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list of journals available. |
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January, 2023 Current Topics |
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High
Frequency Macroeconomic Forecasts Current Quarter Model:
2023Q1, January 2023. Hong Kong’s economy underwent
a contraction of 3.1% in 2022, which is in stark
contrast to the 6.3% robust growth in 2021. Underpinned
by loosening of social distancing measures and lifting
of travel restrictions, Hong Kong’s real GDP is
estimated to have a lesser drop of 2.6% in 22Q4,
compared to the 4.5% drop in 22Q3. The job market is
expected to improve further due to the reopening of the
Mainland China border with the unemployment rate
dropping from 3.7% in 22Q4 to 3.5 in 23Q1. Interest
rates hikes brought by monetary contraction to fight
surging inflation in various developed economies
constrained Hong Kong’s economic growth in the first
half of 2023. Hong Kong’s GDP is expected to grow by
1.0% in 23Q1. The economic outlook in 2023 remains
optimistic and a stable economic recovery is expected.
Overall, Hong Kong’s real GDP is forecast to grow by
2.5% for the year of 2023... |
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HKU |
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Mixed Report Card: China’s Influence at the United Nations, December
2022. China is of growing importance to the United Nations.
Beijing aims to exert influence at the world body to legitimise and
disseminate its foreign policy values and interests. This report
contextualises China’s growing presence at the United Nations by
examining publicly available data on four metrics that gauge Beijing’s
success in steering the global governance agenda. Those metrics are:
funding for UN departments, programs, and initiatives; staffing of
executive-level personnel positions; voting in the UN General Assembly
and UN Security Council; and the use of PRC-specific discourse and
language in UN-generated documentation... |
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Lowy |
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Sharper Choices: How Australia Can Make Better National Security
Decisions, December 2022.
As Australia’s national security environment has grown more complex and
competitive, the country’s governments have gradually articulated their
strategic response, primarily in the 2016 Defence White Paper, the 2017
Foreign Policy White Paper, and the 2020 Defence Strategic Update. In
these documents, and in major speeches, Australian governments have
adopted four broad strategic concepts: the embattled rules-based order,
the return of great power competition, the expansion of grey zone
competition, and the increased likelihood of major power war. There is
no master theory that can entirely explain Australia’s situation and
guide its decision-makers. A national security strategy is necessary,
but its utility will be limited by the increasingly unpredictable course
of geopolitics... |
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Lowy |
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State-Sponsored Economic Cyber-Espionage for Commercial Purposes:
Tackling an Invisible but Persistent Risk to Prosperity, December 2022. As
part of a multi-year capacity building project supporting governments in
the Indo-Pacific with defending their economic against the risk of
cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property, ASPI analysed public
records to determine the effects, the actual scale, severity and spread
of current incidents of cyberespionage affecting and targeting
commercial entities. In 2015, the leaders agreed that ‘no country should
conduct or support ICT-enabled theft of intellectual property, including
trade secrets or other confidential business information, with the
intent of providing competitive advantages to companies or commercial
sectors.’... |
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ASPI |
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‘Impactful Projection’: Long-Range Strike Options for Australia,
December 2022. The Australian Government has stated that
the ADF requires greater long-range strike capability. This was first
stated by the previous government in its 2020 Defence Strategic Update (DSU),
which emphasised the need for ‘self-reliant deterrent effects’. The
present government has endorsed that assessment: Deputy Prime Minister
and Defence Minister Richard Marles has stated that ‘the ADF must
augment its self-reliance to deploy and deliver combat power through
impactful materiel and enhanced strike capability—including over longer
distances.’ He’s coined the term ‘impactful projection’ to describe the
intended effect of this capability, which is to place ‘a very large
question mark in the adversary’s mind.’... |
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ASPI |
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The Indian Farmer Makes Her Voice Heard, December 2022.
