ARTICLES

20 Mar 2023

You Can’t Put the Genie Back in the Bottle: Marcos Jr.’s Defence Cooperation Policy

Justin Baquisal

The Marcos Jr. administration’s defence cooperation policy that hews closer to the U.S. is facing domestic criticism, even from his sister.

16 Feb 2023

BrahMos Supersonic Missiles: Poised to Buoy New Delhi’s Arms Exports?

Ian Storey

India is not a major arms exporter, something that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is keen to change. But there is one “Made in India” weapons system that half a dozen Southeast Asian countries seem most eager to buy: the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile.

ASEAN-India Relations Defence India

10 Feb 2023

What to Expect from the Vietnam–South Korea Comprehensive Strategic Partnership

Huynh Tam Sang

Vietnam and South Korea have the potential strengthen their bilateral ties following the signing of a comprehensive strategic partnership in December 2022. The two countries should join hands to forge multilateralism in the Indo-Pacific, develop resilient supply chains for their key industries and boost arms transfer and naval cooperation.

Defence South Korea Supply Chains Vietnam

30 Nov 2022

Japan’s Counter-strike Missiles and Southeast Asia’s “Nuclear” Question

Yoichiro Sato

Japan is considering the deployment of non-nuclear counter-strike capabilities in the face of growing threats from North Korea and China. This might have a bearing on Southeast Asia.

Defence Japan Japan-Southeast Asia Relations

3 Nov 2022

Defence Procurement in Malaysia: A Way Forward?

Sze Fung Ng

Malaysia has seen problems in its defence procurement in recent years. Once a new government is installed after the general election, it should follow through with reforms to improve transparency in the process of acquiring new military hardware.

Defence Malaysia

31 Oct 2022

The US-Philippine Alliance: Shared Interests and Subtle Nuances

Mico A Galang

The US National Security Strategy (NSS) identifies some shared interests between Washington and Manila. However, there are nuances in the strategic calculus of the allies when it comes to two key potential flashpoints in the region: Taiwan and the South China Sea.

Defence Philippine-U.S. Relations South China Sea

28 Jun 2022

ASEAN and ADMM: Climbing Out of a Deep Hole

Joanne Lin

The ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting has bagged modest achievements in past years. But it will take a lot more to assert ASEAN’s central role in a region where external powers have grabbed the initiative in forming minilaterals outside the ASEAN ecosystem.

ASEAN Defence Indo-Pacfic

13 Jun 2022

Shangri-La Dialogue 2022: The Paradox of Peace and Power

Hoang Thi Ha

The duel between the ‘rule of law’ and the ‘right of might’ took centre-stage as the Shangri-La Dialogue resumed under the shadow of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Southeast Asian countries found it a hard sell to promote cooperative security and ASEAN’s broad-based mechanisms against tough talk by representatives of the major powers.

Defence Indo-Pacfic International Relations Security

7 Jun 2022

Scaling the Shangri-La Dialogue

James Crabtree

In this episode, William Choong, managing editor of Fulcrum, talks to James Crabtree, executive director of International Institute for Strategic Studies (Asia), the London-headquartered think tank which runs the annual Shangri-La Dialogue.

China Defence Dialogues at Fulcrum Diplomacy Indo-Pacfic U.S. Foreign Policy

6 May 2022

The Russia-Ukraine War and its Potential Impact on Russia’s Arms Sales to Southeast Asia

Ian Storey

Russia has been the largest exporter of arms to Southeast Asia over the past two decades but the value of its defence sales to the region has fallen sharply since its annexation of Crimea in 2014. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will only exacerbate this downward trend.

Armed Conflict Defence Russia Security Ukraine