Overview Security issues in the South China Sea are often studied, whereas analysis of scientific cooperation in those waters is rare, thinly spread and short. This paper looks at shared priorities, China's leading role in launching scientific programs, implications for the environment, and the use of scientific cooperation as a power vector. The research space...

Abstract This paper examines Australia’s national security interests in the South China Sea. It notes that a number of states lay claim to various islands in the region, and that territorial disputes over those claims have occasionally erupted into armed conflict in the past. The paper contends that China’s more recent behaviour in asserting its...

This paper outlines the dilemmas faced by Asian countries caught in strategic competition between great powers. Abstract This paper by Singapore’s Ambassador-at-large Bilahari Kausikan was the inaugural Shedden Lecture in Strategy and Defence. It artfully describes the tension regional countries face and advocates a posture of flexibility and independence. It argues we should not try...

Overview: This report analyses the regional trend of key nations investing in more capable naval and air platforms. In Northeast Asia, countries include China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. In Southeast Asia, the paper looks at Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand. This analysis is used to determine potential implications for Australia’s strategic...

This paper argues that by identifying clear ideas about acceptable conduct in the key domains (Maritime, Space and Cyber) the US and China can avoid conflict without presuming away differences of interest or opinion.