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Full-Text Plus section. Here is
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list of journals available. |
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December 2023 Current Topics |
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Why North Korean Nuclear Blackmail is Unlikely, November 2023.
Nuclear-armed North Korea is now expanding and diversifying its
arsenal and delivery systems, including the deployment of
tactical nuclear weapons. This generates fears that Pyongyang
intends to use nuclear coercion to force its political agenda
upon South Korea while negating the “nuclear umbrella” provided
by Seoul’s ally the United States. Even the expanded nuclear
arsenal, however, is unlikely to embolden Pyongyang either to
demand specific concessions from Seoul during peacetime on pain
of a nuclear attack, or to employ conventional military attacks
more aggressively under the cover provided by North Korea’s
nuclear weapons. Absent an attempt by Seoul and Washington to
topple the Kim regime through invasion, nuclear threats by
Pyongyang lack credibility... |
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EWC |
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The Evolution of the Partnership between NATO and Japan,
November 2023. On July 11-12, a historic NATO summit meeting
was held in Vilnius, Lithuania. In addition to 31 NATO member
states, four heads of government of Indo-Pacific countries
attended the meeting. Japan and South Korea signed an
Individually Tailored Partnership Programs (ITPP) with NATO.
This paper examines the trend and significance of the new
partnership between NATO and Japan. The summit showcased the
strong ties among NATO countries and partnered states 17 months
after the ruthless Russian aggression against Ukraine that
started in February 2022. Perhaps the most important nature of
this summit was mutual recognition of the inseparability of the
security of the Euro-Atlantic Zone and that of the Indo-Pacific
arena... |
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EWC |
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Techno-Geopolitics and US Support for India’s Quantum Ambition,
November 2023. Allaying obstacles that may have existed
before, India and the United States have made it clear that they
are entering an era of ‘techno-geopolitics.’ Amid the
intensifying China-US tech rivalry, the United States, betting
big on India’s long-term technological prospects and its pivotal
role in Indo-Pacific geopolitics, has forged ‘a technology
partnership for the future’ during the State Visit of Indian
Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the United States in June 2023.
The US-India Joint Statement, released at the conclusion of the
State Visit, is a comprehensive iteration of all the major
facets of new and emerging technologies and, therefore, rightly
claims that ‘no corner of human enterprise is untouched by the
partnership.’... |
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EWC |
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China’s South China Sea Overreach Faces Growing Obstacles,
November 2023. A Chinese Coast Guard vessel blasting a
smaller Philippines boat with a powerful water cannon reinforces
the perception that Beijing is successfully advancing its
territorial claims in the South China Sea. Several aspects of
the PRC’s policy have made pushback difficult. First, with
considerable success, Beijing has blocked the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) from opposing major Chinese
objectives. Second, Beijing has used “gray zone” tactics to
improve its position and intimidate the other claimants without
incurring military retaliation. Third, China’s huge economic and
industrial capacity has enabled the Chinese to fill the South
China Sea with more and larger Coast Guard and Navy ships than
other claimants can match, not to mention deputizing swarms of
Chinese fishing boats to carry out strategic tasks... |
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EWC |
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Maui Wildfires: Opportunities and Lessons in Resiliency for the
Pacific Region, November 2023. The August 2023 Maui
Wildfires wrought catastrophic damage on Maui and revealed a
range of tragic vulnerabilities facing the State of Hawai‘i. A
few early lessons from Hawai‘i’s experiences provide key
insights for communities across the Indo-Pacific and should be
harnessed to promote action to mitigate future disasters. Maui’s
tragedy demonstrates that communities and leaders across the
Indo-Pacific must prepare for the new normal of extreme weather
events. The aftermath of such events may include devastation
akin to that experienced by the town of Lahaina on August 8,
2023... |
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EWC |
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Timor-Leste’s Uncertain Future, November 2023.
This paper intends to start a conversation about a broad yet
crucial question: what does the future hold for Timor-Leste? And
in turn, what does that mean for the Indo-Pacific region? It
examines key challenges confronting the country over the next
decade, with a focus on how economics, governance, and the
transnational issues of climate change, pandemic preparedness,
and geopolitics will impact the small island nation. Timor-Leste
has accomplished a great deal over the past two decades but
faces headwinds that, if left unaddressed, could undo much of
what it has achieved. Its future is not preordained, and
decisions made by Asia’s youngest nation over the coming years
will determine the direction it takes. Australia and Indonesia
loom large in this equation, and they will certainly have a
vested interest in the course Timor-Leste chooses to take. |
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Lowy |
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Australia’s Semiconductor Manufacturing Moonshot: Securing Semiconductor
Talent, November 2023. Semiconductors are a critical
component in all modern technologies, from personal communication
devices and medical devices to weapons systems. Crucial to producing
semiconductors is the availability of a highly skilled workforce,
managing clean-room facilities and highly specialised equipment to
execute the hundreds of unique steps needed to manufacture a single
wafer, depending on the complexity of the chip. ASPI’s 2022 report,
Australia’s semiconductor national moonshot, laid out the strategic
reasons why Australia must embark on a capacity-building initiative to
create a homegrown semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem. Every item on
the Australian federal government’s List of Critical Technologies in the
National Interest is dependent on semiconductors... |
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ASPI |
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Abandoning Neutrality, Absorbing Multipolarity: India and
Sweden by 2047, November 2023.
Pragmatism and polarised positioning have become the new
normal in foreign policy decision making – and Sweden and
India are no exception. Sweden moved away from and perhaps
permanently abandoned its neutrality discourse in foreign
policy by joining the European Union (EU) in 1995, more
recently by applying for North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
(NATO) membership and, importantly, by demonstrating a
positive attitude towards the Indo-Pacific. As a rising
power, India has been engaging for some time in a national
interest-oriented multi-aligned strategy, moving away from
its original non-aligned discourse, particularly in order to
balance an expansionist China. The move away from neutrality
and towards multipolarity is thus a common thread in both
Indian and Swedish foreign policies, but what might their
future relationship entail?... |
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ISDP |
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Women’s Political Participation and Agency in Indonesia: An
Interview with Raneeta Mutiara, November 2023.
In the context of the upcoming Indonesian presidential
elections of February 2024, ISDP’s Asia Program intern
Nolwenn Gueguen sat down with PhD scholar from the Singapore
University of Social Sciences, Raneeta Mutiara, to shed
light on women’s political participation in Indonesia. They
first discussed the role of feminism in the Indonesian
context before expanding on women’s political agency within
Islamist organizations and its effects on the upcoming
elections... |
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ISDP |
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An Interview with Professor Torbjörn Lodén: EU and U.S.
Relations with China in Retrospect and Looking Ahead,
November 2023.
The Institute for Security & Development Policy (ISDP) has
for the past three years had the honor and privilege of
Professor Torbjörn Lodén serving as its Head of the
Stockholm China Center. With his tenure having recently
drawn to a close, he sat down for an interview with ISDP
Research Fellow, Agust Börjesson, to look back on how
China’s relations with the U.S. and Europe have developed
under his watch and to discuss what could potentially lie
ahead for relations with China in the era of Sino-American
rivalry. |
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ISDP |
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From Alipay to the Digital Yuan: China’s Fintech Revolution,
November 2023.
Fintech in China manifests itself in ways that are
qualitatively different from its development in Western
countries. The unique blend of a mobile-first consumer base,
underdeveloped traditional banking services, regulatory
freedom, vast economies of scale, the influence of Chinese
tech giants, extensive government support, and the
enthusiastic embrace of fintech by Chinese consumers, has
allowed the fintech industry to grow rapidly and permeate
society more extensively in China compared to the West.
China’s fintech growth, transformed by the launch of
Alibaba’s Alipay in 2004, benefitted from supportive
government policies and pioneering companies. Tech giants
like Alibaba integrated fintech services deeply into
expansive digital ecosystems, ensuring widespread adoption.
By 2018, China led in global fintech investment and adoption
rates surpassing global averages... |
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ISDP |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2023 #18: The Evolution of Madani: How Is 2.0
Different from 1.0. In 1995, then Finance Minister and
Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim introduced “Masyarakat
Madani” as his proposed economic framework for Malaysia. The
term was heavily debated among scholars and politicians
across all parties and ideologies. It was often argued that
Madani was an effort to limit the rise of political Islam.
