Introduction

Pacific Forum has long prided itself in bringing keen analysis on pressing Indo-Pacific security matters from the best scholars in the field, while also preparing the next generation of thinkers to carry on the work. With this volume we’re proud to advance both missions, as readers will find the work of our Adjunct Senior Fellow Elizabeth Freund Larus, who makes use of her decades of experience in discussing the current maritime dispute between the Philippines and China, and what it means for the US-Japan-Philippines trilateral. Elsewhere Yu-cheng Chen, associate professor of the Graduate Institute of China Military Affairs Studies at Taiwan’s National Defense University, describes recent trends in the PRC’s gray zone activities and their pressure on the Taipei government. 

Then Jung-eun Lee, seasoned editorial writer for the Dong-a Ilbo and our former nonresident James A. Kelly Korea fellow, assesses the strengths and shortcomings of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s economic security strategy. Dete Aliah, Founder and Director of SeRVE (Society against Radicalism and Violent Extremism) – Indonesia and Women, Peace and Security fellow at Pacific Forum, describes the complicated role played by women in fostering Islamic extremism in Indonesia. Shakthi De Silva, Pacific Forum’s nonresident Lloyd and Lilian Vasey fellow, explains the differences in how ASEAN’s three biggest economies have responded to the US-China tech competition, and in conclusion, our 2024 summer research intern Ila Prabhuram explains what the growing role of BRICS means—and doesn’t mean—for US global leadership. 

We hope that this diverse array of scholars, whose expertise covers the breadth of the Indo-Pacific, helps policymakers across the region in their decision-making, while also preparing the new generation of thought leaders to take up the task in the years to come. 

Rob York 

Director for Regional Affairs 

Pacific Forum

Download the full volume here.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

DANGEROUS CONFRONTATION IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA: THE ISSUES, THE US-JAPAN-PHILIPPINES ALLIANCE AND WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT THE THREAT

PRC’S GRAY ZONE AND PRESSURE ON TAIWAN – THE KINMEN SPEEDBOAT ACCIDENT AND BEYOND

FACTORS HINDERING ROK’S ECONOMIC SECURITY STRATEGY

TERRORIST GROUPS IN INDONESIA: NAVIGATING WOMEN’S PATHWAYS AND ROLES IN THE LANDSCAPE OF EXTREMISM

US-CHINA TECHNOLOGY COMPETITION AND SOUTHEAST ASIA’S FOREIGN POLICY POSTURE: WHERE DO SINGAPORE, THAILAND AND INDONESIA STAND?

BRICS’ EMERGING ECONOMIC STATECRAFT IS NOT A STRATEGIC THREAT TO THE UNITED STATES—YET

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

About the Authors

ELIZABETH FREUND LAURUS is an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Pacific Forum and Professor Emerita of Political Science at the University of Mary Washington. She was a Fulbright Scholar in Poland and a Taiwan Fellow. 

JAMES RICE was an academic at the National University of Malaysia and Lingnan University, Hong Kong. He lives in Vigan, Philippines.

Dr. CHEN YU-CHENG is an associate professor for the Graduate Institute of China Military Affairs Studies, Fu Hsing Kang (FHK) College, National Defense University (Taiwan); He is a member of Research Project on China’s Defense Affairs (RCDA). His research interests includes PRC’s political warfare, PLA maritime power, and East Asia security. He received a scholarship for “Overseas Academic Diplomacy Program 2020 and 2023” from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Taiwan.

JUNG-EUN LEE is an editorial writer at the Dong-a Ilbo in Seoul and was Nonresident James A. Kelly Korea Fellow from 2022-23.

SITI DAROJATUL ALIAH is the Founder and Director of SeRVE (Society against Radicalism and Violent Extremism) – Indonesia and Women, Peace and Security Fellow at Pacific Forum.

SHAKTHI DE SILVA was Nonresident Lloyd and Lilian Vasey Fellow at Pacific Forum from 2023-24. He holds a master of international affairs degree from the National University of Singapore and serves as an international relations lecturer for several tertiary-level education institutions in Sri Lanka.

ILA PRABHURAM is a second-year undergraduate student at Princeton University majoring in Public and International Affairs with a prospective minor in Information Technology and Society, and she is a current Research Intern at Pacific Forum. She has wide-ranging interests in security law, international law, soft power, jurisprudence, human rights, and peacebuilding. At Princeton, she is heavily involved as a Research Assistant in the School of Public and International Affairs, an Ethics of Policy Fellow for the Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, a U-Councilor on the Undergraduate Student Government, the Publicity Chair for the Naacho South Asian Dance Team, and the Communications Chair for SPEAR (Students for Prison Education, Abolition, and Reform). 

Photo: Royal Netherlands Navy De Zeven Provincien-class frigate HNLMS Tromp (F803) fires a missile during an exercise in 2024 Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) || Credit: Cristian Schrik