In August 2020, thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab,
Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh, gathered on the outskirts of
India’s national capital, New Delhi, to protest the passage of
three controversial “farm laws” perceived by these farmers as
threats to their livelihoods and well-being. Though the farm
laws would affect only a small percentage of India’s farmers,
over the next 16 months the protests attracted participation
from across the country, cutting across class, caste, gender,
and religious identities. While the proximate driver seemed to
be the farmers’ fear of losing legal protections against a
collapse in the market price of their produce, broader economic,
ecological, and social factors helped trigger the movement. The
protestors employed several strategies that made their movement
successful enough in pushing back against a hugely popular
government to bring about a repeal of the laws the farmers
objected to. |
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EWC |
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Financial Stability Review, November 2022. Risks to the
global financial stability outlook have intensified, as
economies contend with tighter financial conditions, higher
inflation and slowing growth. Heightened geopolitical tensions
and the attendant impact on supply chain disruptions, as well as
economic and financial fragmentation, add further downside risks
to the conjuncture.
The most immediate risk is a potential dysfunction in core
international funding markets and cascading liquidity strains on
non-bank financial institutions that could quickly spill over to
banks and corporates. Tighter financial conditions and highly
volatile markets could give rise to liquidity imbalances that
central banks and fiscal authorities need to adequately address
to avoid precipitating a disorderly liquidation of assets... |
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MAS |
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Trends in Southeast Asia 2022 #18: "STANNING” NAJIB: Fanning
a Personality Cult in Malaysian Politics.
On 24 August 2022, the day after Malaysia’s former Prime
Minister Najib Abdul Razak failed in his final appeal to the
Federal Court to overturn his graft conviction, a group of
200 Najib loyalists from Pertubuhan Jalinan Perpaduan Negara
Malaysia launched a petition calling for a royal pardon for
Najib (Leong 2022). That petition was also uploaded to the
website change.org. Within a brief span of time, a
counter-petition by Bersih was launched with a list of
reasons as to why such an extrajudicial action should not be
countenanced by the ruling King (Gabungan Pilihanraya Bersih
dan Adil Bersih 2022). As of this writing, the anti-pardon
petition garnered 126,363 supporters (Gabungan Pilihanraya
Bersih dan Adil Bersih 2022), significantly outnumbering the
pro-Najib petition which garnered 11,259 supporters (Ibrahim
Ismail 2022). Are these numbers representative of... |
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ISEAS |
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Real Exchange Rate and Firm Productivity: The Case of
Vietnamese Manufacturing, December 2022.
This study investigates the relationship between the real
exchange rate and firm productivity. Using the
difference-in-differences methodology, a persistent real
appreciation in VND has a positive effect on firm
productivity in the Vietnamese manufacturing sector. One of
the mechanisms that could explain this effect is that real
appreciation boosts firm productivity through R&D. Small and
medium-sized firms benefit more from real appreciation than
large firms. |
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ISEAS |
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Strategic Policies for Digital Economic Transformation: The
Case of Malaysia, November 2022.
Malaysia’s first attempt at digital economic transformation
began in the mid-1990s and lasted for some 15 years. The
Multimedia Super Corridor has some initial success but
underachieved in some areas. The second phase of strategic
policies took place in the period 2016-2021 with the launch
of four successive policies and plans dealing with
e-commerce, 4IR manufacturing and digital economy. The legal
and regulatory landscape for the digital economy has also
evolved. Significant challenges lie ahead given the
prevailing digital divide and unevenness in ICT adoption
across industries. |
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ISEAS |
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Finland-Taiwan Relations: An Overview and Changes after
COVID-19 Pandemic, December 2022.
espite the lack of formal diplomatic relations between
Finland and Taiwan, the two sides have maintained a
practical relationship through trade, tourism, and
educational and cultural exchanges. The COVID-19 pandemic
has created some favorable ground for certain breakthroughs,
be it in terms of the Finnish government’s action plan to
support Taiwan’s meaningful international participation,
Finnish reports that offer more diverse views on Taiwan’s
society beyond international politics, or a Finnish
parliamentarian’s help in implementing Taiwan’s mask
diplomacy in the Finnish context. In general, the Foreign
Ministry in Finland has been vigilant in ensuring that the
One China Policy does not become unnecessarily
restrictive... |
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ISDP |
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Japan Leads the Way in Global Health Diplomacy: The Case of
Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), December 2022.
