Global Security Briefing

Originally published 3 February 2021

This week, Veerle is joined by Professor Heung-Kyu Kim, founder and Director of the US-China Policy Institute and professor in the Department of Political Science and Diplomacy at Ajou University, South Korea.

Veerle and Professor Kim explore why South Korea – a country that has not released an Indo-Pacific strategy – has been reluctant to adopt the concept. Professor Kim offers an insight into South Korea’s strategy of balancing between China, North Korea, Russia, and the United States. Notwithstanding this, there has been a gradual acceptance of the concept and strategies put forward by other countries, and further synergies between the Moon Jae-In government’s so-called New Southern Policy may be forged with the Biden Administration. Professor Kim also highlights South Korea’s view on the potential formation of new ‘alliances of democracies’ and reflects on South Korea’s invitation to join this year’s G7 Summit, to be hosted by the United Kingdom.

Originally published 20 January 2021

After the inauguration of President-elect Biden, this episode both takes a retrospective look at what worked and what didn’t in the Trump Administration’s approach to the Indo-Pacific, and examines what lies ahead for US foreign policy in the region.

This week, Veerle is joined by Blake Herzinger, non-resident Fellow at the Pacific Forum in Honolulu, who is an US Navy reserve officer currently based in Singapore, following 10 years of active service.

Veerle and Blake embark on a tour d’horizon of the Trump Administration’s Indo-Pacific strategy, unpacking the recently declassified US Strategic Framework for the Indo-Pacific drafted in 2018 and assessing what worked and what did not in the outgoing adminstration’s approach. The discussion then explores enduring possible continuities in the Biden Administration, and changes in future US policies toward the Indo-Pacific.

From reinforcing partnerships within and outside of the region – including with the UK – to the need for a more broad-based approach to security, the new administration will need to take advantage of goals which are more readily achievable, while more deftly handling enduring regional challenges.

Originally published 16 December 2020

Germany, France, and The Netherlands have published Indo-Pacific Strategies. The United Kingdom speaks of a strategic tilt to the region. But what does all this mean in practice?

This week, Veerle is joined by Dr. Garima Mohan and Dr. Frederic Grare to explore the growing momentum in Europe of individual states releasing strategies and foreign policy guidelines on the Indo-Pacific region. In particular focus are Germany and France, whose strategies while broadly aligned also offer some divergences.

Our guests explore how these policies might be implemented in the future and what role the European Union may play given the calls by Paris, Berlin and others for the EU to release an Indo-Pacific Strategy of its own.

They also discuss the need for coordination amongst European nations in the region and their key partners, the comparative advantages offered by the EU, and the implications of a Biden administration on European policy towards the Indo-Pacific. While the UK’s Indo-Pacific tilt still requires further fleshing out, our guests highlight potential areas of complementarity and cooperation between the UK and key European actors in the region.

Originally published 2 December 2020

This week, Veerle is joined by Professor Rory Medcalf, Head of the National Security College at the Australian National University and internationally-recognised thought leader for his work on the Indo-Pacific concept of the Asian strategic environment, as articulated in his 2020 book Contest for the Indo-Pacific (released internationally as Indo-Pacific Empire).

This week, our guests share insights from ASEAN and specific Southeast Asian member states, such as Vietnam and Indonesia, and their assessment of the Indo-Pacific concept. ASEAN has signalled its desire to maintain centrality in the Indo-Pacific through the publication of a position paper. However, challenges lie ahead for the organisation and its member states to achieve this, with changing geopolitical dynamics across the Indo-Pacific region and growing discussions over whether new solutions are needed for existing challenges.

The US election result is likewise likely to have an impact on US-ASEAN relations, following rising Sino-US tensions that have played out in Southeast Asia. Finally, Dr. Laksmana and Dr. Le Thu discuss how ASEAN and some of its member states look towards the UK as a potential partner in Southeast Asia, and the wider Indo-Pacific, given the UK government has placed a great deal of emphasis on deepening engagement with ASEAN, but also flagged an upcoming ‘Indo-Pacific tilt’.

