Trends in Southeast Asian people’s perception of the region in recent years: Results from the ISEAS’s surveys since 2019

The annual State of Southeast Asia Survey carried out by the Yusof Ishak Institute (ISEAS) from Singapore is a survey about the recent geopolitical situation in Southeast Asia. After being published, the survey’ results are covered by many regional news outlets like the Borneo Bulletin, the Australian, and the Japan Times, etc.

Chinese Survey Vessel Xiang Yang Hong 10’s Encroachment on Vietnam's Waters: Intention and Consequences

China Coast Guard ships’ operations in the South China Sea in 2022

On January 30, 2022, the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) published a report on Chinese coast guard ships’ patrols at five features in the South China Sea, illustrating China's trend of large-scale coast guard deployment in disputed areas.

Why the negotiations for the Philippines-China joint energy development in the South China Sea has not come to fruition

'Pieces' of Biden’s Indo-Pacific Visions via US Policy Documents in 2022

If 2021 was the year for the Biden administration to stabilize the apparatus of the government and draft the policy visions, 2022 was a year to announce and implement those policies. In the second half of 2022 alone, a series of major foreign policy documents and statements were released, many of which are related to the Indo-Pacific, such as the new Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS), the statement on The...

Borders Reopened, Swift Recovery?

After almost three years of pursuing the zero-Covid policy, on January 1st, 2023, China officially reopened its economy, with blockade measures lifted in many areas.   

Pacific Island nations – A strategic focus of the Biden administration

The Biden administration announced its Pacific Partnership Strategy on September 29, 2022, marking the first time the United States (the US) has had a standalone strategy document for the Pacific Island nations.

Japan and ASEAN Gradually Enhance Maritime Security Cooperation

As maritime domains and geopolitics in the South and East China Sea are increasingly interconnected, maritime security cooperation between Japan and Southeast Asian countries continues to rise.

Comparison of Different Indo-Pacific Strategies by European Actors

From 2019 to the present, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK and the European Union (EU) have respectively announced their own Indo-Pacific Strategies (IPS). While sharing the same goal of increasing presence in the region, these strategies have fundamental differences in terms of how to define the “Indo-Pacific” concept, the approach to China, prioritized fields, and implementation measures....

The U.S. National Security Strategy: Flavors of Liberalism & Strategic Competition

In October 2022, the Biden administration released its long-awaited National Security Strategy (NSS), its most comprehensive document on U.S. security and foreign policy. The strategy presents a new global security context after 5 years, abandoning the “principled realism” touted by the Trump administration back in 2017 but doubling down on big power competition.