This issue brief aims to investigate Japan’s policy toward
“neglected tropical diseases” (NTDs) in light of Japan’s
global health diplomacy. It confirms the significance of the
so-called ‘Hashimoto Initiative’ as the origin of Japan’s
global health diplomacy toward NTDs. This issue brief looks
at the three cases of NTDs in Japan, i.e. dengue fever,
Hansen’s disease, and lymphatic filariasis, and how Japan
succeeded in controlling and eradicating the diseases
domestically. It then examines the significance of the
establishment of the Global Health Innovative Technology
Fund (GHIT Fund) in relation to Japan’s global health
diplomacy. Finally, it explores the future scenario of
Japan’s global health diplomacy to control and eradicate
NTDs at the G7 Hiroshima Summit to be hosted by the Kishida
administration in May 2023. |
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ISDP |
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Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2022 Supplement: Global Gloom
Dims Asian Prospects. Global and regional developments since
September have been roughly in line with pessimistic
expectations laid out that month in the Asian Development
Outlook 2022 Update. The world economy chugged along in the
third quarter (Q3) of this year but is now set to slow markedly,
weighed down by weakening in the United States, euro area, and
People’s Republic of China (PRC). Persistently elevated
inflation in the US led the Federal Reserve to raise its policy
rate in November by 75 basis points, the fourth consecutive hike
of that magnitude. Despite a resilient labor market, investment
prospects and consumer confidence worsened, suggesting that the
Q3 rebound to seasonally adjusted annualized growth of 2.6% will
be short-lived... |
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ADB |
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Latest ADB Publications:
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Pacific Economic Monitor – December 2022: The Future of
Social Protection in the Pacific
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Developing Airport Systems in Asian Cities: Spatial
Characteristics, Economic Effects, and Policy Implications,
December 2022
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Battling Climate Change and Transforming Agri-Food Systems:
Asia–Pacific Rural Development and Food Security Forum 2022
Highlights and Takeaways
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Social Protection Indicator for Pacific: Tracking
Developments in Social Protection, December 2022
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Data Management Policies and Strategies in Government,
December 2022
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The Social Protection Indicator for Asia: Tracking
Developments in Social Protection, December 2022
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Liberalizing Services Trade in the Regional Comprehensive
Economic Partnership: Status and Ways Forward, December 2022
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Last Mile Connectivity: Addressing the Affordability
Frontier, December 2022
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The Impact of COVID-19 Mobility Restrictions on Trade
Facilitation at Borders in the Central Asia Regional
Economic Cooperation Region, December 2022
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A Comparative Analysis of Tax Administration in Asia and the
Pacific: Sixth Edition, Published 2022
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Critical Issues for Fiscal Reform in the People’s Republic
of China Part 1: Revenue and Expenditure Management,
December 2022
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Driving Inclusive Digitalization in Trade and Trade Finance,
December 2022
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The Green, Social, Sustainable and Other Labeled (GSS+)
Bonds Initiative for Southeast Asia, December 2022
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The Financial and Institutional Mechanism of the Sanitation
and Wastewater Management System: Learning from the Japanese
Experience, December 2022
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The Long-Term Growth Prospects of the People’s Republic of
China, December 2022
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Developing a Sustainable Agricultural Insurance System in
the People’s Republic of China, December 2022
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Unlocking the Economic and Social Value of Indonesia’s
State-Owned Enterprises, December 2022
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ADB |
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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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Rural Development in Bangladesh Over Four Decades: Findings
from Mahabub Hossain Panel Data and the Way Forward,
December 2022
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Healthy Urban Rivers as a Panacea to Pandemic-Related
Stress: How to Manage Urban Rivers, December 2022
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ICT, Online Search Behavior, and Remittances: Evidence from
the Kyrgyz Republic, December 2022
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An
Overview of Climate Change, the Environment, and Innovative
Finance in Emerging and Developing Economies, December 2022
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Gender, Entrepreneurship and Coping with the COVID-19
Pandemic: The Case of GoFood Merchants in Indonesia,
December 2022
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ADB |
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Latest APEC publications:
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APEC |
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Hmong Studies
Journal,
Vol.
24, 2022 |
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HSJ |
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December, 2022 |
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After
Hegemony: Japan’s Role and Dilemma in Maintaining the
Rules-Based Order, November 2022.
