YL Blog #37 – Addressing Invisibility: Crafting a South Asian Action Plan for Unpaid Care Work

Despite social progress brought about by economic development in the past decades, women in South Asia continue to bear the brunt of disproportionately distributed unremunerated care work. Unpaid care work refers to all unremunerated services provided within a household that involve catering to the needs of its members. Such activities include cooking, looking after children […]

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YL Blog #36 – Trilateral Approaches: Divisions, Sanctions, and a Stronger Future

On March 23-25, 2023, I attended the United States-Japan-Republic of Korea Trilateral Next-Generation Leaders Dialogue in Tokyo, Japan that focused on the theme: “Reimagining the Trilateral Partnership for the Future of the Indo-Pacific.” I met many talented and passionate young leaders, thinkers, and political strategists from Japan, South Korea and across the United States at […]

PacNet #35 – Mekong water usage tests China’s claimed good-neighborliness

China claims to be a uniquely benevolent international actor—a great power that, unlike other great powers past and present, does not practice “power politics” (self-interested bullying of smaller states) and is not “selfish” or warlike. The PRC government styles itself as the custodian of principles that, if implemented, would excise international relations of conflict and injustice. Smaller neighbors […]

PacNet #34 – The rise of ISKP in South Asia: A threat to regional stability

The rise of ISKP (Islamic State – Khorasan Province) in South Asia, particularly India, is a cause for concern. The group’s use of propaganda and recruitment tactics targeting vulnerable individuals leads to the radicalization of youth and the perpetration of violent acts. ISKP’s acknowledgement of responsibility for the Coimbatore and Mangalore blasts, even though they […]

PacNet #33 – Myanmar’s Coco Islands: A concern not to be ignored

The India-Myanmar relationship is rooted in shared history, culture, and religious values. India and Myanmar share a 1,600-kilometer (1,000-mile) land and maritime border in the Bay of Bengal, adding more significance to the bilateral relations. Furthermore, towns by the Myanmar-India border and cities such as Yangon and Naypyidaw house a large Indian diaspora of roughly […]

PacNet #32 – Europe’s China confusion does the world a disservice

An earlier version of this article appeared in The Japan Times. Talk about mixed messages! Days after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made one of the toughest speeches ever on China by an EU official, French President Emmanuel Macron visited that country with a delegation of business leaders. Macron’s visit saw him meeting […]

Issues & Insights Vol. 23, CR1 – South China Sea, East China Sea, and the Emerging US-Japan-Philippines Trilateral

Executive Summary The U.S.-Japan-Philippines Trilateral Maritime Security Dialogue conducted in December 2022 confirmed that there is very little difference in threat perceptions regarding the East and South China Seas. The three countries view China’s increasingly assertive claims to the territories and maritime zones in the two bodies of water as antithetical to their shared vision […]

PacNet #31 – Time for a shift on the Korean Peninsula

North Korea conducted another intercontinental ballistic missile test on April 13, the second in less than a month. Unlike previous launches, however, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un presided over what Pyongyang claimed was an ICBM powered by a solid-fueled engine. This would represent another milestone in Pyongyang’s decades-long effort to field an operational missile capability despite […]

PacNet #30 – Now is the time for a US-Japan-Taiwan security trilateral

Japan is determined to uphold the international order in the Indo-Pacific but cannot achieve that goal alone. Therefore Tokyo enhances its partnership with allies through minilateral arrangements like the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue and Trilateral Strategic Dialogue (with the United States and Australia). Some even advocate Japan’s cooperation with another minilateral, the Australia-US-UK (AUKUS) pact, in […]