Welcome to the September edition of The Navigator. This month’s briefs examine a shifting Indo-Pacific security architecture, where expanding defence partnerships meet growing uncertainty over tradi...

Written by Stan Kwiatkowski. The time to reduce exposure is before a mobilisation order is issued, not after.

Written by Sapna Suresh. Should a future RN government end up pushing for protectionist policies, New Delhi should work towards diversifying its economic partnerships across other EU member states.

Written by Ambika Vishwanath and Priyanka Bhide. The growing number and diversity of disasters in the Indo-Pacific region call for a more methodical approach between countries that share borders.

Written by Robert Barnett. On 8 August the Nepalese government ordered Kathmandu University to abort its plan to host a major international conference on Tibet. Media reports and online chatter assume...

Written by Jason Togut. The history of silver has not come full circle, but it has begun to rhyme. Ming China pulled silver across the Pacific because its fiscal system created enormous monetary dema...

Written by Erdem Lamazhapov. Fears that the Polar Silk Road is an instrument for gaining control in the Arctic or over Greenland mistake what is essentially a slogan for a coherent, centrally-directed...

As 9DASHLINE expands its Indo-Pacific coverage, Assistant Editors — Luana Correia, Akash Nayak and Elizabeth Cherchia — share what drew them to the region, the trends they believe deserve greater atte...

Written by Herman S. Taylor. The dispute with the Philippines was temporarily set aside rather than settled, leaving room for neutrality. Then Beijing brought the same coercive reflex to Manila that i...

Welcome to the August edition of the Navigator. This month we examine a region facing mounting pressure on multiple fronts. From extreme climate shocks and economic strain to shifting security partner...

9DASHLINE spoke with Dr. Eva Seiwert about her new book, The Shanghai Cooperation Organization and China’s Vision of International Relations. Marking the SCO’s 25th anniversary, Dr. Seiwert draws on C...

Written by Angelo M'BA. In the future, even less confrontational and security-focused iterations of FOIP are likely to face Beijing’s opposition because their premise of involving external actors — to...

Written by Vignesh Rajahmani. The movement’s success is no longer measured by Pradhan’s resignation. What counts now is the institutional response the movement can compel: an independent NEET investig...

This week, we speak with Dr Pavin Chachavalpongpun, Founder of 112Watch and Professor at Kyoto University, about Thailand’s lèse-majesté law (Article 112), political repression in Thailand and Southea...

Written by Carmina Yu Untalan. Indeed, if stronger Philippines-Japan relations rest on upholding a rules-based international order, then both parties must extend the same normative and legal commitmen...

As 9DASHLINE continues to expand its coverage across the Indo-Pacific, our editorial team recently welcomed two Associate Editors — Angelo M’BA and Samuel Parmer. Our Editor-in-Chief, Dr Yatana Yamaha...

Written by William Ford. If the Takaichi administration makes the difficult decision to lower rice tariffs or expand import quotas, it could bring down rice prices for Japanese consumers while also st...

This month, we examine EU engagement with the Taliban, where Chris Fitzgerald argues that efforts to curb irregular migration risk undermining the bloc's longstanding commitment to human rights and in...

Written by Grace Corcoran and Aditya Gowdara Shivamurthy. Maritime security presents a high-impact avenue for coordination. Bangladesh possesses one of the most capable armed forces in the region and ...

Written by Leonardo Morreale. In a first clash, both China and Japan would be learning the most expensive lessons in real time, and the side that adapts faster, not the side with more hulls, would lik...

Written by Jing Ge. China’s controls are changing Japan’s political calculus: dependence on Chinese supply is no longer just a commercial risk but an economic-security vulnerability.

Written by Edwin Akpotu. While diplomacy can reduce immediate risks, longer-term change depends on progress on Kashmir, reductions in cross-border violence, and stronger political support for engageme...

Written by Gilang Kembara. China’s island-building strategy in the South China Sea is not only reshaping the maritime order, but also provoking responses from regional claimants and external actors — ...

Written by Hunter Marston. The recent Russia-ASEAN Summit is only the latest example of a more diffuse and loosely organised world order, in which Washington plays a less central role, and its rivals ...

