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Pacific

Lessons from Down Under: The Soft Power Dividend of Financial Crime Technical Assistance
Commentary, 8 August 2018
Tom Keatinge
The UK should learn from Australia and become a global leader in the provision and coordination of technical assistance by turning its financial crime-fighting focus abroad.
Tags: Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies, AML/CTF, UK, Europe, Pacific
President Trump’s Indo–Pacific Economic Investment Initiative: Good, But Not Enough
Commentary, 6 August 2018
Veerle Nouwens
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has laid out a new vision for American economic engagement in the Indo–Pacific, announcing the rollout of a new US regional infrastructure initiative, which, while not explicitly targeting China’s growing economic power in the region, attempts to provide Indo–Pacific countries with US financial and technical alternatives to China. The funds may be modest, yet...
Tags: Asia, International Security Studies, New Silk Road, United States, Pacific, Central and South Asia
""It's not a big deal that they have this ship," Veerle Nouwens, an Asia-Pacific expert at the Royal United Services Institute, told Business Insider. Japan already has an even more formidable aircraft carrying destroyer active in the region and "they're using it for military exchanges or diplomacy. That's effectively what it's doing by potentially going around to India, Sri Lanka, and Singapore." "
Beijing's response to Japan's new destroyer shows its authoritarian endgame in the South China Sea
In The News, 6 August 2018 Tags: China, International Security Studies, Japan, Global Security Issues, Maritime Forces, Pacific
"The dynamics of this kind of summit meeting might also work for President Trump. Yes, it seems that he is vulnerable to flattery and the trappings of a head of state meeting, as others have found. But this is an opportunity to make a deal that, unlike the Iran nuclear deal or the Paris climate agreement, he would personally own. "
How the Historic North Korea Summit Gave Trump a Path to Create a Lasting Peace
In The News, 28 April 2018 Tags: Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, United States, North Korea, Global Security Issues, Pacific
"The worry here is that expectations raised too high are dashed more completely when they fail – and, after all, it isn't so long since the US was 'locked and loaded' for 'fire and fury' in Korea.'
"
The first step towards peace? Korea experts warn of caution
In The News, 28 April 2018 Tags: Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, United States, North Korea, Global Security Issues, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, Pacific
Upstaging Armageddon: Kim Jong-un and the Inter-Korean Summit
Commentary, 27 April 2018
Adam Cathcart
When attempting to assess today’s inter-Korean summit, the adage ‘Hope for the best, prepare for the worst’ seems more appropriate than ever.
Tags: North Korea, PacificPages

Buying Compliance: The South Korean Presidential Visit to Iran
Commentary, 9 May 2016South Korea’s president recently visited Iran and presented it with a trade-off: realise the full potential of trade and investment with a major Asian economy or maintain illicit military links to North Korea. Iran’s response, while progressive, may have fallen short of her hopes.
Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, Iran, Global Security Issues, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, Pacific, Middle East and North Africa
Taiwan’s Presidential Election: The View from Beijing
Commentary, 18 January 2016Edward Schwarck
The pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has defeated the Nationalist Party (KMT) in Taiwan’s elections. Beijing’s reaction to the result will depend on how it interprets the DPP’s intentions towards the existing framework defining cross-strait relations.
China, Pacific
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, Pacific
Sino-Indian Cooperation for a Stable and Prosperous Afghanistan
Commentary, 24 June 2015Vinod Anand
As US and ISAF troops are drawn down in Afghanistan, it is becoming increasingly clear that the void left by the withdrawing nations might have to be filled by Afghanistan’s neighbours.
China, International Security Studies, Afghanistan, India, Global Strategy and Commitments, Pacific, Central and South AsiaPages

Triple Barrels: The Economic, Financial and Maritime Warfare Nexus in the Twenty-First Century
RUSI Journal, 29 April 2015Martin N Murphy
As the global power balance shifts to incorporate a growing China, the Royal Navy must adapt to the exigencies of the post-Cold War incarnation of the East–West struggle
China, RUSI Journal, UK, Global Security Issues, Maritime Forces, UK Defence, Europe, Pacific
Will China Bring Peace to Afghanistan?
RUSI Newsbrief, 27 February 2015Raffaello Pantucci
China is showing itself to be increasingly open about a possible role in brokering peace in Afghanistan. But the extent to which its actions will coincide with Western priorities should not be...
China, International Security Studies, New Silk Road, Afghanistan, RUSI Newsbrief, Global Security Issues, Pacific, Central and South Asia
Chinese and Russian Stealth Fighters Close the Gap
RUSI Newsbrief, 27 February 2015Justin Bronk
Fears that the US’s global aerial dominance will soon be challenged by the fifth-generation fighters under development by Russia and China are overstated – for now.
Aerospace, Air Power and Technology, China, Military Sciences, RUSI Newsbrief, Russia, Europe, Pacific
China's Relations with India: What Prospects in 2015?
RUSI Newsbrief, 26 January 2015Edward Schwarck
Entering 2015, China must learn that strong economic ties are an insufficient basis for a good bilateral relationship with India
Asia, China, International Security Studies, RUSI Newsbrief, India, Pacific, Central and South Asia
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
Underwater Drone Incidents Point to China’s Expanding Intelligence Gathering
The UK Should Align with Biden in the Indo-Pacific
The UK and Afghanistan: Raising Our Voice