ARTICLES

A Philippine Coast Guard ship is seen near Thitu Island in the South China Sea on 21 February 2026. (Photo from Jam Sta Rosa / AFP)

22 Apr 2026

From Fragmentation to Cohesion: Charting a Course for Philippine Maritime Security Governance

Dianne Faye Despi

How can the Philippines’ decision-makers on maritime security reduce their ‘seablindness’?

24 Feb 2026

Japan’s Growing Hard-power Profile: Implications for Southeast Asia

Hoang Thi Ha|Eugene R.L. Tan

Japan is emerging as a consequential hard-power player, expanding its deterrence and defence-industrial capabilities, as well as its regional and global defence networks. As Japan strengthens its military posture, Southeast Asian states are under mounting pressure to navigate the intensifying Tokyo-Beijing rivalry while carefully managing domestic sensitivities.

Defence Diplomacy Japan Japan-Southeast Asia Relations Security

24 Oct 2025

Türkiye’s Defence Diplomacy in Southeast Asia: The New Kid on the Block

Ian Storey

Over the past ten years, Türkiye has increased its share of the global arms market and has become an attractive defence partner for countries in the Global South. In Southeast Asia, Turkish arms manufacturers have taken advantage of rising defence budgets to win contracts for military vehicles, drones, missiles and naval ships.

Defence Military Security

25 Jul 2025

China’s Global Security Initiative: Not About Picking Sides

Qian Yuming

China has sought to promote its Global Security Initiative in Southeast Asia by implementing tangible projects in regional countries.

ASEAN-China Relations China Security

7 Jan 2025

Preparing the ASEAN Economic Community for a Securitised World

Julia Tijaja|Muhammad Habib Abiyan Dzakwan

To prepare for the ratcheting up of geoeconomic tensions, ASEAN members should seek strength in numbers and look to their own community to navigate difficult terrain in the coming years.

ASEAN ASEAN-China Relations ASEAN-U.S. Relations Security Trade

28 Nov 2024

Re-ordering the World: China’s Global South Focus versus the Ally-centric Approach of the US

Hoang Thi Ha|Pham Thi Phuong Thao

Institutional balancing has become a key strategy in US-China strategic competition, with both powers taking different approaches in leveraging their institutional networks to advance their strategic agenda. Southeast Asian countries have straddled both institutional realms advocated respectively by China and the US, while continuing to leverage ASEAN-led mechanisms to advance their interests.

China Security US

26 Sep 2024

ASEAN and the UN: Strengthening Security Through Multilateralism

Joanne Lin

Amid growing geopolitical fragmentation, ASEAN and the United Nations can work together to shore up the multilateral system.

ASEAN Security United Nations

22 Mar 2023

China’s Brokering of Iran-Saudi Rapprochement Signals Global Security Initiative Is Working

Ma Bo

Beijing’s mediation of the historic rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran is a sign that its much-vaunted Global Security Initiative is working. The bigger challenge is bringing the GSI into action with respect to the war in Ukraine.

China International Relations Middle East Security

8 Mar 2023

ASEAN’s Engagement in the Indo-Pacific

Pongphisoot Busbarat|Richard Javad Heydarian|Hoang Thi Ha|Shafiah F. Muhibat|Bich Tran

ASEANFocus invites experts to assess ASEAN’s engagement in the Indo-Pacific and how the region can advance its role in shaping the regional architecture amid the shift in the geopolitical landscape.

ASEAN ASEANFocus Indo-Pacfic Regional Cooperation Security