Following Anwar Ibrahim’s dismissal from government in 1998,
Madani came to be more narrowly redefined as “civil
society”. However, Anwar’s supporters, known as the “Anwarinas”,
strove to keep the spirit of Madani alive and continued to
promote its ideals of social justice, democratic values and
inclusivity. They were encouraged further by the fall of
Barisan Nasional from federal power in the 14th General
Election in 2018... |
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ISEAS |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2023 #17: Post-Islamism Battles Political
Islam in Malaysia. During the 15th general election
(GE15) in 2022 and the state elections in 2023, the clash
between Anwar Ibrahim and PAS reached new heights. This can
be viewed as a battle between political Islam and
post-Islamism. Political Islam as embodied by PAS pursues
the establishment of an Islamic state, while post-Islamism
as represented by Anwar Ibrahim is a way of balancing the
ambitions of Islam with secular approaches. While PAS has
been consistent in espousing political Islam since its
establishment, Anwar Ibrahim’s approach to the role of Islam
in politics has changed since his early days in UMNO.
Evolving from an Islamist involved in state-led Islamization
to a post-Islamist, he now espouses democratic values and
multiculturalism... |
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ISEAS |
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Regulating Artificial Intelligence: Maximising Benefits and
Minimising Harms, August 2023. Artificial Intelligence (AI)
has made a resurgence in the last years, garnering the attention
of the media, policymakers and the masses alike. The launch of
free generative AI tools such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Stability
AI’s Stable Diffusion have given rise to myriad concerns in
different sectors like politics, business, education, arts and
entertainment, and human rights. While predictive AI harnesses
its training data to make complex calculations and predictions,
generative AI takes what it learns from training data and
examples or prompts to create new content. Generative AI can be
useful in increasing productivity by providing hyperpersonalised
support in various contexts. However, the technology can also
easily be misused by malicious actors... |
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IPS |
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Public Deliberation on Singapore's Fiscal Policies and National
Reserves, August 2023. What the government spends on and how
they fund such spendings are fundamental aspects of a country’s
fiscal policies. Situating this within the framework of
Singapore, our fiscal policies play a pivotal role in the
ongoing Forward Singapore initiative, which aspires to foster a
rejuvenated “social compact”. This social compact refreshes and
strengthens the shared understanding between all segments of
society on their respective roles and responsibilities, and how
they relate to one another... |
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IPS |
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Monetary
Authority of Singapore: Macroeconomic Review, Volume XXII,
Issue 2, October 2023 (Full
Report). In the April 2023 Monetary Policy Statement,
MAS maintained the rate of appreciation of the Singapore dollar
nominal effective exchange rate (S$NEER) policy band, with no
change to the width of the band or level at which it was centred.
Since then, the S$NEER has broadly strengthened in line with the
appreciating policy band. Global economic activity has moderated
reflecting weaker growth in the Eurozone and China, even as the
US economy has thus far been resilient. In the near term, global
final demand is expected to soften amid elevated interest rates.
Nevertheless, the risk of a sharp global downturn, precipitated
by financial vulnerabilities, has receded compared to earlier in
the year. Growth in Singapore’s major trading partners should
gradually pick up later in 2024 as inflation continues to ease
and the electronics cycle turns up modestly, although the timing
and extent of the recovery is subject to significant
uncertainty... |
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MAS |
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Financial Stability Review 2023. The global economy has
shown resilience to the cumulative effects of monetary
tightening thus far. However, growth could moderate in the
coming year as major central banks maintain sufficiently
restrictive monetary policy stances to achieve their inflation
targets. The sharp increase in both short- and long-term
interest rates over the past year has induced a tightening of
financial conditions and a repricing of financial assets.
While these developments are symptomatic of monetary tightening,
interactions with the financial vulnerabilities and market
fragilities built up during the COVID-19 pandemic could amplify
the effects of interest rate increases and disrupt the
functioning of the financial system. The March 2023 US bank
failures exposed weaknesses in some banks’ management of
duration and liquidity risks in a rising rate environment... |
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MAS |
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Information Paper Series:
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Orchid Blueprint, November 2023
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Interlinking Networks, November 2023
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Interoperable QR Payments in Singapore Whitepaper, October
2023
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Strengthening Liquidity Risk Management Practices for Fund
Management Companies, October 2023
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Working Paper on Accelerating the Early Retirement of
Coal-Fired Power Plants through Carbon Credits, September
2023
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MAS Enforcement Report 2022/2023, September 2023
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Project Guardian - Open and Interoperable Networks, June
2023
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Purpose Bound Money (PBM) Technical Whitepaper, June 2023
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Project Cedar Phase II x Ubin, May 2023
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Corporate Finance Thematic Inspection - Good Practices and
Key Findings, April 2023
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MAS |
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Latest ADB Working Paper Series:
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Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Digital
Platforms, and Competition Policies in Asia, November 2023
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E-Commerce and Its Role during the COVID-19 Pandemic in
Indonesia, November 2023
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Faster, Taller, Better: Transit Improvements and Land Use
Policies, November 2023
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Demography, Growth, and Robots in Advanced and Emerging
Economies, November 2023
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ADB |
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Latest ADB Publications:
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Asia Bond Monitor, November 2023
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Financing for Public Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: The
Cases of the Republic of Korea and the United States,
November 2023
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Greening the Financial System: Climate Financial Risks and
How ADB Can Help, December 2023
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The Model Forest Act Initiative (MoFAI): A Global
Partnership to Improve the Legal Protection of Native
Forests, November 2023
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Elderly Care System Development in Yichang, People’s
Republic of China, November 2023
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Using Administrative Data to Strengthen Development
Statistics in Asia and the Pacific, November 2023
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The Race to Manufacture COVID-19 Vaccines: Emerging Vaccine
Technologies, November 2023
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Asian Perspectives on Sovereign Debt and Managing Fiscal
Risks, November 2023
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Is There a Case for Bioplastics? Experience from Thailand,
November 2023
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E-Commerce Evolution in Asia and the Pacific: Opportunities
and Challenges, November 2023
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The Pacific Risk Knowledge Series Summary Report, November
2023
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Job Matching for Youth in Asia and the Pacific: A
Transitions Approach for Positive Labor Market Pathways,
November 2023
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Multi-level Governance and Subnational Finance in Asia and
the Pacific, November 2023
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Navigating Resilient Post-Disaster Recovery in Asia and the
Pacific, November 2023
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Earth Observation Services and Tools for Development:
Examples from Indonesia, November 2023
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ADB |
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Latest APEC publications:
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Highlights: Economic and Technical Cooperation in APEC 2023
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APEC Case Study: Technology Empowering BCG Economy Model,
November 2023
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Achieving Carbon Neutrality through Bio-Circular-Green
Economy Principle in APEC Region, November 2023
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Review of the APEC Investment Facilitation Action Plan
(IFAP): Forging a Stronger Recovery, November 2023
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The Current State of AI Implementation within the APEC
Region for COVID-19 Mitigation, November 2023
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Set of Voluntary Recommendations on Using Digital
Technologies to Provide Services for Older Adults in Poverty
Condition in APEC Economies, November 2023
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Recommendations and Guidelines of Integrative Medicine (IM)
for COVID-19 Care, November 2023
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Women in Global Value Chains: An APEC Benchmarking Study,
November 2023
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Fact sheet: 2023 APEC Economic Policy Report
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2023
APEC Economic Policy Report
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2023 CTI Annual Report to Ministers
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APEC Regional Trends Analysis, November 2023
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APEC in Charts 2023
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Blueprint for Advancing Good Regulatory Practices in the
APEC Region, November 2023
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APEC Workshop on Promoting Green Garment and Textile Sector
towards Inclusive and Sustainable Growth - Summary Report,
November 2023
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APEC |
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November 2023 |
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An Australian Maritime Strategy: Resourcing the Royal Australian Navy,
October 2023. Australia is a maritime nation. The sheer
scale of our sovereign maritime territory and responsibilities, our
dependence on maritime trade for our prosperity and the increasing value
of activity in the maritime environment must all be recognised in our
maritime strategy. In a highly interconnected world, we face fundamental
vulnerabilities from the realities of our geostrategic situation. In
this report, the author argues that the Royal Australian Navy (RAN)
lacks the resources to adequately protect Australia’s vast maritime
interests. This concern isn’t unique to our time: maritime strategists
have long lamented that, despite being uniquely an island, a continent
and a nation, Australia struggles to understand the central importance
of a maritime strategy to our defence and security... |
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ASPI |
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Where Next for the Australia–South Korea Partnership? October 2023. The
strategic partnership between Australia and South Korea holds great
potential in an increasingly challenging time. The two nations have many
common strategic interests and both can rightly claim to be regional
powers. However, the relationship remains a relative underperformer
compared with other key regional relationships and has suffered from
inconsistency. When Canberra’s contemporary relationship with Seoul
receives attention from Australian analysts, it tends to be framed
largely in the context of the threats posed by Pyongyang... |
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ASPI |
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Building Whole-Of-Nation Statecraft: How Australia Can Better Leverage
Subnational Diplomacy in the US Alliance, October 2023. Australia
and the US are both federations of states in which power is shared
constitutionally between the national and subnational levels of
government. However, traditionally, one domain that hasn’t been
considered a shared power, but rather the constitutionally enshrined
responsibility of the national governments, has been international
affairs (in the US Constitution through Article I, Section 10 and other
clauses and in the Australian Constitution through section 51 (xxix),
known as the external affairs power). For this reason, foreign-policy
and national-security decision-makers in Washington DC and Canberra have
rightly seen themselves as the prime actors in the policymaking that
develops and strengthens the US–Australia alliance and all global
relationships, with limited power held by subnational governments... |
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ASPI |
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‘Doing Good Deeds Quietly’: The Rise of Intelligence Diplomacy as a
Potent Tool of Statecraft, October 2023. Intelligence
diplomacy’ - using intelligence actors and relationships to conduct, or
substantially facilitate, diplomatic relations - is a potent tool for
statecraft; useful in specific circumstances to either enhance
conventional diplomacy or create subtler lines of communication.
