| This week, we revisit Sarah Teo’s Korea Times column on reshaping the Indo-Pacific security architecture and fostering complementary forms of cooperation to build a more stable and responsive regional system. We are proud to share that our Chair, Marty Natalegawa, has been awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun by the Government of Japan for his contributions to strengthening Japan-Indonesia relations. And we are excited to welcome Dongkeun Lee to the team as our new Policy Fellow.
As always, we highlight recent activities from our network, including analysis on ASEAN-led economic cooperative frameworks, India-Pakistan crisis, and China-US relations. |
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The Remaking of the Indo-Pacific Security Architecture
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Sarah Teo argues that the Indo-Pacific security architecture is shifting from traditional US-led bilateral alliances and ASEAN-centred multilateralism toward a more modular and decentralised model based on flexible, issue-specific coalitions. While this boosts the agency of smaller and medium-sized countries, it also risks fragmentation and exclusion if not carefully managed. The key challenge for regional actors is to balance these evolving models to preserve stability amid intensifying great power competition.
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We extend our heartfelt congratulations to our Chair, Dr. Marty Natalegawa, who has been awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun by the Government of Japan, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to strengthening Japan–Indonesia relations and promoting friendship between the two countries.
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We are delighted to welcome Dongkeun Lee as our Policy Fellow. Dongkeun’s research largely focuses on maritime security and international order in the Indo-Pacific region. His works have been featured in various outlets such as Marine Policy, Asan Forum, and the Observer Research Foundation.
Dongkeun is submitting his PhD thesis at the Australian National University in June 2025, where he examines the influence of sea power in shaping the maritime order in the Indo-Pacific and the driving factors behind sea power development in the region. He is also a non-resident James A. Kelly Fellow at the Pacific Forum and has been a Doctoral Fellow at the Japan Foundation, based at Keio University.
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APLN has over 160 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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| Marty Natalegawa, APLN Chair, pointed out that ASEAN has established multiple free trade agreements with regional partners and has initiated RCEP and the EAS. However, these frameworks have largely remained dormant in addressing the current tariff war, highlighting a “paradox of plenty” and unrealised crisis management potential. ASEAN could inject a sense of urgency and offer a neutral space for dialogue and action. |
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| Frank O’Donnell, APLN Senior Research Adviser, was quoted by Reuters, where he commented that decision-makers in both India and Pakistan now show greater willingness to initiate and escalate conflicts compared to the pre-2019 period. This heightened risk appetite, combined with the lack of clear mutual understanding about red lines, increases the potential for unintended escalation. |
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| Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, Resident Senior Fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), noted that in the ongoing India-Pakistan conflict, India has abandoned its traditional restraint – shifting from diplomatic pressure to surgical strikes – and escalated its military responses to Pakistan-backed terrorism, reflecting a strategic shift driven by the failure of earlier deterrence efforts. |
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| Rabia Akhtar, founding Director of the Centre for Security, Strategy and Policy Research at the University of Lahore, was quoted by Geo News, where she stressed that although both Pakistan and India understand the risks, the speed of events and the potential for misinterpretation – especially if restraint is perceived as weakness – could dangerously intensify the conflict, making backchannel diplomacy critical. |
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| Tong Zhao, Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, wrote for Foreign Affairs and emphasised that in order to avoid escalation, leaders in both Beijing and Washington must critically reassess their own strategic assumptions and internal decision-making. |
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