Written by Dr Paco Milhiet. Left unresolved, this deadlock carries its own strategic cost: renewed instability would further strain an already fragile economy, deter the investment needed to revive th...

Written by You-Hao Lai and Ren-Wei Chang. Multinational cloud providers should be included to show that their Taiwan-based nodes can function when cut off from the overseas systems that normally contr...

Written by Marie Hiliquin. Europe, facing a myriad of diplomatic and economic pressures from China and lacking a unified centre, is increasingly engaging in self-containment on China policy — exemplif...

Written by Anuttama Banerji and Nayanima Basu. While the IPMSC marks a pivotal shift in US foreign policy strategy, particularly its military posture in the Pacific Ocean, this initiative, coupled wit...

Written by Debodipta Nandan. The Iran war, waged in the name nuclear non-proliferation, has reinforced a lesson for Asia’s major powers: the protection the US-led order extends to them is conditional,...

9DASHLINE asks several leading experts to examine whether the decline of US democracy weakens liberal democracy in the Indo-Pacific — or creates opportunities for new democratic models to emerge.

Written by Satoshi Ota. If the Indo-Japanese partnership is to fully reflect the principles associated with a Free and Open Indo-Pacific, development efforts should extend beyond strategic and economi...

Written by Dr Anisa Heritage. While a consolidation strategy offers a sensible course correction, deterrence in the Indo-Pacific depends as much on regional confidence in long-term political commitmen...

As the US marks its 250th anniversary, we invite several key experts to analyse how a changing US foreign policy and regional minilateralism are reshaping Indo-Pacific geopolitics.

Welcome to the June edition of The Navigator. This month’s brief examines Taiwan–Lithuania relations, where shared experiences of external pressure have driven closer political and tech cooperation. ...

Podcast Episode · The Bridge: Europe's Indo-Pacific Podcast · June 24 · 46m

Written by Liselotte Odgaard. As US strategy increasingly prioritises the Indo-Pacific while delegating greater responsibility to allies, NATO-IP4 cooperation is likely to deepen selectively — focusin...

Written by Jing Ge. Taiwan’s undersea cables are not only a communications vulnerability; they are also a test of crisis discipline in the Indo-Pacific. In a Taiwan Strait crisis, a severed cable coul...

Written by Eve Register. The protection of human rights has long been a founding principle of the EU. While the GSP+ programme represents an opportunity to advance this goal, human rights will remain ...

Written by Percy Yixuanchen Yu. Taiwan must satisfy three demands that pull against one another: keeping its elected voice visible, avoiding a performative assertion of sovereignty that could invite e...

Welcome to the May edition of The Navigator. This month highlights a defining trend across the Indo-Pacific: economic pressure and strategic competition are increasingly intertwined, as heatwaves, en...

Written by Khyati Singh. The potential to combine Chinese technological innovation with localised implementation means that Southeast Asia could yet transform its demographic challenge from a looming ...

Written by Linn Thit Htoo. A protracted war that the Tatmadaw cannot win, but remains capable of sustaining, is becoming an increasingly poor investment for China.

Written by Kushang Mishra. Instead of using this platform to champion a fairer system as an emerging leader of the Global South, the Indian government appeared content to secure a seat at the global p...

Written by Muhammad Izzuddin Al Haq. If other middle powers in the Indo-Pacific follow Jakarta’s stance in resisting formal alignment, the region may become one where multilateral cooperation works in...

Written by Apipol Sae-Tung. The regime’s institutional architecture is designed for continuity, but the energy crisis has introduced a level of volatility that requires a more agile and transparent re...

Written by Anuttama Banerji and Dr. Sahar Khan. A central weakness in the partnership is the absence of shared operational experience. Unlike US treaty allies, India has not participated in high-inten...

Written by Chandarith Neak & Chhay Lim. Cambodia’s partners would do well to start seeing it for what it is: a small state with its own interests, its own history, and no good options — only hard choi...

Written by Hunter Marston. The root of Myanmar’s crisis is political: as long as the military holds power, the country will be at war, and the economy will underperform.