US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s meeting with ASEAN in mid-July, focused on convincing the bloc to confront Beijing, follows a long-running US strategy to transform Southeast Asia into a united front against China. By doing so, nations in the region are encouraged or coerced to antagonize China, despite the growing superpower being their largest…
On Monday, while delivering the keynote address at the annual China Business Summit held in Auckland, New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins weighed in on the power dynamic in the Indo-Pacific. New Zealand’s estimation matters because it is a small country in Southern Pacific heavily dependent on trade with China for preserving its prosperity and…
In the wake of the rancorous China-US standoff at the Shangri-La Dialogue, the Quad looms ever larger in importance. The Quad – short for Quadrilateral Security Dialogue – is a loose but rapidly evolving security arrangement of Australia, India, Japan and the US. As it evolves and expands its participants in Quad-Plus “initiatives,” it is a good time to parse its intent and direction. The Quad leaders’ statement of May 20 from their…
The US Army will have unfettered access to PNG’s territorial waters and airspace following a security cooperation agreement scheduled to be signed on about May 20, Radio New Zealand reported. According to the radio station, which has a draft document in its possession, under the agreement, which is expected to be signed soon by a…
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is monopolizing the Asian and Global South spotlight for no fewer than 10 days, this week and the next, across a flurry of regional and international summits. First stop is Phnom Penh for the 25th China-ASEAN summit, the 25th ASEAN Plus Three (APT) summit, and the 17th East Asia…
In setting forth the future direction of ASEAN and seeing the pressing need to find the cohesive unifying factor, internal mechanisms in facing the volatility of the global uncertainties and the prevailing national interests and mutual distrusts are to be recognised and worked on. ASEAN has grown tremendously in all areas ever since its inception…
