South China Sea
China's grey-zone provocations: Time to reciprocate
It’s time to send a signal to Beijing that a crisis is approaching. China’s use of grey zone tactics is intensifying. This worsening trend line has been evident for several years…
Understanding China’s efforts to bridge the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait disputes
Two Asia-Pacific flashpoints – the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait – stand at a critical juncture, but their connection is not always well understood.
In the South China Sea,…
South China Sea: A formula for the Philippines
Shortly before handing over the chairmanship of the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to Laos, Indonesia corralled regional states for an unprecedented move. For…
How to stop any repeat of the Australia-China sonar incident
Soviet warships regularly sparred with Western navies during the Cold War years, conducting close-in ship-to-ship manoeuvres and pointing lasers against their foreign opponents at…
China’s sonar pulse poses another test of Australia’s will
China’s harassment of Australian warship HMAS Toowoomba off the coast of Japan, which reportedly caused minor injuries to naval divers attempting to clear a fishing net from the…
Commentary
Managing power conflict spillover in Straits of Malacca and Singapore
Originally published in The Jakarta Post, 6 November 2023.
As the world looks elsewhere, China stirs trouble in the South China Sea
China is again making mischief in the South China Sea, although this time while wars rage in Gaza and the Ukraine. The precise timing of its actions in the South China Sea…
Australia must act fast on joint patrols with the Philippines
Enrique Manalo, Philippines Foreign Affairs Secretary, made his feelings clear. “During our discussions,” he declared on Tuesday, standing alongside his Australian counterpart…
The surprising link between piracy and Covid-19
The Singapore Strait is experiencing a spike in maritime piracy attacks, with the incidence increasing from 12 attacks in 2019 to 38 in 2022, and an upwards trend continuing into…
ASEAN, China and the trust deficit
Trust (or the lack of it) seems to be the central theme in describing relations between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China. Several ASEAN leaders emphasised this…