The phrase “rules-based order” has recently become a recurring
theme in the Japan-US alliance . This is based on the
recognition that the liberal international order (LIO)—which the
United States built and maintained, and that Japan has
significantly benefited from—is now being challenged. While the
war in Ukraine has heightened the sense of crisis over global
power dynamics, China has been considered the main threat to the
LIO... |
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EWC |
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Crumbling Cornerstone? Australia’s Education Ties With Southeast Asia,
November 2022.
Successive Australian governments have billed education as the
cornerstone of its people-to-people connections and influence in
Southeast Asia. Yet the era of the Colombo Plan, in which Australia
educated the region’s top leaders, is over. Changing economic
relativities, and the success of both established and new competitors
such as China and Japan, mean Australia’s access and influence through
education to the region’s future leaders will decline. Moreover, a
narrow focus on Southeast Asia as a market for generating international
student revenue may lead to Australia missing opportunities to help
build regional human capacity and advance its bilateral relationships... |
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Lowy |
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‘With a Little Help From My Friends’: Capitalising on Opportunity at
AUSMIN 2022, Novermber 2022.
The collection of essays covers topics and challenges that the US and
Australia must tackle together: defence capability, foreign affairs,
climate change, foreign interference, rare earths, cyber, technology,
the Pacific, space, integrated deterrence and coercive diplomacy. In
each instance, there are opportunities for concrete, practical policy
steps to ensure cohesion and stability.”... |
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ASPI |
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North of 26° South and the Security of Australia: Views From the
Strategist, Volume 6, November 2022. This issue, like
previous volumes, includes a wide range of articles sourced from a
diverse pool of expert contributors writing on topics as varied as
maritime law enforcement, equatorial space launch, renewable energy
infrastructure, rare earths and critical minerals, agriculture, Industry
4.0, advanced manufacturing, fuel and water security, and defence force
posturing. It also features a foreword by the Honourable Madeleine King
MP, Minister for Northern Australia. Minister King writes, “Northern
Australia promises boundless opportunity and potential. It is the
doorway to our region and key to our future prosperity.”... |
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ASPI |
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Counterterrorism Yearbook 2022. It’s been over two
decades since the 9/11 attacks when two planes hit the World Trade
Center, one hit the Pentagon and a fourth crashed in Pennsylvania. Close
to 3,000 people died and many others were injured, and even more people
were traumatised by the experience and the loss of loved ones. Today’s
release of the Counterterrorism (CT) yearbook 2022 coincides with the
anniversary of the November 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks and the deaths
of 174 people. These and other acts of terror have left an indelible
mark and shaped the years that followed... |
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ASPI |
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The Future of Digital Identity in Australia, Published 2022.
Digital identity was a key part of the Australian Government’s Digital
Economy Strategy: a further $161 million was committed in the 2021
mid-year budget update, bringing total investment since 2015 to more
than $600 million. Over that period, the government has developed the
Trusted Digital Identity Framework, established the Digital Identity
System and, in late 2021, published draft legislation to govern and
regulate the system. Although there’s been little apparent progress in
the past 10 months, if the potential microeconomic benefits (estimated
at $11 billion in the previous government’s Digital Economy Strategy)
aren’t sufficient incentive, the September 2022 data breach at Optus,
and the subsequent run of data breaches on companies in October should
supply new impetus... |
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ASPI |
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State-Sponsored Economic Cyberespionage and the Risk to Nations’
Prosperity: Briefing Note to G20 Leaders’ Summit, November 2022.
In 2015, the leaders agreed that ‘no country should conduct or support
ICT-enabled theft of intellectual property, including trade secrets or
other confidential business information, with the intent of providing
competitive advantages to companies or commercial sectors.’ In this
Briefing Note, authors Dr Gatra Priyandita, Bart Hogeveen and Dr Ben
Stevens conclude that the threat of state-sponsored economic
cyberespionage is more significant than ever, with countries
industrialising their cyberespionage efforts to target commercial firms
and universities at a grander scale; and more of these targeted
industries and universities are based in emerging economies... |
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ASPI |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2022 #17: Explaining PAS’s Dominance in
Kelantan.
