| This week, we released a report on how to maintain the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, authored by Kristy Hsu. We organized an event featuring a report by Piper Campbell on the role of the US and ASEAN countries in promoting regional stability, and we share the recording from our recent webinar on Asia-Pacific perspectives of the China-US relationship.
As always, we share recent activities from our network, analysis on the US presidential election, China’s evolving nuclear policy, Malaysia’s approach to geopolitics, and more. |
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In Defence of the Status Quo: Stabilising Cross-Strait Relations under the Lai Ching-Te Administration
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| Kristy Tsun-Tzu Hsu writes on the evolving cross-strait relations under the Lai Ching-Te administration, examining how Taiwan’s political landscape and public opinion are shaping the island’s future amid rising tensions with China.
She argues that maintaining the status quo and resuming dialogue should be the central focus for policymakers on all sides, especially given Taiwan’s public support for this approach and the low interest in independence. At the same time, she emphasises strengthening international efforts to deter Chinese aggression and ensuring Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations to prevent further escalation of tensions. |
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| Last week, Ambassador Piper Campbell, author of the APLN project paper on US-ASEAN relations, held a fireside chat with US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Southeast Asia Andrew Herrup, drawing upon the arguments in her report. This in-person event was coordinated by APLN Senior Research Adviser Dr. Frank O’Donnell as part of the first US State Department public readout and Q&A on the recent 2024 #ASEAN and East Asia Summits at the US-ASEAN Center in Washington DC. |
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| On October 29th, we held a webinar examining how regional actors in the Asia-Pacific states view the long-term roles of China and the United States in the region. APLN Senior Research Adviser Manpreet Sethi and Policy Fellow Joel Petersson-Ivre discussed key findings and recommendations from their project report, with Zack Cooper, Melissa Conley-Tyler, and Yu Tiejun. The webinar was moderated by APLN Policy Fellow Tanvi Kulkarni. |
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APLN has over 150 members from 22 countries in the Asia-Pacific.
Each week we feature their latest contributions
to global and regional security debates.
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| Chung-in Moon, APLN Vice Chair, was interviewed by The Diplomat on the implications of North Korean troops in Russia and how the US presidential election may reshape the geopolitical landscape across Europe and Northeast Asia. |
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| Kim Won-soo, former Under Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs of the United Nations, wrote for The Korea Times and argued that US allies need to think together about how to hedge the long-term risks arising from structural factors associated with a retreating America. Additionally, a stronger voice is expected from states in the Global South on the future of global governance. |
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| Elina Noor, Senior Fellow in the Asia Programme at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, discussed Malaysia’s “pulling sideways” policy, which allows it to engage both superpowers without full alignment – a strategy that reflects a broader Southeast Asian trend of asserting regional agency amid escalating great power competition. |
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| Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, Resident Senior Fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), co-wrote a commentary with Justin Bassi, arguing that China’s aggressive behaviour in the Pacific undermines established international norms and that rationalizing China’s expansionism as typical great power behaviour is dangerous. |
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| Tong Zhao, Senior Fellow at the Nuclear Policy Program of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, discussed China’s evolving nuclear policy in a podcast with Jon Wolfsthal, addressing how the Chinese political leadership views the purpose of a large nuclear arsenal and the different threat perceptions between China and the US. |
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