Intelligence diplomacy, its increasing utility and potential hazards, is
the subject of Doing good deeds quietly, the latest report from ASPI’s
Statecraft & Intelligence Centre. The report finds that governments turn
to intelligence diplomacy when a variety of circumstances – and
critically those governments’ assessments of related capabilities and
effectiveness of their intelligence services – makes use of intelligence
actors or relationships attractive and advantageous... |
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ASPI |
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Surveillance, Privacy and Agency: Insights from China, October 2023. ASPI
and a non-government research partner conducted a year-long project
designed to share detailed and accurate information on state
surveillance in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and engage
residents of the PRC on the issue of surveillance technology. A wide
range of topics was covered, including how the party-state communicates
on issues related to surveillance, as well as people’s views on state
surveillance, data privacy, facial recognition, DNA collection and
data-management technologies... |
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ASPI |
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US Land Power in the Indo-Pacific: Opportunities for the Australian
Army, October 2023. The US Army is undergoing its most
consequential period of transformation since the end of the Cold War.
The re-emergence of great power competition and a deteriorating
strategic environment is forcing the US Army to rethink not just its
approach to land warfare but also its future role alongside the US
Marine Corps in key regions around the globe. In the Indo-Pacific, this
doctrinal and structural transformation is informing a new approach to
joint exercises and 'no gaps' defence collaboration to deter Chinese
aggression. These developments hold important insights for key US allies
and partners, including Australia and Japan... |
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ASPI |
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Reducing Remittance Costs in the Pacific Islands, October 2023.
For Pacific Island countries, remittances — money sent home by
family and friends working overseas — are a key source of
national income and act as social safety nets where social
security programs can be underfunded. Remittances help pay for
schooling, food, housing, and healthcare, and support families
during emergencies. They provide capital for business
investment, especially for women. During the Covid-19 pandemic,
remittances outperformed foreign direct investment and official
development assistance (ODA) as a source of income for low to
middle-income countries. The inflows from remittances also
maintained foreign exchange reserves and were a lifeline to
communities when regular income was disrupted... |
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Lowy |
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Revitalising the Green Climate Fund, September 2023. The
Green Climate Fund, unveiled as part of the Paris Agreement in
2015, was designed as a lynchpin for global climate solidarity
between rich and developing countries. Despite its laudable
ambitions, the Fund faces important challenges and criticism. It
has struggled to define its role in an increasingly crowded
climate finance landscape and is seen as slow and difficult to
work with, especially for the most vulnerable countries. The GCF
is also not effectively targeting its funds towards countries
with the greatest needs... |
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Lowy |
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Indo-Pacific Security in 2030-35: Links in the Chain,
October 2023.
In recent years, events like the COVID-19 pandemic and the
Russia-Ukraine war have brought global supply chains
squarely under the spotlight. The economic impact of these
disruptive events exposed the vulnerabilities of today’s
global value chains (GVCs) in the face of complex,
uncertain, and fast-changing environments. In the
Indo-Pacific particularly, the escalating geopolitical
tensions threaten the stability of supply chains and, by
extension, that of the global economy. As a major transit
route for international trade – about 80% of the total
global trade by volume passes through the region – the
Indo-Pacific is of paramount strategic importance... |
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ISDP |
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Contemporary Hong Kong-Taiwan Relations in China’s Shadow.
October 2023.
On November 25, 2022, the Institute for Security and
Development Policy (ISDP) arranged a webinar titled
“Contemporary Hong Kong-Taiwan Relations in the Shadow of
the People’s Republic of China”. The basic idea behind this
webinar was to explore in some depth the relations between
the Hong Kong democracy movement and Taiwan. To this end,
seven distinguished speakers—scholars, commentators, and
activists—were invited from Hong Kong and Taiwan to discuss
these relations against the background of Beijing’s
tightening control over Hong Kong and its aspiration to
bring Taiwan under its rule, by means of military force if
necessary. |
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ISDP |
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A New Spring for Caspian Transit and Trade, October 2023.
Major recent shifts, starting with the Taliban victory in
Afghanistan and Russia’s war in Ukraine have led to a
resurgence of the Trans-Caspian transportation corridor.
This corridor, envisioned in the 1990s, has been slow to
come to fruition, but has now suddenly found much-needed
support. The obstacles to a rapid expansion of the
corridor’s capacity are nevertheless considerable, given the
underinvestment in its capacity over many years. |
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ISDP |
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Russia-DPRK Space Cooperation: It’s Politics, Not Science,
October 2023.
The recent Vostochny summit between North Korean leader Kim
Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin has attracted
much international attention. The fact that both leaders
pledged to strengthen bilateral ties but did not release a
joint statement invites speculation about the nature of
their agreement. One area that did emerge as a clear
priority in Moscow’s and Pyongyang’s future engagement is
space and satellite technology. This issue brief looks at
the motives behind Putin’s offer to help North Korea build
satellites. It argues that Russia perceives its offer as a
“win-win situation” that capitalizes on the opportunity to
offer Pyongyang something of key strategic interest while
reasserting its own self-understanding as a global space
power. Still, providing technical assistance to the regime
in Pyongyang is a low-hanging fruit, and will not serve to
strengthen Moscow’s space capacity or international
perception thereof. |
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ISDP |
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Human Capital, Amenities and Trade: The Case of Malaysia,
September 2023. Human capital plays an increasingly
important role in economies undergoing structural
transformation that involves technological upgrading and
sustained trade competitiveness. Both production and
consumption amenities are essential to develop, attract and
support a workforce with high human capital. Different types
of production and consumption amenities are relevant for
different kinds of activities at various locations. As human
capital growth is likely to be accompanied by worsening
inequality, complementary policies are needed to promote
inclusiveness without dampening human capital development. |
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ISEAS |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2023 #16: The Labour Politics of App-Based
Driving in Vietnam. The platform economy consists of
three broad categories of companies: those that “provide
digital services and products to individual users, such as
social media”; those that “mediate exchange of goods and
services, such as e-commerce or business-to-business (B2B)
platforms”; and digital labour platforms, which “mediate and
facilitate labour exchange between different users, such as
businesses, workers, and consumers”. Digital labour
platforms can be classified into two main types: “gig work
platforms”3 or “location-based platforms”4 which refer to
work that is done in a specific location (e.g., driving or
domestic services)... |
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ISEAS |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2023 #15: Indonesia’s Moderate Muslim
Websites and Their Fight against Online Islamic Extremism.
