous as rice in the fields. It was, as many had predicted, a sea of red. As soon as Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha dissolved the House of Representatives in March, the consensus was that Pheu Thai and the daughter of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra were the consensus frontrunners. Although Paetongtarn was a political neophyte, the party arguably banked on its glory days and a sense of nostalgia to win the hearts of Thai voters. It did not work as many expected. Pheu Thai had to contend with the emerging Move Forward Party, led by Pita Limjaroenrat, a charismatic Harvard and MIT-educated member of Parliament and businessman.


China  / India  / Indo-Pacific  / Papua New Guinea  / United States
India’s Modi Makes the Most of the Moment in Papua New Guinea
May 25, 2023

In a rare display of affection and respect, Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape touched the feet of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he stepped on to the island’s soil ahead of the Third Summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) on May 22. Marape literally rolled out the red carpet for Modi, making an exception to a local rule of not welcoming visitors after sunset. India’s engagement with the 14 Pacific Island countries (PICs) is critical. FIPIC members include Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Palau, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu as well as this year’s host, Papua New Guinea


China  / East Asia  / Europe  / India  / Indo-Pacific  / South Asia  / United States
G7 Provides Common Statement on China, but Challenges Remain
May 24, 2023

At the gathering of G7 countries in Hiroshima over the weekend, the assembled leaders of the world’s richest countries managed to put together a collective, yet veiled response to Chinese “economic coercion” and aggressive posturing in the Indo-Pacific. While not forgetting the ever-present war in Ukraine, evidenced by the presence of Volodymyr Zelenskiy, regional concerns dominated the weekend. It was a clear message to Chinese President Xi Jinping that changes in the geopolitical status quo would not be tolerated, or worse that the G7 would act with the same determination in Taiwan as it has in Ukraine.


Southeast Asia  / Thailand
Thailand, Particularly the Deep South, Needs a Final Reckoning With Thaksin
May 16, 2023

It has been the subject of conversation for years, both celebrated and dreaded by different parts of Thai society. Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has claimed for several years that he wants to return to Thailand, a possibility now accentuated by the rise of his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra, a prime ministerial candidate for the Pheu Thai Party (PTP) in this week’s election. Critics have suggested that his return is unlikely, dismissing his more recent comments as an election year ploy.


India  / Indo-Pacific  / South Asia
What to Expect From India’s G20 Presidency
November 20, 2022

As the clock winds down on Indonesia’s 2022 G20 Presidency, the seventeenth overall, a transition is taking place as India assumes the role for 2023. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has already unveiled the theme for its presidency, “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” or “One Earth One Family One Future,” indicative of an environmentally-conscious approach. India’s approach will revolve around several key thematic areas, including sustainable growth, digital infrastructure, climate finance, food security, green energy, and combating transnational crime. Some of these thematic areas will prove consequential in New Delhi’s ability to make a mark at the world stage, but they will also pose unique challenges.


Cambodia  / Indo-Pacific  / Myanmar  / Southeast Asia
Need for ASEAN Reform has Never been Greater
November 4, 2022

ASEAN burst into life in 1967 with the creation of the Bangkok Declaration, which detailed the aims of the organization, to promote economic, social, cultural, and educational cooperation as well as regional peace and stability through an assemblance of justice, the rule of law, and the principles of the UN Charter. In a very real sense, for a region racked by conflict and strife at the time, the creation of ASEAN was a message of unity. However, the message of harmony expressed more than 55 years ago has been replaced by an unhealthy clash of state interests, indecisiveness, and institutional paralysis—particularly in the shadow of a regional crisis.


Indo-Pacific  / Russia  / Southeast Asia  / Thailand  / Ukraine
What Thailand wants from the APEC meeting
November 3, 2022

The annual gathering of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) will take place in Bangkok on 18 – 19 November, but not without turmoil and somewhat diminished expectations from its host Thailand, who is the chairman of the 21-member bloc this year. Interrupted by global events beyond its control, Thailand will contend with the G-20 Summit taking place just days prior in Bali, Indonesia, and repercussions from Russia’s aggressive war in Ukraine, more than 7,000 kilometers away. Despite all of the political drama taking place outside of APEC’s meeting in November, Thailand is still set on making some gains from its leadership post in 2022. But what can it hope to achieve?


China  / Southeast Asia  / Thailand
Thailand’s Troubling History With the Uyghurs
November 2, 2022

Recent reports of Uyghur Muslims, wilting away in Thai detention facilities, bring back memories – and not good ones, as they serve as reminders of Thailand’s past mistakes of kowtowing to China. The ethnic minority, originating from China’s western region of Xinjiang, has been the subject of many reports by human rights organizations, most recently the long-awaited and much-delayed report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR), which detailed violations of grave abuses, from torture and forced labor to mass arbitrary detention in internment camps. For years, many of China’s Uyghurs fled the Xinjiang region to escape persecution, with many crossing into mainland Southeast Asia.