You are here
Pacific
The Southern Stratagem: North Korean Proliferation Financing in Southern and Eastern Africa
Multimedia, 15 May 2020
North Korea adapts its proliferation financing activities to the particular opportunities available in each of the regions in which it operates. Sub-Saharan Africa has been no different.
Tags: Counter-Proliferation Finance, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, North Korea, Africa, Pacific
"Technology and social media have proven to be very effective in mobilising protests. This was also the case during the recent protests in Hong Kong. However, China was also very successful in influencing social media and technology companies to undermine the use of technology by protesters and to stifle the international effects of negative press coverage. "
Hong Kong: Tech Companies Becoming Mediators in Protests?
In The News, 18 March 2020 Tags: China, Cyber, Technology, Pacific
Re-Examining the UK’s Priorities in the Asia-Pacific Region
Commentary, 17 March 2020
Veerle Nouwens
The UK’s upcoming Integrated Review is a good opportunity to assess the country’s commitment to and posture in the Asia-Pacific, which is rapidly becoming the world’s most pivotal region.
Tags: International Security Studies, UK Integrated Review 2021, UK, Pacific
Project Sandstone Report 6: The Phantom Fleet: North Korea’s Smugglers in Chinese Waters
Other Publications, 5 March 2020
James Byrne, Joe Byrne, Gary Somerville and Hamish Macdonald
A large fleet of North Korean cargo ships continues to deliver coal to China in contravention of UN Security Council resolutions, in what appears to be a large-scale, coordinated effort to evade sanctions imposed on the country over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes.
Tags: Project Sandstone, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, North Korea, Global Security Issues, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, Pacific
What North Korea Is not Telling Us about Denuclearisation in 2020
Commentary, 2 March 2020
Cristina Varriale
A new rallying cry to ‘achieve a breakthrough’ has been launched by the North Korean leader. But what this actually means is, probably deliberately, obfuscated.
Tags: Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, North Korea, Global Security Issues, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, Pacific
"“I don’t think he was sharing any shocking insights,” says Kayla Izenman, a research analyst at the Royal United Services Institute in London. “It’s pretty obvious that North Korea knows what they’re doing with cryptocurrency.”
According to Izenman’s own research at RUSI’s Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies, North Korea has successfully used cryptocurrencies as a revenue stream and money laundering tool since at least 2017. "
What North Korea Really Wants From Its Blockchain Conference
In The News, 13 February 2020 Tags: Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies, Cyber, AML/CTF, North Korea, Technology, PacificPages
All to Play For: Sports Diplomacy on the Korean Peninsula
Commentary, 25 September 2018Tom Plant
The two halves of the Korean peninsula have engaged in sports diplomacy before. But latest agreements between the leaders of the two countries have taken this diplomacy much further, with broader implications for the security of the region.
Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, North Korea, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, Pacific
AUKMIN 2018: The Future of Global Britain?
Commentary, 14 August 2018John Hemmings and Milia Hau
Britain and Australia face an uncertain strategic landscape. But there is much they can do together, as they deal with the two big powers which appear determined to change the current status quo: China and Russia.
Defence Policy, UK, UK Defence, Europe, Pacific
Lessons from Down Under: The Soft Power Dividend of Financial Crime Technical Assistance
Commentary, 8 August 2018Tom 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.
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 2018Veerle 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...
Asia, International Security Studies, New Silk Road, United States, Pacific, Central and South Asia
Upstaging Armageddon: Kim Jong-un and the Inter-Korean Summit
Commentary, 27 April 2018Adam 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.
North Korea, PacificPages
Australia’s Aegis Destroyer Will Improve its Defensive Capabilities
RUSI Defence Systems, 13 August 2018Debalina Ghoshal
The Royal Australian Navy is leveraging the latest Aegis combat system, SM-6 interceptor missiles and its new Hobart-class destroyers to limit its vulnerability to proliferating ballistic and cruise...
RUSI Defence Systems, Maritime Forces, Pacific
Taiwan’s Illustrative Minehunter Troubles
RUSI Defence Systems, 7 February 2018Shang-Su Wu
Taiwan has had industrial financial viability problems with the construction of new minehunting vessels. These problems are indicative of the difficulties Taipei faces in its indigenous military...
RUSI Defence Systems, Maritime Forces, Pacific
Potential Chinese Railgun Testing Illustrates the US Navy’s Biggest Long-Term Challenge
RUSI Defence Systems, 1 February 2018Justin Bronk
Pictures of what appears to be a test installation of a naval railgun on a PLA Navy landing ship suggest China is moving forward with sea trials of a weapon which can threaten all Western surface...
China, Martial Power Programme, Military Sciences, RUSI Defence Systems, Maritime Forces, Technology, Pacific
Atomic Outcast: Will North Korea Behave Like A ‘Normal’ Nuclear Power?
RUSI Journal, 19 January 2018Björn Alexander Düben
The nature of North Korea's political system suggests that it might not behave like other nuclear powers.
RUSI Journal, North Korea, Defence Policy, Global Security Issues, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, Pacific
Book Review: North Korea and Nuclear Weapons: Entering the New Era of Deterrence
RUSI Journal, 15 December 2017Diana Clark Gill
Diana Clark Gill reviews North Korea and Nuclear Weapons: Entering the New Era of Deterrence, edited by Sung Chull Kim and Michael D Cohen.
RUSI Journal, North Korea, Global Security Issues, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, PacificPages
"The Middle East traditionally has been seen as the cradle of terrorist threats that resonate globally; this year, however, has illustrated how a set of potential dangers exists in South Asia with the potential to ultimately wreak havoc around the world – crying out for closer monitoring."
Time for South Asia to more closely monitor regional terrorism with global reach
In The News, 19 May 2019 Tags: International Security Studies, Pacific, Central and South Asia
"“This year, China is really the country everyone is talking about,” Karin von Hippel, the head of the Royal United Services Institute in London, told Today’s WorldView. “China is a growing power and is obviously a threat in some ways, but at the same time, it’s so big and will be so powerful that we can’t treat China as an enemy. We all have to figure out ways to work with it.”"
The lesson of Davos: China has arrived
In The News, 25 January 2019 Tags: China, Pacific
"[13:15] “What we are seeing now is a much more democratised space environment, more and more actors being able to be involved and yes there are certain states that have more capabilities and are trying to be space powers, but it’s a much different environment [compared to the Cold War]”"
World at One 03/01/2019
In The News, 3 January 2019 Tags: Aerospace, China, Military Sciences, Pacific
"“Because the United States in particular has refused — apart from the cases of the U.K. and France — to export armed models of its iconic Predator and Reaper series of armed drones, China has sort of stepped in to fill that gap. And while its offerings such as the Wing Loong series or CH-4 are less technologically capable than their American counterparts, they’re available pretty much to any state that wants to buy,” Bronk told VOA."
China Meets Growing Demand for Armed Drones in Middle East
In The News, 3 January 2019 Tags: China, Military Sciences, Pacific
"The Friday attack was “reflective of a growing China focus by the BLA”, said Raffaello Pantucci, director of international security studies at the London-based Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies."
Separatist rebels storm China's consulate in Pakistan, two police killed
In The News, 23 November 2018 Tags: China, International Security Studies, Pakistan, Terrorism, 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