The 2018 general elections saw an unprecedented change in
Malaysian politics when the then opposition Coalition of
Hope (Pakatan Harapan, PH) took control of the federal
government and disrupted the six-decade continuous rule of
the National Front (Barisan Nasional, BN) coalition. The
so-called political tsunami swept across peninsular Malaysia
but stopped short of the east coast states of Kelantan and
Terengganu. The Pan-Malaysia Islamic Party (Parti Islam
Se-Malaysia, PAS), which contested as a third force, managed
to strengthen its hold over Kelantan and wrest Terengganu
away from the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO).
This article explains why PAS has been dominant in Kelantan,
not just stemming the Peninsula-wide wave of change in 2018,
but also durably resisting the rule of the UMNO-led BN
federal government for decades as an opposition-controlled
state... |
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ISEAS |
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One Belt, One Road: Changing Asian Geo-Politics and India,
November 2022.
The ‘One Belt One Road’ (OBOR) has remarkably transformed
discourse on geopolitics within the Asian context. As an
initiative, the OBOR has embedded within itself a peculiar
dynamic that propels China as the primary determinant of
geopolitical cross-currents in Asia. Evolving into being
termed ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ (BRI), this paper adheres
to OBOR as primary reference, continuous in its metaphorical
and temporal usage. Having won accolades and criticisms,
Beijing is determined to construct a new ‘frame’ and
‘template’ for Asia, bypassing existing ‘structures’ and
institutions. As scholars, the questions that arise from the
OBOR are many: How is the OBOR different from existing
arrangements? Why is Beijing highlighting OBOR and is it any
different from earlier half-hearted attempts at knitting the
region in a seamless manner... |
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ISDP |
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The Dangers of a Stagnant China: The Necessity of Awkward
Coexistence, November 2022.
In the build-up to the 20th Party Congress, a series of
essays emerged focusing on Xi Jinping cementing a third term
as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and his
future plans for China. These essays dwelled on the question
of whether China has peaked, or will it continue to rise and
what each scenario would mean for relations between China
and the world. This paper aims to migrate away from this
question and focus on the consequences of China failing and
what that means for the world... |
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ISDP |
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China’s Rise in the Indo-Pacific: A Quad Countries’
Perspective, November 2022.
China’s rise as an economic, technological, and military
superpower in the last two decades is one of the most
prominent factors that led to the emergence of the Quad
grouping consisting of the United States, Japan, Australia,
and India as a ‘balance of power’ mechanism in the
Indo-Pacific region. The four-nation grouping has evolved
over time, particularly in the last two to five years,
reaching the summit-level in September 2021 and both
broadening and diversifying its areas of cooperation... |
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ISDP |
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Latest ADB Publications:
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Circular Agriculture for Sustainable and Low-Carbon
Development in the People’s Republic of China, November 2022
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Asia Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Monitor 2022: Volume
I—Country and Regional Reviews, November 2022
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Asia Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Monitor 2022: Volume
II—The Russian Invasion of Ukraine and Its Impact on Small
Firms in Central and West Asia, November 2022
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Digital Financial Inclusion and Literacy from a G20
Perspective, November 2022
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Unlocking the Potential of Digital Services Trade in Asia
and the Pacific, November 2022
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Asia Bond Monitor, November 2022
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Developing the Sustainable Bond Market in ASEAN+3:
Challenges and Opportunities, November 2022
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Survey on Green Bonds and Sustainable Finance in ASEAN:
Insights on the Perspectives of Institutional Investors and
Underwriters, November 2022
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Strengthening Oxygen Systems in Asia and the Pacific:
Guidance Note, November 2022
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Transformative Solutions and Green Finance in the People’s
Republic of China and Mongolia, November 2022
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Gender-Responsive Procurement in Asia and the Pacific: An
