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Many topical policy issues and regions are central to the programme's research agenda. These include China and Japan, nuclearisation in the Korean peninsula, and terrorism and insurgency in Central and South Asia.
In particular, the project works to build links between policy-makers and practitioners in Britain and their counterparts across Asia, and to provide a meeting place for Asian policy-makers to confer and discuss security issues together.
Experts also regularly advise and consult businesses on security risks across Asia's regions and markets.
Contacts



China and the Mekong: Future Flashpoint?
Commentary, 25 June 2018
Brijesh Khemlani
The mighty Mekong river is a vital lifeline for Southeast Asia, a major source of trade, transport and sustenance for millions. However, the world’s twelfth longest river is emerging as an ecological and geopolitical flashpoint.
Tags: Asia, China, International Security Studies, Global Security Issues
The Deputy: Enhancing Command in the Twenty-First Century
RUSI Journal, 6 June 2017
Anthony King
The British Army is slowly recognising the valuable role which can be played by deputy commanders.
Tags: Armed Forces, Asia, UK, Defence Policy, UK Defence, Europe
A Dispute about Legality, or a Political Onslaught? China’s Response to the Arbitration Decision on the South China Sea Issue
Commentary, 8 August 2016
Peter A Dutton
China has advanced a number of arguments to justify its decision to ignore the arbitral tribunal’s recent ruling on the South China Sea dispute. None of them make much legal sense, but all raise questions about China’s views of the international order.
Tags: Asia, China
The South China Sea Dispute: China's Polygonal Defence of Core Interests
Commentary, 12 July 2016
James Tunningley
The ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) on the dispute with the Philippines over sovereignty claims in the South China Sea (SCS) went against China. Immediately China labelled the tribunal as ‘law abusing’, calling the decision ‘ill founded’. Although expected, the reaction is yet another indication that sovereignty is increasingly becoming part of Chinese ‘core interest’ on which...
Tags: Asia, China, International Security Studies, Global Security Issues, Pacific
The Saudi–Pakistani Relationship: More than Meets the Eye
RUSI Newsbrief, 17 March 2016
Kamal Alam
The links between the Saudi and Pakistani elites run deep
Tags: Asia, Pakistan, Global Security Issues, Middle East and North Africa
Should the West Embrace the AIIB?
RUSI Newsbrief, 22 January 2016
Nikki Lee
Is the AIIB just a new foreign-policy tool for China, or is it necessary for regional development and a project the West should welcome?
Tags: Asia, Defence Policy, PacificPages

The South China Sea Dispute: China's Polygonal Defence of Core Interests
Commentary, 12 July 2016James Tunningley
The ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) on the dispute with the Philippines over sovereignty claims in the South China Sea (SCS) went against China. Immediately China labelled the tribunal as ‘law abusing’, calling the decision ‘ill founded’. Although expected, the reaction is yet another indication that sovereignty is increasingly becoming part of Chinese ‘core interest’ on which...
Asia, China, International Security Studies, Global Security Issues, Pacific
Modi in Britain: How Does a Rising India View the UK?
Commentary, 12 November 2015Shashank Joshi
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the UK this week will be the first visit by an Indian leader in almost a decade – despite David Cameron travelling thrice in the other direction. Is the UK–India relationship as healthy as it was?
Asia, India, UK, Europe, Central and South Asia
The Xiangshan Forum and Asia’s ‘New Security Architecture’
Commentary, 27 October 2015Edward Schwarck
While touted as an alternative to the Shangri-La Dialogue, the Xiangshan has failed to tackle the issues at the heart of East Asian tensions.
Asia, China, International Security Studies, Global Security Issues, Central and South Asia
China’s Stock Market Crash Threatens Her Global Power Ambitions
Commentary, 27 August 2015Jonathan Eyal
China’s stock market crash is not the beginning of a global economic downturn, or the start of a Chinese recession. But it is a reminder of just how fragile China remains, and how far it still is from the status of a global power.
Asia, China, International Security Studies, Global Strategy and Commitments, Global Security Issues, Pacific
The US-China relationship: on a downward spiral?
Commentary, 29 June 2015Edward Schwarck
Officials from the US and China put on brave faces at the recently concluded US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue. Tensions in the maritime and cyber realms, however, are threatening to send the relationship into a downward spiral.
Asia, China, Cyber, Future UK Cyber Security Strategy Project, International Security Studies, United States, Americas, Global Strategy and Commitments, Maritime Forces, Technology, PacificPages

Mafia State: The Evolving Threat of North Korean Narcotics Trafficking
RUSI Journal, 4 November 2014Peng Wang and Stephan Blancke
The burgeoning illicit-drugs trade emanating from North Korea poses a severe threat to the region and beyond
Asia, Organised Crime, RUSI Journal, North Korea, Global Security Issues, Organised Crime, Pacific
Afghan Local Police in Helmand: Calculated Risk or Last Gamble?
RUSI Journal, 1 March 2013Michael Stevens
As the 2014 deadline approaches, British and US mentors continue to work to strengthen the Afghan Local Police. The ultimate outcome remains balanced precariously between success and failure.
Asia, RUSI Journal, Afghanistan, Counterinsurgency, Terrorism
Missile Defence in a New Strategic Environment (WHP 60)
Whitehall Papers, 31 August 2003Jeremy Stocker and David Wiencek (editors)
This Whitehall Paper brings together wide-ranging perspectives on the post-ABM Treaty missile defence debate: the policies in the UK, US, EU, NATO, Japan and Taiwan, among others, and the scientific...
Aerospace, Air Power and Technology, Asia, Military Sciences, United States, Whitehall Papers, Japan, NATO, Americas, European Union, UK, Global Security Issues, International Institutions, Europe, Pacific
India's New Armament Strategy: a return to self-sufficiency? (WHP 31)
Whitehall Papers, 2 January 1995Damon Bristow
Asia, Whitehall Papers, India, Defence Policy, Central and South Asia
Insecurity in the ASEAN Region (WHP 23)
Whitehall Papers, 1 January 1994Tim Huxley
Asia, International Security Studies, Whitehall Papers, Global Security Issues, PacificPages
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Trailer: Global Security Briefing Podcast Series
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