The Indonesian Anti-Terrorism Agency (Badan Nasional
Penanggulangan Terorisme, or BNPT) argues that Islamist
terrorists had previously focused on “hard power”, such as
bombings of Western-related targets, or suicide bombings, to
attain their objectives. But in recent years, due to state
repression and dwindling public support, terrorists have
abandoned this strategy, and now resort instead to “soft
power”. Soft power here refers to the use of
non-violent means to achieve one’s interests. Terrorists now
use the Internet, including social media, or join community
organizations which they utilize later on, to gain support
for their cause... |
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ISEAS |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2023 #14: Terrorism in Indonesia and the
Perceived Oppression of Muslims Worldwide. Existing
scholarship on terrorism has pointed out various motives
underlying violent acts. Notably, Kruglanski, Bélanger, and
Gunaratna (2019) argue that such intent could stem from
perpetrators’ unfulfilled basic needs, their exposure to
violent and extremist narratives since they were young, and
the outreach by terrorist networks to them. Additionally, an
insightful study by Putra and Sukabdi (2013, p. 84) provides
a more region-specific example. Through conducting in-depth
interviews with forty religious terror activists in
Indonesia... |
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ISEAS |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2023 #13: A Review of Data, Policy and
Transparency in Reducing Methane Emissions in Malaysia.
There is no clear national plan for methane action yet.
Since signing the Pledge in 2021, there has been no
demonstrable government initiative focusing on joined-up
methane action at the national level. Malaysia does not have
a methane strategy or policy, and sector-specific
regulations focusing on methane emissions are either not
present, vague, or publicly inaccessible. There are
indications emissions are falling due to positive corporate
action. Effective methane reduction initiatives exist in
Malaysia’s top two methane-emitting sectors, oil and gas and
palm oil, and key players have committed to net zero
pathways with methane reductions central to progress to
2030. Emissions should be expected to rapidly fall further
if action can be scaled across all industry players..l |
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ISEAS |
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Latest APEC publications:
-
APEC Workshop on Empowering Indigenous Social Awareness on
Renewable Energy and Increasing Inclusion Sustainability for
Green Energy Applications in APEC Regions, October 2023
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Assessing Existing and Planned Hydrogen Infrastructure to
Facilitate Widespread Hydrogen Use in the APEC Region -
Final Report, October 2023
-
Regional Workshop on Dementia Prevention, October 2023
-
NGS-based Microbial Testing for Probiotics Products:
Guidelines Development and Laboratory Capacity Building -
Final Summary Report, October 2023
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Mutual Recognition Agreements Toolkit, October 2023
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APEC Smart Families: Menu of Policy Options for Demographic
Resilience, October 2023
-
Digital Innovation and Educational Opportunities - Final
Report, October 2023
-
Tourism Crisis Management Communication Plan, October 2023
-
Enhanced APEC Agenda for Structural Reform: Individual
Action Plans - Updated as at August 2023, October 2023
-
Enhanced APEC Agenda for Structural Reform (EAASR) Mid-Term
Review Report, October 2023
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APEC |
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Latest ADB Working Paper Series:
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ADB |
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Latest ADBI Working Paper Series:
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ADB |
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Latest ADB Publications:
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The Ocean–Energy Economy: A Multifunctional Approach,
October 2023
-
A Conceptual Understanding of Fragility in Asia and the
Pacific, October 2023
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Strengthening Biodiversity Conservation in the Yellow River
Basin of Henan Province, the People’s Republic of China,
October 2023
-
Celebrating 50 Years of the Asian Development Fund, October
2023
-
Methodological Framework for Unlocking Maritime Insights
Using Automatic Identification System Data, October 2023
-
Online Platforms, Pandemic, and Business Resilience in
Indonesia: A Joint Study by Gojek and the Asian Development
Bank, October 2023
-
Asia Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Monitor 2023: How
Small Firms Can Contribute to Resilient Growth in the
Pacific Post COVID-19 Pandemic, October 2023
-
Macroeconomic Policies Promoting Transition to a Low-Carbon
Economy, October 2023
-
Rebuilding Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises
Post-COVID-19 in Mongolia, October 2023
-
Regional Flyway Initiative: Climate Investments that Benefit
People and Nature, October 2023
-
Data Analytics in Indian Railways: Status and Prospects,
October 2023
-
Measuring Progress on Women’s Financial Inclusion and
Entrepreneurship in the Philippines: Results from a Micro,
Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprise Survey, October 2023
-
An Assessment of Rules of Origin in RCEP and ASEAN+1 Free
Trade Agreements, October 2023
-
Fostering Resilient Global Supply Chains Amid Risk and
Uncertainty, October 2023
-
Where Women Work in Asia and the Pacific: Implications for
Policies, Equity, and Inclusive Growth, October 2023
-
Assessment of Merger Control in the Philippines, October
2023
-
Hydrogen in Decarbonization Strategies in Asia and the
Pacific, October 2023
-
Asian Development Bank in the Lao People’s Democratic
Republic, October 2023
-
Women’s Economic Empowerment as a Pathway Toward Sustainable
and Inclusive Development in India, October 2023
-
Rule of Law Approach for More Resilient Global Supply Chains
and Financial Architecture, October 2023
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ADB |
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Asian Development Review, Vol.
40, No. 2, September 2023 (Full
Report). This issue looks at various
challenges related to COVID-19 and explores diverse topics that
include health reform, the benefits of bank-based financial
development, and priorities for strengthening revenue sources:
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ADB |
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October 2023 |
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High
Frequency Macroeconomic Forecasts Current Quarter Model:
2023Q4, October 2023. The full resumption of normal
travel between Hong Kong and the Mainland provided
impetus to travel-related service exports. Hong Kong’s
economy has recovered to grow by 2.2% in the first half
of 2023. It is expected to accelerate and grow by 4.7%
in 23Q3. Brought by a series of economic stimulating
activities by the government, Hong Kong’s tourism
industry continues to improve in 23Q4, simultaneously
driving up local consumer sentiment. The job market has
already recovered to pre-pandemic full employment
levels, and the unemployment rate has registered a new
low in 25 years. The unemployment rate is expected to
drop slightly to 2.7% in 23Q4 from 2.8% in 23Q3. Hong
Kong’s real GDP is expected to grow by 6.2% in 23Q4,
partly due to a lower base of comparison. Hong Kong’s
economy is projected to rise by 3.8% for the year 2023
as a whole, a downward adjustment of 0.8 percentage
points compared to our previous forecast, reflecting the
adjustment for the unexpectedly slower growth in 23Q2. |
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HKU |
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Asian Development Outlook, September
2023 (Full Report,
Highlights)
The economic outlook for Asia and the Pacific remains upbeat,
with the region’s developing economies expected to grow 4.7% in
2023, and 4.8% in 2024, but risks remain elevated. According to
the latest edition of the Asian Development Outlook, growth will
remain resilient, supported by domestic demand, recovering
tourism, and stable financial conditions. Decelerating inflation
across the Asia and the Pacific is also a positive. However,
these prospects are tempered by weaker global demand weighing on
exports and softening domestic demand in the People’s Republic
of China (PRC). A particular worry is whether the PRC’s property
market will weaken further. The region faces other challenges.
