PacNet #14 – South Korea’s Indo-Pacific pivot strategy

2022 ended with South Korea adopting specific Indo-Pacific terminology with the Dec. 28 release of its Strategy for a Free, Peaceful, and Prosperous Indo-Pacific Region (SFPPIP). The key takeaway: The SFPPIP, and President Yoon Suk Yeol, signal an end to South Korea’s “strategic ambiguity” under the previous president, Moon Jae-in. Seoul pivoting away from Beijing […]

PacNet #13 – After China’s Party Congress, steeling for competition with the West

Xi Jinping’s dark assessment at the October 2022 Party Congress was the most prominent public signal to-date that Beijing is preparing for a “protracted struggle” with the United States and other Western countries. Looking ahead to 2023, this new assessment, and Xi’s emphasis on controlling risk, is likely to steer China’s entire political, economic, and […]

YL Blog #35 – Bridging Defense Discourses: Why ASEAN Should Start Talking About Deterrence

Recent developments in the global and regional environment have revitalized discussions on the need for strong and credible deterrence. The recently concluded workshop on Anticipating the Next Chapter in US Nuclear Deterrence Strategy, hosted by the Center for Global Security Research, is therefore very timely and relevant. The two-day event featured intensive discussions on the […]

Issues & Insights Vol. 23, SR2 – The World After Taiwan’s Fall

Introduction Let us start with our bottom line: a failure of the United States to come to Taiwan’s aid—politically, economically, and militarily—would devastate the Unites States’ credibility and defense commitments to its allies and partners, not just in Asia, but globally. If the United States tries but fails to prevent a Chinese takeover of Taiwan, […]

YL Blog #34 – Better now than later: the US nuclear enterprise on force modernization

I virtually attended the “Anticipating the Next Chapter in US Nuclear Deterrence Strategy” workshop, put on by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Center for Global Security Research (CGSR), from November 1-2, 2022, through the Pacific Forum Young Leaders program. Below, I highlight a theme that ran throughout the conference, which was a kind of summary […]

Michael Walsh

Michael Walsh is the President of the Islands Society and an Affiliate of the Center for Australian, New Zealand, and Pacific Studies at the Georgetown School of Foreign Service. Prior to these roles, he served as the Chair of the Asia-Pacific Security Affairs Subcommittee on the Biden Defense Working Group during the 2020 Presidential Campaign. […]

Alexander Neill

Alexander Neill has devoted his career to examining the impact of China on the global stage. Through his work for government agencies and think-tanks, he has fostered deep links with the strategic community across the Indo-Pacific region. After graduating from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, Alexander Neill worked for […]

Elizabeth Freund Larus

Elizabeth Freund Larus, Ph.D. is Founder and President of E Larus Consulting LLC, and Professor Emerita of Political Science and International Affairs at the University of Mary Washington. A Fulbright Scholar and Taiwan Fellow, she specializes in East Asian political, economic, and security dynamics. Dr. Larus draws on more than 30 years of experience with the […]