Introduction

As 2024 draws to a close the Indo-Pacific’s security challenges continue to evolve. Security strategy for US allies like South Korea need rethinking due to changes in the People’s Republic of China and North Korea (not to mention the US), the growing populations of South and Southeast Asia bring new demands for energy and other resources, and the ongoing conflict in Myanmar continues to destabilize the region.

The following volume, our second collection of Issues & Insights papers in 2024, touches on all these developments, as well as foreign assistance to Southeast Asia, the needs of women and children in disaster response, and China’s naval development and the implications for its neighbors. They show that, while Pacific Forum remains grounded in traditional security issues like military strategy, military buildup, and conflict resolution, the non-traditional security issues that often presage open warfare are also in our sights.

Through these Issues & Insights collections we look forward to informing our audiences of these ongoing and developing issues, and to your continued support.

Rob York 

Director for Regional Affairs 

Pacific Forum

Download the full volume here.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

NET ASSESSMENT(S) ARE A GOOD CHOICE FOR FORMULATING KOREAN SECURITY STRATEGIES

SMRS: A SOLUTION FOR WOMEN’S ENERGY TRILEMMA IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH?

CHILD FRIENDLY SPACES AND PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT AS TOOLS TO ENHANCE THE WOMEN, PEACE, AND SECURITY AGENDA

JAPAN’S NEW NATIONAL SECURITY – PLACING QUALITY INFRASTRUCTURE AND DEFENSE AT THE FOREFRONT

MYANMAR’S UNFOLDING HUMANITARIAN CRISIS AND RIPPLE EFFECT ON REGIONAL SECURITY

CHINESE MULTIFACETED MARITIME STRATEGY OF DOMINANCE

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

About the Authors

KANGKYU LEE is a Research Fellow at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA) in South Korea and was Visiting Fellow at Pacific Forum in 2024. During his career at KIDA since 2010, he has conducted research on the ROK-US alliance, cybersecurity in defense, and conflicts in East Asia. He served as the Chief of Defense Strategy and worked as an editorial board member of the Korean Journal of Defense Analysis and the Quarterly Journal of Defense Policy Studies. He has been recently focusing on the US-China strategic competition and its influence on the Korean Peninsula. He received his BA and MA in Asian History and China Area Studies respectively, from Seoul National University in South Korea and holds a PhD in International Relations from the University of Denver in the US.  

MARYRUTH BELSEY-PRIEBE was Director for Women, Peace & Security (WPS) Programs and a Senior Fellow at Pacific Forum International from 2021-2023.

SHWE YEE OO was Resident Nonproliferation Fellow at Pacific Forum from 2020 to 2023.

BRANDT MABUNI was Resident WSD-Handa Fellow in 2023 and Nonproliferation Fellow in 2024.

ROB YORK is Director for Regional Affairs at Pacific Forum.

ELENA BRAGHIERI GRADER is a Georgetown MBA graduate and a Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy Humanitarian Assistance graduate. She is currently serving as a non-resident Women, Peace and Security Fellow at Pacific Forum. She can be reached at [email protected] and at [email protected]

JAMIE LEE  is the Resident Fellow at Pacific Forum. Previously she completed a Regional Security Studies Internship at the Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS). She recently obtained her M.A. in Political Science from The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She can be reached at [email protected].

AUNG THURA KO KO is a Resident Fellow at the Pacific Forum and an East-West Center affiliate scholar. Aung previously worked at the Oxford Global Security Programme and holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Oxford.

MANDAR RAJENDRA RANSING is a UGC-qualified young researcher specializing in defense and strategic studies. Currently completing post-graduation at the University of Mumbai, he is majoring in international relations and strategic studies. Mandar is a research analyst at Geostrata (an Indian think tank) and is also employed as an executive at the Indian Chamber of Commerce. His areas of research include maritime security, nuclear issues, unmanned warfare, and strategic issues at large. He is equally interested in the dynamics of global political economy.

Photo: A woman from Nashik rappels down a 60-foot well to find water | Credit: Tanvi Deshpande/Al Jazeera