High interest rates have elevated financial stability risks. A
looming El Niño and restrictions on food exports could challenge
food security. And geopolitical tensions and the fracturing of
global production could disrupt trade. These risks are
considerable and varied, and policymakers will need to closely
track them... |
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ADB |
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Community Driven Development, Climate Change, and Resiliency:
Lessons from Solomon Islands, September 2023. Between 2009
and 2022, the Rural Development Program (RDP) built 663 small
scale infrastructure projects chosen by communities across
Solomon Islands. As RDP closed, the author visited 68 projects
to assess a) the utility of the Community Driven Development (CDD)
methodology, and b) how CDD may have been used by communities to
ameliorate climate and disaster impacts. He surprisingly found
that communities used CDD to replace water sources damaged by
logging. Overall, CDD proved robust and adaptable, and was used
by communities to build needed climate- and disaster-resilient
infrastructure. However, the ability for communities to respond
to climate risk was limited due to the scale of sea level rise.
This paper concludes with recommendations to make community-led
interventions more resilient to climate and disaster risk. |
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EWC |
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Developing Australia’s Critical Minerals and Rare Earths: Implementing
the Outcomes From the 2023 Darwin Dialogue, September 2023. Critical
minerals and rare earths are the building blocks for emerging and future
technologies, inseparable from the supply chains of manufacturing, clean
energy production, medical technology, semiconductors, and the defence
and aerospace industries. Despite their criticality, their supply chains
are exposed to numerous vulnerabilities – threatening the production and
development of vital technologies. This report—based on closed-door,
invitation-only discussions at ASPI’s new Darwin Dialogue, a track 1.5
meeting between Australia, Japan and the US—makes 24 recommendations for
government and the private sector to support the development of viable,
competitive alternative markets that offer products through supply
chains secure from domestic policy disruptions and economic coercion... |
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ASPI |
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COVID-19: Implications for the Indo-Pacific, September 2023.
As we approach four years since the first cases of Covid-19 in the
Chinese city of Wuhan, the world seems relatively familiar again, albeit
an increasingly scary place because of war in Europe, accelerating
climate change, and the unhealthy nexus between new technologies and
authoritarian coercion by Beijing and others. Within this ‘polycrisis’,
Covid-19 now feels like a secondary concern. But the world remains
unprepared for the next pandemic, which the Director-General of the
World Health Organization, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has warned
could come soon and be even more deadly... |
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ASPI |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2023 #11: New Chinese Migrants in Thailand
and the Perceived Impact on Thai People. The Chinese
Open Door Policy implemented in the late 1970s resulted in
new patterns of Chinese migrations. Following the Going Out
Policy (1999) and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) (2013),
around 688,000 new Chinese migrants had emigrated to
Southeast Asia by 2020. The characteristics of new Chinese
sojourners differ from those of traditional Overseas Chinese
in that they come as more well-educated middle-income
earners and adapt well to the relocation. The US-China trade
war in 2018 and the Coronavirus outbreak in late 2019
aggravated anti-Chinese sentiments in many nations.
Xenophobia against Asians rose in Europe and the United
States, and along the BRI routes, resistance to the Chinese
became more obvious in the domestic politics of host
countries... |
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ISEAS |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2023 #12: Indonesia’s COVID-19 Infodemic: A
Battle for Truth or Trust?. On 30 December 2022, many
Indonesians breathed a sigh of relief, as their government
lifted all remaining COVID-19 measures that day, including
restrictions on social gatherings, mandatory mask-wearing
indoors, and mandatory use of the COVID-19 tracking app
PeduliLindungi (“to care and protect”) in public venues.
According to President Joko Widodo (“Jokowi”), the situation
was now “under control”, and the Indonesian population had
built sufficient immunity to the virus. Indeed, a study from
July 2022 conducted by the Health Ministry and the
University of Indonesia found that 98.5 per cent of the
population had antibodies against COVID-19, either from
vaccination or past infections... |
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ISEAS |
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The French Connection: India-France Partnership for the
Indo-Pacific Zeitgeist, September 2023.
India’s bilateral relationship with France has been a robust
one, and a test case for maintaining a distinct trajectory
of its own allowing enough elbow room to both countries to
practice their respective strategic autonomies. This issue
brief after delving into the multi-dimensional convergences
of the India-France strategic relationship contends that the
partnership between New Delhi and Paris is one of equals
based on complementariness of interest and congruence of
intent. The complex geopolitics and geo-economics of the
Indo-Pacific would require navigating areas of competition,
cooperation, and confrontation... |
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ISDP |
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Amid Reports on Chinese Expansion of Bases, Sri Lanka
Unveils SOP: Need for a Reality Check? September 2023.
India has realized it cannot possibly balance China’s
growing influence on its own, nor can it afford to have the
U.S. leave the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) given China’s
significant presence in the island littorals. New Delhi
requires the island nations much more than in the past to
collectively balance Indian Ocean security. Sri Lanka is
pivotal in this equation. Reports published by Aid Data and
RAND have identified the Sri Lankan port Hambantota as a
highly probable PLA military base. This issue brief attempts
to analyze the US research reports and further draws
attention to the geopolitical trends in the IOR, where
India, China, and the U.S. are entangled in a great power
competition... |
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ISDP |
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Latest APEC publications:
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Measuring Progress on the Supply Chain Connectivity
Framework Action Plan (SCFAP III) 2022–2026: Indicators and
Policy Practices, September 2023
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APEC Think Tank Cooperation on STl Strategy Study Report,
September 2023
-
Supporting Offshore Wind Deployment and Grid Connection in
APEC Region, September 2023
-
Oil and Gas Security During the Energy Transition - APEC Oil
and Gas Security Studies Series 19, September 2023
-
Stakeholder Engagement and Capacity Building on the APEC
Collaborative Framework on ODR to Improve Cross-Border Trade
in Indonesia - Final Report, September 2023
-
APEC Workshop on Eco Design and Eco Label Implementation for
SMEs Towards a Green Economy, September 2023
-
Summary Report - APEC Workshop on Women's Empowerment
through Inclusive and Gender-responsive Climate
Policymaking, September 2023
-
Final Report - Building Back Better: Energy Efficiency,
Renewable Energy, and Energy Resiliency in the New Normal,
September 2023
-
Best Practices to Detect and Avoid Harmful Biases in
Artificial Intelligence Systems, September 2023
-
Summary Report - APEC Workshop on Sharing Experiences in
Developing Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) to
Reduce Electricity Consumption in Industrial Production,
September 2023
-
APEC Capacity Building Workshop on Retro-commissioning (RCx)
- Project Final Report and Workshop Summary, September 2023
-
APEC Sustainable Tourism Evaluation Tool for Visitor and
Destination (ASTET), September 2023
-
Policy Brief: Strengthening Fire Prevention Capacities in
the Wildland-Urban Interface, September 2023
-
Prevention of Forest Fires in the Wildland-Urban Interface.
Good Practices Guide for Government Institutions, September
2023
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Prevention of Forest Fires in the Wildland-Urban Interface.
