South China Sea
Making sense of the known unknowns in the South China Sea
I'd like to thank Hugh White for his continued thoughtfulness and collegiality in our ongoing exchange on the South China Sea. I thought it might be interesting to pivot from…
Can Boris Johnson deliver on his colossal naval expectations?
Boris Johnson’s ebullient pronouncements last week on a future Royal Navy freedom of navigation 'operation' in the Indo-Pacific region have attracted attention, but also criticism…
Let’s be clear: China would call America’s bluff in the South China Sea
It seems to be widely agreed that Washington’s current policy of well-worn talking points and low-key FONOPS in the South China Sea [SCS] isn’t working. Ely Ratner and I have been…
Indonesia’s new North Natuna Sea: What’s in a name?
On Friday, Indonesian officials announced that they had renamed the waters northeast of the Natuna Islands, at the far southern end of the South China Sea, the 'North Natuna Sea'…
Vietnam and India: Shared interests in the South China Sea
Vietnam's recent request to India to play a more prominent role in Southeast Asia and the South China Sea did not come as a total surprise. It's not the first time Vietnam has…
The false choice of war or accommodation in the South China Sea
I appreciate Hugh White taking the time to critique my essay in the current edition of Foreign Affairs, which recommends a course correction in US strategy to deter and, if…
Commentary
US manoeuvres in the South China Sea are not provocative
Originally published in the Financial Times
Aaron L Connelly
Australia needs to show some force
Last week key treaty allies South Korea and Japan joined the US Navy's 7th Fleet for separate joint exercises in the waters west of Japan in a demonstration of force against…
Commentary
Indonesia must lead for sake of its interests in South China Sea
Originally published in the Jakarta Post.
Aaron L Connelly
Beware of provocation in the South China Sea
American Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson has provoked controversy with statements about possible actions by the United States in the South China Sea. In testimony at a…