| Defence alignments across the Asia-Pacific are being redrawn. In a new special issue with Global Asia, nine leading experts examine how regional states are restructuring their security partnerships and balancing relationships with both the US and China. We also bring you highlights from the 21st Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity, where APLN convened three high-level sessions bringing together senior policymakers and diplomats to address the region’s most pressing security challenges.
And our weekly roundup of member activities includes analysis on South Korean foreign policy, the strategic messaging behind the US Pacific Command name change, expanding the Canada–South Korea security partnership, and more. |
|
|
Middle Power Strategies for Conflict Prevention in a Contested Asia-Pacific
|
|
|
On 24 June, APLN hosted a workshop on Jeju Island, South Korea, as part of its Asia Dialogue on China-US Relations. Participants examined the practical roles available to Asia-Pacific middle powers in today’s security environment, from building collective resilience against potential retaliation by larger powers to advancing nuclear risk reduction. The discussion also considered what a realistic middle-power conflict prevention agenda could look like by 2035.
|
|
|
APLN Participants at the workshop (from left to right): Fang Liu, Shen Dingli, Tatsujiro Suzuki, Joel Petersson Ivre, Hwang Yong-soo, Chung-in Moon, Shivshankar Menon, Gareth Evans, Nobuyasu Abe, Mely Caballero-Anthony, Shatabhisha Shetty, Lee Sang Hyun, Marty Natalegawa, Hong Hyung-taek
|
|
|
APLN and Jeju Peace Institute Signed MOU to Strengthen Cooperation
|
|
|
The official signing ceremony between APLN Executive Director Shatabhisha Shetty and Jeju Peace Institute President Jeong-sik Kang
|
|
|
On 23 June, APLN and the Jeju Peace Institute officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), establishing a formal framework for our partnership. Building on our successful collaboration during the Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity, this agreement will expand joint research, knowledge exchanges, and policy dialogues.
|
|
|
At the 21st Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity, APLN partnered with the Jeju Peace Institute and the East Asia Foundation to convene three high-level discussions bringing together senior policymakers, diplomats and leading experts. The discussions spanned the future of East Asia’s security architecture, ASEAN’s strategic options amid intensifying US–China competition, and the search for a more stable regional and international order.
|
|
| Left: APLN Vice Chair Chung-in Moon and former APLN Chair Gareth Evans participating in a Press Conference. Right: Hoang Thi Ha, Kasit Piromya, Marty Natalegawa, Lim Sungnam and Ton Nu Thi Ninh (virtual), at the session “ASEAN between China and the US: What options are available?”. |
|
| Left: Kim Sung-Hwan, Gareth Evans, Kono Taro, Shivshankar Menon, and Marty Natalegawa at the former Foreign Ministers session “Destined for Chaos and Disorder? Search for New Regional and International Order”. Right: Robert Hill, Harry Harris, Suh Wook, and Shigeru Kitamura at the session “Between Collective Defense and Collective Security: Toward a New Security Architecture in East Asia”. |
|
|
APLN Participants at the Jeju Forum (from left to right): Hoang Thi Ha, Tatsujiro Suzuki, Lee Sang Hyun, Mely Caballero-Anthony, Shatabhisha Shetty, Marty Natalegawa, Gareth Evans, Hong Hyung-taek, Joel Petersson Ivre
|
|
|
Safer Together: Patterns of Security Co-operation in Asia
|
|
|
In partnership with the Global Asia journal, we bring together expert perspectives examining how the Asia-Pacific states are evolving amid growing geopolitical competition and contestation, and how regional players are restructuring their defence alignments and balancing relationships with both the US and China. The June 2026 special issue features nine essays spanning the region, from Japan’s evolving defence posture to ASEAN’s internal challenges, Pakistan’s search for alternatives to a Western-led order, and China’s own strategies for reshaping the status quo.
Featured contributors in this issue include:
The essays are drawn from APLN’s 2026 conference on “The Shifting Trajectories of Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific” held in Malaysia in April 2026. The event, organised by the APLN, with the support of the Andrew Carnegie Foundation, brought together leading experts and former practitioners from the United States, China, and across the Asia-Pacific region, as part of APLN’s Asia Dialogue on China-US Relations.
|
|
|
APLN has over 180 members from 24 countries in the Asia-Pacific.
Each week, we feature their latest contributions
to global and regional security debates.
|
|
| Chung-in Moon, APLN Vice Chair and James Laney professor emeritus at Yonsei University, was interviewed by The National Interest Publisher Paul Saunders, where he discussed the current trajectory and thinking behind South Korean foreign policy under President Lee Jae-myung. |
|
|
| C Uday Bhaskar, Director of the Society for Policy Studies (SPS), wrote for South China Morning Post on the implications of the US Pacific Command name change for China and India, highlighting that the core issue is how well the US, China and India can harness the maritime and naval dimensions of their grand strategies in support of their political objectives. |
|
|
| Eunjung Lim, Professor at the Division of International Studies, Kongju National University (KNU), spoke at a webinar hosted by the Institute for Peace & Diplomacy (IPD) and examined how Canada and South Korea are jointly navigating changing alliances, shared national interests, and like-minded efforts to strengthen their sovereignty. |
|
|
| Hoang Thi Ha, Senior Fellow at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, argued that amid rapid geopolitical shifts, ASEAN should focus more on practical outcomes and developing capabilities rather than expending effort on negotiating lengthy statements. |
|
|
| Cheng-Chwee Kuik, Professor at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), has authored a book on Theorising Hedging, published by Cambridge University Press. The book examines how middle powers instinctively turn to strategic hedging rather than balancing or bandwagoning to manage high-stakes structural uncertainties. While international structural shifts trigger a state’s decision to hedge, domestic factors ultimately dictate the specific variations in their hedging choices. |
|
|
| Frank O’Donnell, APLN Senior Research Adviser, was quoted in India Today’s analysis of India’s interest in joining a sixth-generation fighter aircraft programme, including the GCAP and FCAS, cautioning that while both programmes could offer long-term technology transfer benefits, India should not allow them to distract from more pressing priorities. |
|
|
Was this newsletter forwarded to you?
Sign up here to receive weekly updates from APLN directly to your inbox.
|
|
|
Do you want direct updates on non-proliferation and disarmament issues
in the Asia-Pacific?
Before it’s in the newsletter, it’s on social media.
Follow APLN for direct updates in your favorite social media feed.
|
|
|
|
|