Good Practices Guide for the Community, September 2023
-
Comparison of International Frameworks Measuring Remotely
Piloted Aircraft Noise - Final Report, September 2023
-
Impacts of COVID-19 on Renewable Energy Development in APEC
Economies, September 2023
-
Gender and Services Trade in the APEC Region: Policy Brief,
September 2023
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APEC |
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Latest ADB Working Paper Series:
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ADB |
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Latest ADB Publications:
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From Lab to Jab: Improving Asia and the Pacific’s Readiness
to Produce and Deliver Vaccines, Published 2023
-
Bonds to Finance the Sustainable Blue Economy: A
Practitioner’s Guide, September 2023
-
Climate Change and Climate Finance: Current Experience and
Future Directions, September 2023
-
Unlocking the Door to Financial Inclusion: The Papua New
Guinea Digital Bank Identification Card Pilot Project,
September 2023
-
Asia Bond Monitor, September 2023
-
Strategy 2030 Health Sector Directional Guide Summary:
Toward the Achievement of Universal Health Coverage in Asia
and the Pacific, September 2023
-
Zero Source Pollution Initiative (ZSPI), September 2023
-
Accountability Mechanisms for Inclusive City-Level Public
Services in Asia, September 2023
-
Speak Up! Guide to Safely Reporting Suspected Integrity
Violations or Misconduct, September 2023
-
Building Capacity for an Effective Social Welfare System in
Mongolia, September 2023
-
Improving Gender Equality in Nonsovereign Climate Finance
Projects: Technical Assistance Completion Report, September
2023
-
Globally Advancing the Construction and Operation and
Maintenance of High-Speed Rail, September 2023
-
2023 Trade Finance Gaps, Growth, and Jobs Survey, September
2023
-
What Can Be Done to Improve the Use of Country Governance
Systems? September 2023
-
Civil Society Brief: The Philippines, September 2023
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ADB |
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September 2023 |
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Key Indicators for
Asia and the Pacific 2023
(Full Report):
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Part I:
Sustainable Development Goals
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Part II:
Regional Trends and Tables
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Part III:
Dollar Price Wedge between Nominal and Real Global Value
Chain Participation
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Part IV:
Stories Behind Data—Using Price Data and Statistics to Track
Socioeconomic Development
Key Indicators for
Asia and the Pacific covers 49
economies:
Afghanistan,
Armenia,
Australia,
Azerbaijan,
Bangladesh,
Bhutan,
Brunei Darussalam,
Cambodia,
China,
Cook Islands,
Fiji Islands,
Georgia,
Hong
Kong,
India,
Indonesia,
Japan,
Kazakhstan,
Kiribati,
Republic
of Korea,
Kyrgyz Republic,
Lao,
Malaysia,
Maldives,
Marshall Islands,
Micronesia,
Mongolia,
Myanmar,
Nauru,
Nepal,
Niue,
New Zealand,
Pakistan,
Palau,
Papua New Guinea,
Philippines,
Samoa,
Singapore,
Solomon Islands,
Sri Lanka,
Taipei,
Tajikistan,
Thailand,
Timor-Leste,
Tonga,
Turkmenistan,
Tuvalu,
Uzbekistan,
Vanuatu,
and
Viet Nam. |
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ADB |
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South Korea’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, Atmanirbhar Bharat, and
the IPEF: Convergence and Commonality, August 2023.
For some time now, the existing multilateral networks such
as those of the United Nations (UN) system have been largely
ineffective in providing good global governance and helping
create resilience, especially among the emerging and
developing economies. The latest example that highlights the
inefficacy of the current system is the collapse of the
Black Sea grain deal despite genuine UN efforts. As a
result, the world order is experiencing a precarious
transition. This has necessitated countries across the world
to create newer cooperative multilateral mechanisms that are
in tune with the times and can potentially give rise to a
resilient strategic landscape, such as providing favorable
conditions for economic security... |
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ISDP |
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Pivotal States, Global South and India-South Korea
Relations, August 2023.
In recent years, the term “Global South”—largely spanning
countries in Africa, Central and Latin America, Asia, and
the Caribbean—has gained tremendous geopolitical currency.
One of the most salient drivers of this reclamation of the
so-called emerging and developing world as a symbolic power
has been India’s rising strategic and diplomatic prominence.
As a vocal member of the community of diverse states, India
has refocused its efforts to place the South and its
concerns at center stage by coalescing with “like-minded”
partners, which was effectively reflected during the 2023
G20 presidency. South Korea is an integral aspect of this
global aim... |
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ISDP |
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Assessing the Development of Taiwanese Identity, August 2023.
The subject of contemporary Taiwan inevitably evokes
controversy concerning its political, national, and cultural
identity, especially the fervent dispute regarding its
sovereignty and global recognition. Should Taiwan be
recognized as a sovereign and independent state under the
name of the Republic of China (ROC), or should it be seen as
an “inseparable part of one China,” as claimed by the
People’s Republic of China (PRC)? Should the people in
Taiwan be considered culturally Chinese, or should they be
seen as a separate cultural entity? A compelling
underpinning of Taiwan’s assertion of separate nationhood
and statehood derives from its emphasis on a distinct
historical narrative that diverges from that of the PRC... |
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ISDP |
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EU-U.S. Convergence on China Chip Sanctions: On Brittle
Ground? August 2023.
The United States unveiled new wide-ranging restrictions on
China’s semiconductor industry in October 2022,
unprecedented in scope and intent. Abandoning the Trump
years’ erratic approach to individual Chinese tech
companies, the Biden administration comprehensively targeted
the entire semiconductor supply chain, including allied
exports. Not only did the sanctions cut off access to
advanced components containing U.S. technologies, but they
also sought to end China’s access to the manufacturing
equipment needed to produce such components in the first
place. The European Union has since sought to find a balance
in the new Sino-American tech war, culminating in the EU’s
Economic Security Strategy of June 2023. This issue brief
examines the motivations and impacts of the U.S. chips
sanctions and how they have impacted transatlantic relations
and European semiconductor priorities. |
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ISDP |
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Geopolitical Flux and the Future of International Relations,
August 2023.
The international political system is undergoing significant
geopolitical and economic shifts brought about by
fluctuations in the distribution of power among states. This
brings into question the future of international cooperation
amidst the continuous depletion of global resources and the
proliferation of conflict. With the rise and strengthening
of potential great and regional powers of the Global South,
it is inevitable that the nature of multilateralism will
also continue to evolve. However, such an evolution will not
only be reliant on material power, but also on the
variations in perceptions among states. While
multilateralism will remain an undeniable component of
international affairs, this issue brief posits that its
characteristics will undergo significant reconfigurations
based on the growing importance of the Global South and the
coinciding interests of developing states to address
international issues beyond traditional discourses and
methods. |
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ISDP |
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North Korea’s Grey Huddle: A Reverse Perspective of its
Analog Military, August 2023.
Defense reform has been the keyword for South Korea’s
military strategy for over 20 years and recently the country
upgraded its strategic defense plan with the new name
‘Defense Innovation 4.0’ under the Yoon Suk-yeol
administration. The core logic behind the reform is smaller
but stronger manpower through technical advancement.
However, there have been unprecedented drawbacks of fully
automated weapon systems revealed in public recently and the
fathers of Artificial Intelligence have warned about their
errors against mankind. On the other hand, technically
disadvantaged adversaries, especially North Korea, have
honed their defense strategy with their old-fashioned analog
military for decades. This issue brief analyzes the gap
between the two sides—technically advanced and technically
disadvantaged—in order to refine our technical prowess in
the right direction with minimal reform. |
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ISDP |
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Australia’s North and Space, August 2023. This report
examines opportunities for the development of sovereign space capability
in the Northern Territory, Queensland, and Western Australia. Given that
those northern jurisdictions are closer to the equator, there’s a
natural focus in the report on the potential opportunities offered by
sovereign space launch, particularly in the Northern Territory and
Queensland. However, I also consider the potential for other aspects of
space besides launch, including space domain awareness, the
establishment of satellite ground stations, and space industry. I
explore the potential for the co-location of space industry—domestic and
international—within or close to launch sites, which would result in the
development of ‘space hubs’ in strategic locations in Australia... |
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ASPI |
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Getting Regulation Right: Approaches to Improving Australia’s
Cybersecurity, Published 2023. As well as having a
global impact, Cybersecurity is one of the most significant issues
affecting Australia’s economy and national security. On the one hand,
poor cybersecurity presents a risk to the interconnected digital systems
on which we increasingly rely; on the other hand, well-managed
cybersecurity provides an opportunity to build trust and advantage by
accelerating digital transformation. Cyber threats can originate from a
diverse range of sources and require a diverse set of actions to
effectively mitigate them. However, a common theme is that much better
cyber risk management is needed to address this critical threat; the
current operation of the free market isn’t consistently driving all of
the required behaviours or actions... |
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ASPI |
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Incels in Australia: The Ideology, the Threat, and a Way Forward, August
2023. This report explores the phenomenon of
‘incels’—involuntary celibates—and the misogynistic ideology that
underpins a subset of this global community of men that has become a
thriving Internet subculture. It examines how online spaces, from
popular social media sites to dedicated incel forums, are providing a
platform for not just the expansion of misogynistic views but
gender-based violent extremism. It raises key questions regarding
Australian efforts to counter misogynistic ideologies within our nation.