Originally published on 18 November 2020

This week, Veerle is joined by Dr. Evan Laksmana, senior researcher at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Dr. Huong Le Thu, senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s (ASPI) Defence and Strategy Program.

This week, our guests share insights from ASEAN and specific Southeast Asian member states, such as Vietnam and Indonesia, and their assessment of the Indo-Pacific concept. ASEAN has signalled its desire to maintain centrality in the Indo-Pacific through the publication of a position paper. However, challenges lie ahead for the organisation and its member states to achieve this, with changing geopolitical dynamics across the Indo-Pacific region and growing discussions over whether new solutions are needed for existing challenges.

The US election result is likewise likely to have an impact on US-ASEAN relations, following rising Sino-US tensions that have played out in Southeast Asia. Finally, Dr. Laksmana and Dr. Le Thu discuss how ASEAN and some of its member states look towards the UK as a potential partner in Southeast Asia, and the wider Indo-Pacific, given the UK government has placed a great deal of emphasis on deepening engagement with ASEAN, but also flagged an upcoming ‘Indo-Pacific tilt’.

Originally published 4 November 2020

This week, Veerle is joined by Darshana Baruah, Visiting Fellow at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation in Tokyo and non-resident scholar with the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Dhruva Jaishankar, Director of the US Initiative at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi and Non-resident Fellow at the Lowy Institute in Sydney.

The idea of the Indo-Pacific as a theatre for influence and power is gaining prominence among governments and expert communities across the world.  

A number of regional and global powers with interests in the region, as well as groupings like ASEAN, have presented their own unique interpretations of the Indo-Pacific as a strategic concept that connects the Indian and Pacific Oceans along with their littoral states as an integrated arena for competition and collaboration. 

Originally published 21 October 2020.

Veerle and Ryosuke Hanada, Indo-Pacific Fellow at the Perth USAsia Centre, explore the origins of Japan’s Indo-Pacific policy, unpack its trajectory over the last few years, and look ahead at whether and how it might evolve in a post-Abe government.

They also discuss Japan’s priority sub-regions and policy areas in the Indo-Pacific, which helps pinpoint areas for collaboration and cooperation with partners in Europe, including the United Kingdom. Opportunities clearly lie ahead for UK-Japan engagement in the region.

The idea of the Indo-Pacific as a theatre for influence and power is gaining prominence among governments and expert communities across the world.  

A number of regional and global powers with interests in the region, as well as groupings like ASEAN, have presented their own unique interpretations of the Indo-Pacific as a strategic concept that connects the Indian and Pacific Oceans along with their littoral states as an integrated arena for competition and collaboration. 

Originally released 21 October 2020

In this first episode of Bridging the Oceans, Veerle is joined by Dr. Neil Melvin, Director of RUSI’s International Security Studies department and Aaditya Dave, Research Analyst in the Navigating the Indo-Pacific Programme of the ISS department.

Together, they explore the Indo-Pacific concept and region, why the concept of the Indo-Pacific is catching on, what some of the key defence and security questions in the region will be, and what this means for UK foreign and security policy as it undergoes its Integrated Review process.

The idea of the Indo-Pacific as a theatre for influence and power is gaining prominence among governments and expert communities across the world.  

A number of regional and global powers with interests in the region, as well as groupings like ASEAN, have presented their own unique interpretations of the Indo-Pacific as a strategic concept that connects the Indian and Pacific Oceans along with their littoral states as an integrated arena for competition and collaboration. 

Running from 2020 to 2023, Bridging the Oceans aimed to create a platform to discuss the key defence and security questions of the world’s most dynamic region: the Indo-Pacific. Hosted by Veerle Nouwens, it explored what the Indo-Pacific is, where its limits lie, and what the fast-evolving defence and security issues are in this dynamic part of the world.

Originally published 28 September 2020.

Running from 2020 to 2023, Bridging the Oceans aimed to create a platform to discuss the key defence and security questions of the world’s most dynamic region: the Indo-Pacific. Hosted by Veerle Nouwens, it explored what the Indo-Pacific is, where its limits lie, and what the fast-evolving defence and security issues are in this dynamic part of the world.