Originally published 15 September 2021

While the Pacific is in greater focus, the Indian Ocean region is of growing importance to the US.

Veerle is joined by Jeffrey Payne, who leads the maritime security programme at the Near East South Asia (NESA) Center for Strategic Studies in Washington DC. Together, they explore why the Indian Ocean region’s maritime security is of importance to the US Indo-Pacific strategy, what activities are already in place and what could lie ahead. They also touch on Afghanistan, and how this impacts US strategy.

This episode examines Russia’s efforts over the past decade to shift its economic focus away from European markets and toward Asia, as part of a wider pivot to the Asia-Pacific initiated by President Putin from 2012 in the face of economic sanctions and a deteriorating relationship with the Euro-Atlantic community.

A decade after Moscow launched a strategic initiative to reorientate its economy toward Asian markets, Dr Richard Connolly, Director of the Eastern Advisory Group consultancy, discusses Russia’s policies and the challenges that Moscow has faced in developing new trade and business ties to promote its underdeveloped eastern regions with Dr Neil Melvin, Director RUSI International Security Studies.

Originally published 1 September 2021

As part of the UK’s Indo-Pacific tilt, the Royal Navy stands to have a greater role in the region.

In this episode, Veerle is joined by Admiral Sir Philip Jones, who retired from the Royal Navy in 2019 as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff. They explore the Royal Navy’s past, present and future activities in the Indo-Pacific, and how these fit into the UK’s wider strategic approach to the region.

This episode examines Russia’s emerging strategy for the Red Sea, looking not only at Moscow’s efforts to establish a military base in Sudan, but also its plans to use its regional presence to project influence into Africa, the Middle East and the Indian Ocean.

Dr Samuel Ramani, tutor in politics and international studies at the University of Oxford, discusses why Russia is paying growing attention to the strategic and increasingly unstable Red Sea region, as well as what Moscow’s expanding security presence means for the countries of the Red Sea and the Euro-Atlantic community, with host Dr Neil Melvin, Director RUSI International Security Studies.

Originally published on 18 August 2021.

The Quad brings together four countries with a shared purpose, but with some remaining differences.

In this episode, Veerle and Dr Tanvi Madan, Director and Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington DC, discuss what brings the members of the Quad together, how their cooperation and activities may evolve, whether there are any significant divergences between the members, and whether a Quad+ could be seen in the future. One conclusion is clear: don’t call it Asian NATO.

Originally published 4 August 2021.

Africa’s Indian Ocean coastline is not often discussed as part of the Indo-Pacific, but it should be.

Timothy Walker, Maritime Project Leader at the Institute for Security Studies in South Africa, discusses with Veerle the importance of the African littoral in different countries’ Indo-Pacific strategies, the priorities and challenges in furthering maritime security and the blue economy, and the impact of the increasing geopolitical focus on Africa on historical sensitivities in the region.

Originally published 21 July 2021

The New Defence White Paper offers insights into Tokyo’s regional security perspective.

Veerle and Ken Moriyasu, US editor of Nikkei Asia, trace the continuities and changes in Japan’s 2021 Defence White Paper, as well as Tokyo’s enduring relationship with Washington, in the context of changing security dynamics in the Indo-Pacific. They also explore how domestic politics and public opinion continue to play an important role in how Japan responds to security challenges.

In this episode, the panel discuss the fast-evolving security environment in the Black Sea region, including the significance of the recent confrontation between the UK warship HMS Defender and Russia’s armed forces in waters off Crimea.

Dr Dmitri Gorenburg, Senior Research Scientist at CNA in the US, and Dr Maryna Vorotnyuk, RUSI Research Fellow, discuss how security relations have shifted around the Black Sea following Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and the subsequent build-up of regional military forces with host Dr Neil Melvin, Director RUSI International Security Studies.

Originally published 7 July 2021

Long regarded as a potential Indo-Pacific flashpoint, what is Taipei’s view of the Indo-Pacific?

In this episode, Veerle and Dr Lee Che-chuan, Director of National Security and Decision-Making at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research in Taiwan, discuss Taipei’s view of the Indo-Pacific. From tense cross-strait relations and pressures on Taiwan’s national security, to synergies between Taipei’s New Southbound Policy and other Indo-Pacific strategies, Taipei seeks to carve a role for itself in working with partners on key areas of regional prosperity and stability.

Dr Alex Cooley, the Claire Tow Professor of Political Science at Barnard College and Director of Columbia University's Harriman Institute, and Dr Andrey Kortunov, Director General of the Russian International Affairs Council, discuss the recent Geneva summit between Presidents Biden and Putin and its implications for strategic stability between the US and Russia with host Dr Neil Melvin, Director RUSI International Security Studies.