Vietnam and Singapore: Working together to keep ASEAN relevant

Earlier this week the President of the Republic of Vietnam Tran Dai Quang chose Singapore to make one of his first international appearances in a three day visit that underlined the importance of the ties of that bind these two countries. Singapore and Vietnam are probably the only members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) who have consistently taken a strategic view of regional...

01/09/2016

Assessing the rule of law after the South China Sea arbitration: Will the G-20 be a turning point in China’s behavior?

China will be hosting the G-20 summit on September 4 and 5. Its deputy foreign minister has said that it wants to avoid sensitive issues, and focus on economic development at the world’s premier forum for international economic cooperation.

01/09/2016

Weekly Bulletin 22/8-28/8

China stages live-firing drills in Tonkin Gulf amid tensions; Duterte warns China: If you invade PH, it would be bloody; US, ASEAN States Launch Maritime Exercise in Singapore...

30/08/2016

India-US Dialogue Deepens its Reach, With an Eye on OBOR and South China Sea

The US sees the relationship in the context of India’s larger role in Asia, first as a counter-weight to China, and then as a partner in the US-led order. India, unsure of its future role in the region, is mainly looking for transactional benefits.

30/08/2016

Weekly News 29/08/ - 04/09

  -(Lowyinterpreter 01/09) Vietnam and Singapore: Working together to keep ASEAN relevant, both countries are displeased with China’s active attempts to undermine ASEAN’s multilateralism. -(Nikkei 01/09) Never mind territorial spats -- ASEAN's priorities are economic: This is why the AEC is important. The bedrock of ASEAN's relevance and centrality must be economic; (Nikkei 01/09) Building...

29/08/2016

Law of the Sea Ruling Reveals Dangerous Chinese Nationalism

The recent ruling by a United Nation Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Arbitration Tribunal of the on a case brought by the Philippines against China has been welcomed by many governments that are concerned about rising tensions in the South China Sea. However, within China it has provoked outpourings of defiance.

26/08/2016

China narrows the South China Sea

China has gone some ways to obtaining by force a mere closum (closed sea) in the waters off Southeast Asia without meeting any real resistance to date. The 11 July verdict of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague may have crimped Beijing’s plans but it has not weakened its resolve.

26/08/2016

US Military's Worst Nightmare: A War with Russia and China (at the Same Time)

The United States discarded its oft-misunderstood “two war” doctrine, intended as a template for providing the means to fight two regional wars simultaneously, late last decade.

26/08/2016

Chinese Threaten Japan, Australia Over South China Sea; Time For US FON Ops?

What are China’s intentions in the South China Sea? It’s a question intelligence analysts, diplomats and the senior leadership of the United States and its Pacific allies are all asking in the wake of a range of increasingly belligerent and threatening comments and actions by the rising global power.

26/08/2016

South China Sea: The Cambodia Connection

Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen, recently condemned US policy for destabilising the Middle East. The Phnom Penh Post in an article titled, “US policy destabilised Middle East, says Hun Sen,” would report that:

25/08/2016