Opportunity for an Equitable Economic Future, Published 2022
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Decentralization, Local Governance, and Localizing the
Sustainable Development Goals in Asia and the Pacific,
Published 2023
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Special Economic Zones for Shared Prosperity: Brunei
Darussalam–Indonesia–Malaysia–Philippines East ASEAN Growth
Area, November 2022
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Green Bond Market Survey for Malaysia: Insights on the
Perspectives of Institutional Investors and Underwriters,
November 2022
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Carbon Pricing for Energy Transition and Decarbonization,
November 2022
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Building Resilience of the Urban Poor: Recommendations for
Systemic Change, November 2022
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Sponge Cities: Integrating Green and Gray Infrastructure to
Build Climate Change Resilience in the People’s Republic of
China, November 2022
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Climate Change Mitigation: Policies and Lessons for Asia,
Published 2022
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Strengthening Active Labor Market Policies to Drive an
Inclusive Recovery in Asia, Published 2022
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Accelerating Private Sector Engagement in Adaptation in Asia
and the Pacific, November 2022
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Risk-Off Shocks and Spillovers in Safe Havens, November 2022
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ADB |
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Latest APEC publications:
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APEC |
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November, 2022 |
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Monetary
Authority of Singapore: Macroeconomic Review, Volume XXI,
Issue 2, October 2022 (Full
Report):
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MAS |
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High
Frequency Macroeconomic Forecasts Current Quarter Model:
2022Q4, October 2022. Dampened by the fifth wave of
the epidemic, Hong Kong economy dropped by 2.6% in the
first half of 2022. With the support of phase II of the
government consumption voucher scheme and easing of
social distancing measures, Hong Kong’s real GDP is
estimated to revert to a 0.7% growth in 22Q3 compared to
the same period last year. The job market will continue
to improve with the unemployment rate dropping from 5%
in the beginning of 2022 to 4% by the end of this year,
returning to 21Q4’s level. Despite the significant drop
of coronavirus infections in the second half of 2022,
uncertainties brought by the global economic slowdown
constrains output growth in the near term, especially in
the external demand. Hong Kong’s GDP is expected to grow
by 1.8% in 22Q4. For the year 2022 as a whole, Hong
Kong’s real GDP is forecast to drop by 0.6%... |
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HKU |
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Chinese Coercion, Australian Resilience, October 2022.
Australians have grown in confidence about the country’s ability to
withstand economic coercion from China since the imposition of punitive
trade measures in 2020. Beijing suspended high-level political exchanges
and imposed a range of informal sanctions and trade blockages against
Australia in the wake of a series of escalating disputes, culminating in
Canberra’s call for an independent inquiry into the origins of Covid-19
in April that year. Two years on, it is prudent to plan on the basis
that it is still early days in China’s use of trade measure against
Australia. Canberra and Beijing resumed ministerial-level dialogue after
the election of the Albanese Labor government in May 2022... |
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Lowy |
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Frontier Influencers: The New Face of China’s Propaganda, October 2022.
This report explores how the Chinese party-state’s globally focused
propaganda and disinformation capabilities are evolving and increasing
in sophistication. Concerningly, this emerging approach by the Chinese
party-state to influence international discourse on China, including
obfuscating its record of human rights violations, is largely flying
under the radar of US social media platforms and western policymakers.
In the broader context of attempts by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)
to censor speech, promote disinformation and seed the internet with its
preferred narratives, we focus on a small but increasingly popular set
of YouTube accounts that feature mainly female China-based
ethnic-minority influencers from the troubled frontier regions of
Xinjiang, Tibet and Inner Mongolia, hereafter referred to as ‘frontier
influencers’ or ‘frontier accounts’... |
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ASPI |
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Deciding the Future: The Australian Army and the Infantry Fighting
Vehicle, October 2022.