If there’s a continuum that has sexist, but lawful, views on gender at
one end and gendered hate speech at the other, at what point does
misogynistic ideology tip into acts of gendered violence? What’s needed
to prevent misogynistic ideologies from becoming violent? And how do we,
as a society, avoid the epidemic levels of violence against women in
Australia... |
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ASPI |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2023 #10: Consuming Digital Disinformation:
How Filipinos Engage with Racist and Historically Distorted
Online Political Content. Many current
counter-disinformation initiatives focus on addressing the
production or “supply side” of digital disinformation. Less
attention tends to be paid to the consumption or the
intended audiences of disinformation campaigns. A central
concept in understanding people’s consumption of and
vulnerability to digital disinformation is its imaginative
dimension as a communication act. Key to the power of
disinformation campaigns is their ability to connect to
people’s shared imaginaries. Consequently,
counter-disinformation initiatives also need to attend to
these imaginaries... |
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ISEAS |
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Unbundling Regimes and Structural Transformation in
Malaysia, August 2023. Technological changes have
significant transformative effects on economic activities.
The waves of technological innovations in transport and ICT
have provided opportunities for globalisation. Malaysia has
levied the first unbundling - enabled by lowering of
transport costs - to industrialise for five decades. The ICT-driven
second unbundling is proving to be more challenging for the
country’s manufacturing competitiveness. Weaknesses in the
linkages within the technology-services-GVC nexus is a
structural weakness that needs to be overcome. This is
crucial for effective participation in the third-unbundling. |
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ISEAS |
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Latest APEC publications:
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Strengthening Community Mental Health After the COVID-19
Pandemic, August 2023
-
Handbook on Increasing the Readiness and Resiliency of
Tourism Destination Stakeholders in Managing Health Crises
in APEC Economies, August 2023
-
APEC Regional Trends Analysis, August 2023
-
APEC Energy Overview 2023
-
Good Practices for Traceability Mechanism of Marine Debris
Recycled Products in the APEC Region, August 2023
-
Women and Patents: Towards Gender Parity in APEC, August
2023
-
The APEC Women and the Economy Dashboard 2023
-
Managing Abandoned, Lost or Discarded Fishing Gear and
Aquaculture Equipment in the APEC Region - Best Practice
Guide, August 2023
-
Compendium for the Marking of Fishing Gear in the APEC
Region, August 2023
-
Monitoring Pandemic Recovery Under the APEC Services
Competitiveness Roadmap (ASCR), August 2023
-
APEC Women in Ocean Science Report, August 2023
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APEC |
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Latest ADB Working Paper Series:
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ADB |
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Latest ADBI Working Paper Series:
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Accelerating Coal Plant Retirement at Scale, August 2023
-
Cooling Efficiency Improvement, August 2023
-
Technology Transfer and Firm Competitiveness: The Case of
Indonesia, August 2023
-
Accelerating the Net Zero Transition in Asia and the
Pacific: Low-Carbon Hydrogen for Industrial Decarbonization,
August 2023
-
Imagining an Inclusive Economy: The Role of SMEs and Digital
Payment in Elevating Economic Equality, August 2023
-
Remittance Inflows, Institutional Quality, and Economic
Growth in Nepal, August 2023
-
When Does Community Participation in Decision-Making Improve
Outcomes? Evidence from a Field Experiment in Bangladesh,
August 2023
-
Family Business during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Asia: Role
of Government Financial Aid and Coping Strategies, August
2023
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ADB |
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Latest ADB Publications:
-
Recent Central Bank Digital Currency Developments in Asia
and Their Implications, August 2023
-
Uzbekistan’s Ecosystem for Technology Startups, August 2023
-
Malaysia Ageing and Retirement Survey Wave 2 (2021–2022):
Survey Report, August 2023
-
Renewable Energy Manufacturing: Opportunities for Southeast
Asia, Published 2023
-
ADB Green and Blue Bond Newsletter, August 2023
-
Rethinking Cities for Resilience and Growth in the
Post-COVID-19 World, Published 2023
-
Strategy 2030 Education Sector Directional Guide Summary:
Learning for All, Published 2023
-
ADB's Role in Promoting Growth, Green Recovery, and
Inclusion in ASEAN, Published 2023
-
Multifunctionality of Rice Production Systems in Asia: A
Synoptic Review, Published 2023
-
Mobilizing Resources through Municipal Bonds: Experiences
from Developed and Developing Countries, August 2023
-
Enhancing Tax Revenues through Digital Transformation in
Developing Asia, August 2023
-
Climate Finance Landscape of Asia and the Pacific, August
2023
-
ADB Theme Bonds for Sustainable Development, August 2023
-
Framework for Integrating Gender Equality and Social
Inclusion in the Asian Development Bank’s South Asia
Operations, August 2023
-
Digital Technology for Development Directional Guide
Summary, August 2023
-
Pacific Economic Monitor, August 2023
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ADB |
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August 2023 |
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US Trade Policy Options for Pacific Islands States Require
Washington’s Political Commitment, July 2023. The Pacific
Islands have emerged as a zone of contestation in the ongoing
rivalry between China and the United States. While the US has
long been the dominant military power in the region, China is
raising its profile through activities like port visits,
military exercises, and establishing diplomatic and security
ties with regional states like Kiribati and the Solomon Islands.
In 2018, Chinese leader Xi Jinping visited Papua New Guinea for
the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. President
Biden was supposed to visit PNG in May 2023, in the first ever
visit of a sitting US president to the Pacific Islands, but that
trip was scuttled due to the debt ceiling fiasco in Washington... |
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Sustaining Congressional Engagement with Southeast Asia, June
2023. As a representative institution whose members can
outlast presidential administrations, Congress plays a vital
role in sustaining long-term US foreign policy commitments. The
perception of long-term commitment is particularly important in
Southeast Asia, where most states seek to maximize their
strategic autonomy by balancing relations among great powers.
Thus, expectations about the future behavior of great powers can
significantly affect foreign policy choices. Congress speaks
through the exercise of its formal powers but also in more
subtle ways. Congressional actions on foreign relations operate
along three channels. The first channel is support for policies
initiated by the executive branch, e.g., passing appropriations,
making requested statutory changes, or, at the very least, not
obstructing what an administration seeks to do... |
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EWC |
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Multiculturalism, Identity and Influence Project 2020–2023
Summary, July 2023.
The Lowy Institute’s Multiculturalism, Identity and Influence
Project (2020–2023), funded by the Department of Home Affairs,
comprised three nationally representative surveys of the
Australian population of Chinese heritage and three Lowy
Institute Analysis papers. A key aim of the Project was to
investigate the sentiments of Chinese-Australian communities in
the context of growing tensions in bilateral ties between China
and Australia. The cornerstone of the Project was the annual
Being Chinese in Australia: Public Opinion in Chinese
Communities survey report — with all three editions housed on a
dedicated online platform. The three surveys conducted from
2020–2022 provide the most comprehensive study on public record
of the perspectives of more than five per cent of the Australian
population... |
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De-risking Authoritarian AI - A Balanced Approach to Protecting Our
Digital Ecosystems, July 2023. Artificial intelligence
(AI)–enabled systems make many invisible decisions affecting our health,
safety and wealth. They shape what we see, think, feel and choose, they
calculate our access to financial benefits as well as our
transgressions, and now they can generate complex text, images and code
just as a human can, but much faster. So it’s unsurprising that moves
are afoot across democracies to regulate AI’s impact on our individual
rights and economic security, notably in the European Union (EU). But,
if we’re wary about AI, we should be even more circumspect about
AI-enabled products and services from authoritarian countries that share
neither our values nor our interests. And, for the foreseeable future,
that means the People’s Republic of China (PRC)... |
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Informing Australia’s Next Independent Intelligence Review: Learning
From the Past, June 2023. The Australian Government
commissions a review of its intelligence community every five to seven
years. With July 2023 marking six years since release of the last
review’s report and, with funding already allocated in this year’s
federal budget, the next one is likely to commence shortly. The best
starting place for the forthcoming review is the work that precedes it,
so reflection on 2017’s Independent Intelligence Review proves valuable.
This report, Informing Australia’s next independent intelligence review,
reflects on the experiences of the 2017 review and the implementation of
its recommendations, and draws lessons to inform the terms of reference,
approach and suggested focus of the next review... |
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ASPI |
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China in Eurasia: Revisiting BRI Amidst the Russia-Ukraine
Crisis, July 2023.
