The Indo-Pacific is a strategic system encompassing the Indian and Pacific oceans, reflecting the expanding interests and reach of China and India as well as the enduring role of the US. The Lowy Institute's International Security program presents a weekly selection of links illuminating the changing security picture in this increasingly connected super-region.
- Sri Lanka has a new president after a decade under Mahinda Rajapaksa. What will this mean for its relations with China?
- How can the US revitalise its engagement with Asia? (Thanks Emilia.)
- Confused about the legal aspects of Asia's maritime territorial disputes? Scott Cheney-Peters has a useful primer.
- Why Jokowi might have difficulty achieving his foreign policy priorities.
- John Kerry is in India and Pakistan this week. Will he be able to ease tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours?
- How close is China to another South China Sea airstrip?
- In response to Chinese forays into the region, India has proposed a zone of peace in the Indian Ocean. Raja Mohan argues:
As China eyes the Indian Ocean, Delhi is playing the old song again. But that little ditty is not going to limit China’s rising naval profile in the Indian Ocean. After it first showed up in the Indian Ocean three decades ago, the Chinese navy is here to stay. Like all great powers before, Beijing is bound to establish a permanent military presence in the Indian Ocean. The question is not “if” but “when”.
The Lowy Institute International Security Program's work on Indo-Pacific security is supported by two grants from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.