Introduction

After 20 years, Pacific Forum’s commitment to mentoring the next generation of Indo–Pacific experts and analysts is undimmed. Our Fellows and Young Leaders programs nurture up–and–coming thinkers and doers from around the world. Central to this program is giving participants the opportunity to assess developments, an outlook that is shaped as much by events themselves as the different perspectives through which younger generations view the world.

Indeed, one of the basic assumptions of the Pacific Forum’s next–generation programs is that the world has changed in fundamental ways and the working assumptions that have shaped thinking and analysis are in need of revision.

Papers in this volume offer insight into this new thinking. They explore enduring and emerging regional security concerns from a next–generation perspective

Brad Glosserman

Senior Advisor & Director of Research

Pacific Forum

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

DE-ESCALATION MECHANISMS IN CHINA-PHILIPPINE MARITIME DISPUTES IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA

A NEW ERA OF US CAPACITY BUILDING: STRENGTHENING ALLIED LONG-RANGE STRIKE IN THE INDO-PACIFIC

BEIJING’S EXPANDING LAW ENFORCEMENT ROLE AND STRATEGIC PRESENCE IN THE SOLOMON ISLANDS

SRI LANKA IN THE INDO-PACIFIC: BALANCING NATIONAL INTERESTS AND GEOPOLITICAL REALITIES

MAKASSAR AS THE ANSWER TO CHINA’S MALACCA DILEMMA BY TRUSTON YU 31

STRATEGIC AUTONOMY AND MULTILATERAL FRAMEWORKS IN THE INDO-PACIFIC: CASES OF INDIA & AUSTRALIA

THE POLITICS OF SAVING FACE: NEGOTIATING KHMER-THAI MARITIME BORDER CLAIMS ON KOH KUT

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

About the Authors

APARNA DIVYA is a PhD candidate at the School of International Relations and Public Affairs (SIRPA), Fudan University. Her research focuses on India, South Asia and China–South Asia relations. She has contributed to The Diplomat and South Asian Voices, writing on domestic politics and foreign policy.

NATASHA FERNANDO is a PhD candidate in études du religieux contemporain (contemporary religious studies) at Université de Sherbrooke (University of Sherbrooke) in Quebec Canada. Her articles are catalogued at MuckRuck (https://muckrack.com/nathasha-fernando-1) and ORCID (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0606-7893).

MATTHEW FESSICK holds an M.S. in Criminal Justice from Chaminade University of Honolulu and a B.A. in Political Science, with minors in Asian Studies, Economics, and History from Saint Joseph’s University. He currently serves as an Administrative Support Assistant with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Pacific Islands Refuges and Monuments Office, which manages over 1.1 million square miles of diverse wildlife refuges and marine national monuments across the Pacific. Previously, Matthew oversaw and supported the operations of several doctoral and master’s programs at Chaminade University’s School of Education and Behavioral Sciences. He has also completed internships with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the East-West Center, and the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia.

DANA LEE is a master’s degree student in Peace and Conflict Studies at the Australian National University and a Young Leader at the Pacific Forum. Over the past few years, Dana has led numerous projects advocating for SDG 5 and 16, and writes extensively on peace and security in Southeast Asia, war studies, maritime security, women’s involvement in foreign policy and defence, and state engagement in conflicts with a focus on Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar. She was selected as the only Cambodian representative for Women in Foreign Policy: Southeast Asia Edition by FPCI and served as a fellow researcher at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research under the Global Diplomacy Initiative. Her paper “Reflecting on History: Building a Resilient Society Through Maintaining Peace in the Mekong Region” was selected to the International Graduate Student Conference in Hawaii, and later presented at the UNGA Science Summit 79. Dana has also received “Honorable Mention Delegate” awards from previous international conferences and was honored by the Cambodian Ministry of Education as the nation’s top outstanding student. During the Khmer-Thai border skirmish, Dana lobbied ASEAN leaders for peace through writing and personal talks, becoming the first and youngest Cambodian woman to hold a dialogue with former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Bin Mohamad.

ANGELO M’BA is a Schwarzman Scholar at Tsinghua University and an Oxford graduate specializing in Chinese foreign policy, Indo-Pacific geopolitics, and international cooperation. He briefly lectured on cross-Strait relations and Indo-Pacific security, and his geopolitical analyses have appeared in outlets such as The Diplomat, the Oxford Political Review, and Pacific Forum, where he is a Young Leader.

RUPERT SCHULENBURG is the Assistant Editor of The Military Balance at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). Based in London, he assists in editing and managing the publication, as well as contributes research on Indo-Pacific security, US defence strategy and force posture, US alliances and partnerships, as well as missile capabilities. He holds an MPhil in International Security Studies from the University of St Andrews and a BA (Hons) in International Relations from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.

TRUSTON YU is an independent researcher in Southeast Asian studies and China-Southeast Asia relations. Truston received their education across Keio University, Yonsei University, and the University of Hong Kong. They have written over 30 commentaries featured by outlets including the Diplomat, the Jakarta Post, and the Straits Times. Truston is a Pacific Forum Young Leader.