This paper discusses China’s trade and
connectivity plans under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
in the Eurasian region and the impact of the Russian
invasion of Ukraine on Chinese plans. The world order is
once again in flux with the rather unpredictable
geopolitical moves of Russia, Europe, the U.S., and the rest
of the world, leading to a dynamic set-up for nations to
evolve their foreign and regional political choices. Most
significant of this has been the Russian invasion of Ukraine
which has profoundly reconfigured global geo-economics.
Geo-economics is the intersection of the global economy and
geography that impacts the world in more than one way. One
of the examples of this is also the infrastructure-based
connectivity initiatives including China’s BRI. The economic
impact of the Russia-Ukraine crisis is making analysts
question the stability of BRI.
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ISDP |
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AUKUS, Advanced Capabilities and Defense Integration in the
Indo-Pacific, July 2023.
Nearly two years on from the inception of
AUKUS in September 2021, the contours of this strategic
partnership have begun to take a more concrete shape.
Specifically, the roadmap for Pillar I, which aims to equip
Australia with conventionally armed, nuclear-powered
submarines (SSN) and develop a new class of SSN, has been
released, and there have been further discussions on Pillar
II, advanced capabilities. While both pillars support the
overarching objective of AUKUS, which is to integrate the
defense industrial bases of Australia, the UK, and the U.S.,
Pillar II in particular reveals its deeper motivation in
competing for global pre-eminence in emerging technology.
This issue brief examines the aims and strategic rationale
of AUKUS, focusing on its pursuit of collective deterrence
vis-à-vis China. In doing so, it evaluates some of the
opportunities and challenges AUKUS faces moving forward,
paying attention to its attempt to develop and equip
partners with leading-edge military technologies under a
minilateral institutional arrangement.
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ISDP |
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EU-Japan-Taiwan Cooperation: Building a Blue Supply Chain,
July 2023.
The COVID-19 pandemic, the escalating
trade war between the United States and China, and Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine have exposed vulnerabilities and
weaknesses in the global China-centric economic supply chain
as democratic states have experienced significant economic
pressures stemming from these external geopolitical
occurrences. In this context, democratic states are
increasingly falling victim to Chinese economic coercion and
trade weaponization as the geopolitical stakes increase.
This issue brief discusses the need to reduce dependence on
the China-centric global supply chain and explores avenues
and challenges that key democratic stakeholders like the EU,
Japan, and Taiwan must acknowledge and consider to build a
blue supply chain as an alternative to the
authoritarian-centered red supply chain. |
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ISDP |
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South Asia’s Dual Dilemma: Climate Impacts Heighten Conflict
Vulnerability, July 2023.
South Asia has been confronted with a conflictual crisis for
decades now. The arch of vulnerability that this region
faces ascends from its long-rooted history of colonialism
that left it with a traumatic past and is lingering to date.
The conflicts created at that juncture and fortified over
time have made this region vulnerable to any internal or
external influence. The already declined state of South
Asia’s security landscape has been further compromised under
the looming climate emergency. With rising temperatures,
melting glaciers, and depleting natural resources compounded
by South Asia’s internal instability and external
intimidations, the region is subject to a mounting dual
dilemma. This issue brief looks into two areas of heightened
vulnerability for the region—climate-induced migration
coincided with conflict escalation and development-induced
migration along with the rising energy crises that could
become a potential hotspot for conflict in the region. |
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ISDP |
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Japan’s Indo-Pacific Strategy: The Link with Iran, July 2023.
Japan’s “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy” is linked to
the Persian Gulf region. Energy resources, concerns about
China’s influence on the region’s energy and transit
corridors, and the suitable consumption market have made
this region and Iran have a special place in Japan’s
Indo-Pacific policy. This issue brief discusses how Iran
plays an important role by creating a delicate balance and
maintaining a suitable distance from China. In addition to
providing the energy needed by Japan and creating investment
opportunities in the oil, gas and petrochemical industries
and ports, Iran can obtain its technological needs from
Japan and diversify its corridor routes by creating the
North-South Corridor and connecting India to Central Asia
and Europe as well. Such a move would ensure that India does
not lag behind in the competition with China’s corridors; a
move that is also welcomed by Tokyo. |
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ISDP |
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China’s Pursuit of Food and Energy Security in the Indian
Ocean: Consequences for India’s Development, June 2023.
China and India are still predominantly rising powers. They
are strongly inclined to achieve food and energy security,
two priority areas for any nation with a vast population.
The possibility of geopolitical flare-ups has been
highlighted by China’s ruthless pursuit of all kinds of
resources. China’s engagement in the Indian Ocean is not
just to have a strong foothold in the region but also to
fulfil its domestic demands for energy, food, raw materials,
minerals, crude oil, and other essential commodities. This
issue brief discusses whether a relentless pursuit of food
and energy security in the Indian Ocean and Indo-Pacific
regions by China will be a cause of concern for New Delhi
and how it poses a strategic hindrance to the national and
maritime security of India. |
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ISDP |
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Latest ADB Publications:
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Asian Development Outlook (ADO) July 2023: Robust Growth
with Moderating Inflation
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Taxation and Gender in Asia and the Pacific: A Review of
Gender Equality Provisions in Fiscal Legal Frameworks, July
2023
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Investments in Childcare for Gender Equality in Asia and the
Pacific, Published 2023
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Building Gaobeidian: Developing the Environmental
Infrastructure of Modern Beijing, July 2023
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ASEAN+3 Bond Market Forum Brief No. 3—Fundamentals of
Disclosure in the Bond Market, July 2023
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Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage Game Changers in
Asia and the Pacific: 2022 Compendium of Technologies and
Enablers, Published 2023
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Cost–Benefit Analysis of Sewered and Non-Sewered Sanitation
Interventions in Mahalaxmi Municipality, Nepal. July 2023
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Global Climate Challenges, Innovative Finance, and Green
Central Banking, July 2023
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Carbon Pricing and Fossil Fuel Subsidy Rationalization Tool
Kit, July 2023
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Quality of Life Assessment in Urban Development and
Transport Policymaking, July 2023
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Infrastructure Spillover Impacts in Developing Asia, July
2023
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Strategy 2030 Energy Sector Directional Guide Summary:
Inclusive, Just, and Affordable Low-Carbon Transition in
Asia and the Pacific, July 2023
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Ecological Protection in the People’s Republic of China:
Pilot Case Studies on Comprehensive Eco-Compensation,
Poverty Alleviation, and Green Development, June 2023
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Latest ADBI Working Paper Series:
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Latest ADB Working Paper Series:
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Latest APEC publications:
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Digital Transformation to Generate New Business
Opportunities, Opening to New Markets in the MSMES and
Gender Focused Cooperatives, in Response to the Economic
Crisis Caused by COVID-19, July 2023
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Building Laboratory Capabilities to Assure Water Quality in
Asia-Pacific Economies, July 2023
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APEC Conference on Digital Health Innovation – Covid-19
Response by Health Information Utilization, July 2023
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Best Practices Guideline: Risk-informed Decision Making and
SMEs Capacity Building, July 2023
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Workshop Report on Risk-smart Business for SMEs in the Post
COVID-19, July 2023
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Project Report of Integrative Medicine (IM) and COVID-19
Care, July 2023
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Workshop Summary Report – APEC Workshop on Promoting Small
Farmers’ Integration into Global Value Chains (GVCs), July
2023
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Competition Policy and Sustainable Development, July 2023
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Summary Report - APEC Workshop on SME's Participation in the
Global Value Chains During and Post COVID-19 Pandemic, July
2023
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Patent Linkage System for Intellectual Property Rights and
Public Health Harmonisation, July 2023
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A Study on the Harmonization of the IP Financial System,
July 2023
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Project Report: Report and Workshop on Capacity Building to
Improve Economic Reactivation in Sustainable Aquaculture,
July 2023
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Report on the Environmental Goods Trade Policy Dialogue,
July 2023
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Translating Services Domestic Regulation Initiatives into
Practice: Benefits and Experiences Implementing Services
Domestic Regulation Disciplines - At A Glance, June 2023
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