ARTICLES

Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi answers questions at a budget committee session of the House of Councillors in Parliament in Tokyo on 16 March 2026. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP)

20 Mar 2026

China’s Retaliation Against Japan and the Implications for Southeast Asia

Lye Liang Fook

Lye Liang Fook argues that Beijing’s retaliatory measures against Japan could increase pressure on ASEAN countries, making it important for ASEAN to continue emphasising restraint and peaceful dialogue.

9 Jan 2026

Takaichi and Taiwan: When Deterrence Looks Like Provocation

William Choong|Kei Koga

Chinese reactions to Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae’s comments about Japan's involvement in a Taiwan contingency have an element of political theatre. Beijing is adopting a more sophisticated strategy of isolating Tokyo on the issue.

China Japan Taiwan

16 Sep 2025

ASEAN-ROK Security Cooperation in a Dual Contingency

Ju Hyung Kim

There is a possibility of a dual contingency in the Taiwan Strait and the Korean Peninsula. ASEAN and the Republic of Korea need to consider modes of cooperation in such difficult times.

ASEAN South Korea Taiwan

1 Jul 2025

Possible Conflict in the Taiwan Strait: Southeast Asia Can Help US Maintain Focus

Ryan Hass

Amid growing risks of a conflict in the Taiwan Strait, Southeast Asian countries can spur thinking on the Taiwan question by prodding Washington to match its words with deeds.

ASEAN China Pete Hegseth Taiwan US

A farmer harvesting pineapples in Pingtung county.

23 May 2024

Taiwan’s Economic Pivot Towards Southeast Asia: Bolstering Regional Support for Status Quo

Hoang Thi Ha|Pham Thi Phuong Thao

Taiwan is seeking to diversify its economy’s dependence on China towards a greater focus on Southeast Asia. This would yield benefits in more ways than one.

China Southeast Asia Taiwan

8 Nov 2023

Impact of Gaza Crisis on China’s Interests in the Middle East and Asia-Pacific

Lee Han Yin

China would seek to prevent a wider escalation in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. It is also monitoring whether U.S. involvement in the conflict will affect Washington’s focus on constraining Beijing in Asia.

China Middle East Philippine Taiwan

9 Jun 2023

Taiwan Contingencies and Southeast Asia: Scenarios in the Gray Zone

Andrew Chubb

Regional countries, including those in Southeast Asia, have worried about the impacts of a potential Chinese invasion or blockade of Taiwan. But there are other scenarios to consider.

China-U.S. Relations South China Sea Taiwan

22 Feb 2023

Southeast Asians Mull Over a Taiwan Conflict: Big Concerns But Limited Choices

William Choong|Hoang Thi Ha

In the event of hostilities in the Taiwan Strait, Southeast Asian countries will face a difficult dilemma. Their latitude for manoeuvre will be limited, particularly as the Philippines, a key ASEAN member and a U.S. treaty ally, prepares to provide base access to the United States in such a contingency.

China Southeast Asia State of Southeast Asia Survey Taiwan U.S.

17 Jan 2023

Bound to Comply: the Philippines’ One-China Policy and Mutual Defense Treaty with the U.S.

Aaron Jed Rabena

In the event of hostilities in the Taiwan Strait, Manila’s defense treaty with the United States will give it little room to manoeuvre.

China-Philippine Relations Philippine Philippine-U.S. Relations Taiwan

4 Oct 2022

UNCLOS’s Relevance to Taiwan Amid a Raging Storm

Huynh Tam Sang

After the 2016 South China Sea (SCS) arbitration award and recent developments, Taiwan — though not a formal party to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) — has all the more reason to support the Convention.

China Taiwan UNCLOS Why UNCLOS Matters