A spy balloon and China’s presence in Cuba have put the spotlight on Beijing’s surveillance network around the globe this year, further fueling tensions with the U.S. But what do we know about China’s international intelligence operations? What are Beijing’s goals, and how is it using secret agents alongside satellites, TikTok and other hi-tech tools to monitor what happens in other countries?

To answer these questions, CSDS-Asia Matters’ Paolo Bosonin spoke with former Pentagon official Kari Bingen – director of the aerospace security project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies – alongside Professor Chong Ja Ian from the National University of Singapore, and Liza Lin, Wall Street Journal reporter and co-author of the book, “Surveillance State: China’s quest to build a new era of social control”.

Cambodia’s longtime leader Hun Sen emerged as the winner once again in the country’s recent general election, with his ruling Cambodian People’s Party winning 120 of the 125 seats in the country’s national assembly. 

But if the election result was hardly in doubt, there is some change in the air. 

Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia since the mid 1980s, has said he wants to pass his premiership on — though only as far as to his own son, Hun Manet. 

With that transition coming up later in August, this week we take a look at what it might mean for the South East Asian country. How much power will Hun Sen still hold? What do we know about Hun Manet? And what challenges lie ahead for the governance of Cambodia post-Covid, widely seen as the nation most tied to China in the region? 

To delve into these questions, our guest is Sophal Ear, associate professor at the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University and a long time commentator on Cambodian affairs. 

Cyberattacks are estimated to have caused trillions of dollars of damage to the world’s economy in recent years, and are now seen as a major national security threat by governments around the world. Some governments and private companies are looking to step up cooperation to fight the hackers, but nascent initiatives, such as a new pact between the EU and South Korea, face a number of hurdles. 

In this episode, CSDS Asia Matters’ Andrew Peaple speaks with three experts about the geopolitical forces – and rivalries – that are shaping the global cybersecurity landscape. His guests are Michael Reiterer, distinguished professor at the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy at the Brussels School of Governance, Prof. Seong-jong Song from the department of military science at Daejong University, in South Korea, and Wilhelm Vosse, from Japan’s International Christian University.

You can find further analysis in this book, 'Cybersecurity Policy in the EU and South Korea from Consultation to Action' which contains contributions from Michael and Song-jong.

This episode was produced in conjunction with the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy at the Brussels School of Governance.

The triumph of the Move Forward party in Thailand’s election has highlighted young voters’ desire for change and reform. But with the party’s popular leader, Pita Limjaroenrat scrambling to form a government and facing political roadblocks, questions are mounting over what may happen next in the Southeast Asian nation. What’s the likelihood of a military intervention? Can the next government reform laws that prohibit criticism of the monarchy? Could there be a coup? 

Andrew Peaple discusses the risks and scenarios with Pongkwan Sawasdipakdi, an adjunct fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and Rattaphol Onsanit, Thai politics reporter at Voice of America. After this podcast was recorded, the country’s Election Commission said that it would investigate whether Pita Limjaroenrat had violated rules over eligibility.

There’s been plenty of coverage of the growing tensions between the U.S. and China, particularly when it comes to the Indo Pacific. In this episode we are going to consider how other countries are responding to that friction, and in turn, where that leaves the current balance of power in the region. 

Are countries feeling pressure to take sides? What impact are new alliances such as the Quad and AUKUS having? And how has Russia’s invasion of Ukraine affected calculations in capitals across the Indo Pacific?

Joining us to consider such questions we have two experts on international relations and strategy. 

Marjorie Vanbaelinghem is the director of France’s Institute for Strategic Research of the Ecole Militaire, and a diplomat who has previously served as France’s consul general in Bangalore. 

And Aries Arugay is Professor and Chairperson of the Department of Political Science at the University of Philippines Dillman in Manila.

This episode was produced in conjunction with the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy at the Brussels School of Governance.

From K-pop superhits to Netflix shows and Oscar-winning films, South Korea has established itself as a global cultural powerhouse. “Squid Game,” “The Glory,” “Parasite” and BTS are only some of the names that make K-culture a multibillion dollar industry, with fans in the hundreds of millions. But how did the so-called Korean wave come to be, and what does it tell us about the small country’s changing role on the world stage? 

Asia Matters’ Andrew Peaple takes a close look at the phenomenon with his guests, Rosalie Kim at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and Ramon Pacheco Pardo from the Center for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy at the Brussels School of Governance.

This episode was produced in conjunction with the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy at the Brussels School of Governance.

Arrests, sackings and resignations of top politicians amid a series of corruption scandals have dominated Vietnam’s news headlines in recent months. In this episode of Asia Matters hosted by Bill Hayton, political analyst Nguyen Phuong Linh and researcher Nguyen Khac Giang break down the stakes of the latest government shake-ups and explain what they mean for the future of the country, a key economic partner for both China and the U.S.

This episode Andrew is joined by Josh Kurlantzick, a senior fellow for South East Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations. 

Josh's new book, entitled "Beijing's Global Media Offensive: China's Uneven Campaign To Influence Asia and the World", takes a deep dive into Beijing's soft power operations. What tools and techniques has it used to leverage influence over its neighbours and further afield? How successful have they been over the years? And what will the future of such operations look like in a post-pandemic world? 

This episode was recorded at the first ever Indo-Pacific Forum at the Brussels School of Governance, hosted by our partners, the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy. 

The forum was an opportunity for experts and policymakers from across both Europe and the Indo-Pacific to come together to talk about some really important issues - and for us to take them to one side to record them. 

Delegates discussed the geopolitical landscape - in particular, the US-China rivalry and how countries in the Indo-Pacific are responding to it - and what Europe's role in all of that might be. There was a session on the major security and defence trends taking place in the region, and one on the quickly changing landscape of technology and supply chains. 

To give you a flavour of the event, we talked to experts from each of the panels. 

Firstly Yuichi Hosoya, Professor of International Politics at Keio University, spoke on the balance of power in the region and how it's changed over time. 

Yoon Jung Choi, Director of the Center for Indo-Pacific Studies at South Korea's Sejong Institute, explained global supply chains and digital partnerships between Europe and Indo-Pacific countries. 

And lastly  Richard Tibbels, Special Envoy for the Indo-Pacific at the European External Action Service, talked about how the EU sees its role in the region - and what the trends over the next few years might be.  

This episode was produced in conjunction with the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy at the Brussels School of Governance.

All eyes have been on China recently as the 20th Communist Party Congress drew to a close, and Xi Jinping was confirmed as leader for a historic third term. 

Joining us this episode to discuss the outcome of the congress and more is one of the UK’s leading academics on China, Kerry Brown. He's a prolific author, and started his career as a diplomat in the British embassy in Beijing in the 1990s. 

This show was recorded live in London about a week and a half ago in conjunction with the Lau Institute at King’s College, where Kerry is Professor of Chinese Studies.

We talked about two of his most recent books: firstly, Xi: A Study in Power, which looks at the rise of China’s leader and where his rule might be headed. 

And secondly, a fascinating collection that Kerry has put together with Gemma Chenger Deng called ‘China Through European Eyes’. In it, they take excerpts from writings on China by thinkers from Marco Polo to Voltaire, and Karl Marx to Simone de Beauvoir, looking at the ways in which they have interacted with and interpreted the country.