President Xi Jinping State Visit to the UK

China in the Pacific: How is Beijing flexing its power in the region

The Pacific Islands and their vast expanse of ocean have never been a major source of traditional military threats. The post-World War Two security architecture of the Pacific has historically been dominated by the United States. Yet today, China’s diplomatic and economic push into the Pacific is incrementally reshaping the strategic landscape. While its presence in the region is not new, Beijing has capitalised on the dissonance between Washington and the Pacific Island nations by steadily and significantly expanding its commercial and geopolitical clout. As a result, ten of the fourteen Pacific Island nations now recognise the One China policy, which warrants considerable attention from the United States and other regional actors such as Australia.

Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper with former Australian Defence Minister Linda Reynolds

How can the Five Eyes bolster its security resilience?

Forged under the pressure of the Second World War, the Five Eyes has linked together the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), Australia, Canada and New Zealand in unprecedented cooperation on intelligence sharing. The current international security backdrop, however, remains particularly salient in terms of great-power competition from authoritarian powers seeking to challenge the US-led liberal international order. For the Five Eyes to strengthen its security resilience, enhanced intelligence cooperation and alliance expansion will be vital to effectively thwart the malign behaviour of rogue powers on the international stage.

KADENA AIR BASE, Japan - U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons fly into a four-ship formation

How can the US-led Quad compete against China?

In advocating a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, Joe Biden has pushed for closer ties with like-minded nations across the maritime region, amidst China’s aggressive behaviour on the international stage. At the core of this strategy, Biden has reached for a tool that was underused by his predecessor Donald Trump: the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad, an informal security alliance comprising India, Australia, Japan and the United States (US).

AUKUS Partnership - Prime Minister Boris Johnson

AUKUS: Will the new security triangle suffice to counter China?

Australia has just become part of something momentous in the Indo-Pacific: a maritime super-region at the epicentre of strategic competition between the United States and China. The new tripartite security grouping between Australia, the UK and the US, called AUKUS, deepens the long-standing relationship between three of the world’s most multicultural democracies. While the creation of the newly-formed AUKUS is a significant development in the geopolitical environment of the Indo-Pacific, adding more power will be vital in building a balance against China’s power.

UK Prime Minister Johnson met Australian PM Scott Morrison at G7

The UK’s tilt to the Indo-Pacific: what concrete implications for Australia?

50 years after the then UK defence secretary Denis Healey announced Britain’s retreat from the Indo-Pacific in 1968, the UK is once again drawn into the geoeconomic and geostrategic challenges of the maritime region. This desire to extend Britain’s strategic horizon was accelerated by the vote to leave the EU in 2016. In particular, the decision to leave the European single market has forced Downing Street to strengthen its trading relationships with partners beyond the EU – a considerable number of which reside in the Indo-Pacific region.

NATO Secetary General visits Afghanistan

What does the US withdrawal from Afghanistan mean for NATO?

By pulling out of Afghanistan, Joe Biden has put an end to 20 years of U.S. troop involvement in Afghanistan and thus to Washington’s “forever war” in the mountainous, landlocked country. This strategic decision leaves the democratically elected government in Kabul struggling to hold on to power. The withdrawal of US and NATO troops is therefore likely to fuel an assortment of security and geostrategic consequences contrary to Euro-Atlantic interests.

NATO meeting with Biden

Will Joe Biden succeed in steering NATO to the Indo-Pacific?

China’s growing maritime and military assertiveness increasingly threatens American primacy and the stability of the rules-based democratic order in the Indo-Pacific region. The Chinese Communist Party aims to power-project its military capabilities while also advancing its economic and diplomatic relations by spending billions on hard infrastructure projects in the region through China’s grand geopolitical project: the Belt and Road land and sea initiative.

NATO Secretary General visits Turkey

Does Turkey still have a place in NATO?

Turkey has had a long-standing relationship with Europe and the West. Its integration into the transatlantic alliance in 1952 was perceived as being of strategic importance to Washington, as it covered the south-eastern flank of the alliance’s borders. Under the leadership of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey is pursuing an aggressive foreign policy aimed at challenging the liberal international order, which has considerably alienated Turkey’s Western allies.