The aim of this report is to inform government decision-makers and the
public on the ability of Project LAND 400 Phase 3—the infantry fighting
vehicle (IFV) acquisition—to meet the needs of Australia. I examine a
number of factors that provide context for the government’s upcoming
decision, whenever that may take place. Those include how IFVs fit into
the Australian strategic environment, the ease with which the ADF can
deploy them, their vulnerability to threats, and the ongoing utility of
armour in the light of lessons unfolding from the ongoing
Russian–Ukrainian War. To set the information into a useful context,
this report explains the nature of contemporary land warfare and
speculates how the Australian Army is likely to fight in a future
conflict. To further assist those making the IFV decision, this report
offers a number of scenarios that outline potential operations that the
government may direct the ADF to undertake... |
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ASPI |
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Suppressing the Truth and Spreading Lies, October 2022.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is attempting to influence public
discourse in Solomon Islands through coordinated information operations
that seek to spread false narratives and suppress information on a range
of topics. Following the November 2021 Honiara riots and the March 2022
leaking of the China – Solomon Islands security agreement, the CCP has
used its propaganda and disinformation capabilities to push false
narratives in an effort to shape the Solomon Islands public’s perception
of security issues and foreign partners. In alignment with the CCP’s
regional security objectives, those messages have a strong focus on
undermining Solomon Islands’ existing partnerships with Australia and
the US. Although some of the CCP’s messaging occurs through routine
diplomatic engagement, there’s a coordinated effort to influence the
population across a broad spectrum of information channels... |
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ASPI |
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The Gulf: Dragon on the Prowl, October 2022.
The geopolitical sands are shifting in the Persian Gulf.
Investments in critical infrastructure allow Beijing to
project power, reap financial rewards, secure resources,
expand markets, acquire strategically located bases, and
undermine America’s security alliances. The Russian invasion
of Ukraine has further brought into sharp focus simmering
tensions and stresses and strains. Economic diversification,
strategic hedging, pragmatism and “Look East” are the
buzzwords. The Gulf sheikhdoms are on the cusp of history
where choices made today will shape their future. Washington
can no longer expect a monogamous relationship in a region
ripe for polygamy with multiple suitors. Nonetheless, this
paper argues that the logic of geopolitics dictates that
China’s expansionist moves would prevent America’s retreat
because the success of Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy is
linked to maintaining its presence in the resource-rich
Gulf, and not letting China dominate it. Besides, when the
chips are down, nearly all Gulf states still “Look West” for
security against regional threats. |
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ISDP |
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North Korea’s Pandemic Conundrum: Self-Containment and
Humanitarian Crisis, October 2022.
North Korea acknowledged its healthcare crisis this May and
retreated to the Zero-COVID policy under self-containment,
which they adopted in early 2020. Pyongyang also perceived
economic stresses when they decided to loosen border control
on trade with China last autumn. Since Kim Jong Un and other
leaders of North Korea declared an extreme national
emergency regarding COVID-19 just after acknowledging the
pandemic cases, a humanitarian crisis has loomed. To prevent
the crisis, this issue brief posits that the international
community should consider providing sufficient necessities
to the North Korean people, despite resistance they may face
from Pyongyang. |
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ISDP |
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Taiwan in the European Discourse: Toward Political
Consensus? October 2022.
The EU’s Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific
recognizes that the display of force in the Taiwan Strait
may have a direct impact on European security and
prosperity. In this context, and in response to the military
belligerence of the People’s Republic of China and its gray
zone activities, Brussels elevated Taiwan into its political
discourse. Yet, consensus on the role member-states want the
EU to play in the Taiwan Strait remains a work in progress.
In light of Beijing’s diplomatic support to Russia’s
aggression against Ukraine, the EU has grown more aware of
its own vulnerabilities. This issue brief discusses how
Brussels must now start seeing Taiwan through the lens of
security and work toward a credible EU-level strategy that
contributes to preserving the status quo in the Taiwan
Strait, deters PRC aggression, and protects the EU’s own
interests. |
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ISDP |
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China’s Polar Silk Road Revisited, October 2022.
China’s presence in the Arctic continues to garner
international attention, not least since Beijing published
its first Arctic White Paper in 2018. The prospect of
improved economic opportunities caused by the melting of the
Arctic ice cap, reduced shipping times, access to
potentially large fossil fuel reserves, and opportunities to
advance climate change research have led to numerous actors
– China included – venturing further into the Arctic. China
has been active in the northern polar region since the 1980s
via scientific research. Yet, in tandem with Beijing
concretizing its Arctic ambitions with its vanguard Polar
Silk Road (PSR; 冰上丝绸之路), pushback against Chinese
investments and activities grew stronger. Spearheaded by the
U.S., opposition to China’s anticipated northward expansion
further extended to include more Western countries
(especially northern Europe and Canada). Exacerbating
Sino-American tensions, in particular, have fuelled concerns
that China’s Arctic ambitions may not be entirely benign,
with some critical voices even suggesting that Chinese
economic and research interests foreshadow a High North
militarization... |
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ISDP |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2022 #16: Freedom of Religion in Malaysia:
The Situation and Attitudes of “Deviant” Muslim Groups.
Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR),
published by the United Nations in 1948, states that
“everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience
and religion; this right includes freedom to change his
religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in
community with others and in public or private, to manifest
his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and
observance.” Malaysia recently won its bid to sit on the
United Nations Human Rights Council from 2022 to 2024.
However, while the country’s constitution is progressive in
underlining the rights of religious minorities, this is
severely lacking in practice as it exercises heavy
regulation on religion, combined with restrictions on the
practices of certain faiths... |
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ISEAS |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2022 #15: Concepts and Patterns of Chinese
Migration, with Reference to Southeast Asia.
Concepts and patterns of Chinese migration are often
described with terms such as guigen (归根, return to one’s
original roots), shenggen (生根, sprout local roots), shigen
(失根, lose original roots), wugen (无根, without roots), and
duogen (多根, many roots). These terms, linked to the Mandarin
word gen (根, roots), carry various meanings including home,
citizenship, ethnicity, as well as local language, culture
and society. In Southeast Asia, the predominant patterns of
migration are shenggen/shigen, guigen, shenggen/shigen,
wugen and/or duogen. These concepts represent the mainstream
patterns during various periods, which may admittedly exist
concurrently. The pattern in each particular period is
influenced by an array of internal and external factors,
such as colonial and subsequently government policies
directed at migrants, as well as forces and opportunities
afforded by globalization... |
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ISEAS |
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Latest ADB Publications:
-
Inclusive Education with Differentiated Instruction for
Children with Disabilities: A Guidance Note, October 2022
-
Azerbaijan's Ecosystem for Technology Startups—Baku, Ganja,
and Shamakhi, October 2022
-
How the Asian Development Bank Uses Change Management to
Unlock the Value of Knowledge, October 2022
-
COVID-19 and the Deployment of Labor Migrants from Asia:
Lessons Learned and Ways Forward, October 2022
-
Building Better Local Business Environments: Accelerating
Pandemic Recovery of Small Firms in Cambodia, the Lao
People’s Democratic Republic, Thailand, and Viet Nam,
October 2022
-
Building Resilience among the Philippines’ Urban Poor,
October 2022
-
Road Map for Developing an Online Platform to Trade
Nonperforming Loans in Asia and the Pacific, October 2022
-
Applying the Asian Development Bank’s Approach to Gender
Mainstreaming in Private Sector, October 2022
-
Accelerating Gender Equality in the Renewable Energy Sector,
October 2022
-
Accelerating Gender Equality in the Agribusiness Sector,
October 2022
-
Accelerating Gender Equality in the Finance Sector, October
2022
-
How Female-Friendly Are Workplaces in Urban Pakistan?
October 2022
-
Electric Motorcycle Charging Infrastructure Road Map for
Indonesia, October 2022
-
Two Strategies for Innovation and Growth in Asia and the
Pacific, October 2022
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ADB |
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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 APEC publications:
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Policy Reponses to Stimulate MSME Demand in the Wake of
COVID-19 Pandemic in APEC Economies, October 2022
-
Key Recommendations: Public-Private Approaches to
Decarbonizing Power Systems in APEC, October 2022
-
Charting New Pathways for APEC: A Sustainable Future
Inspired by the Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economy, October
2022
-
Putrajaya Vision 2040, COVID-19 and Information Disorder,
October 2022
-
Planning A Transition To Electrification of Public Transit
Systems: Learnings From The Bus Rapid Transit System of
Metrobus in Mexico City, October 2022
-
The APEC LCMT Project Wrap-up Symposium, October 2022
-
Assessment Report: APEC Customs Capacity Building for
Improved Trade Facilitation, October 2022
-
Guidelines on the Reduction of Seafood Waste and Loss,
October 2022
-
Performance Assessment of Mental Health Rehabilitation to
Combat the 4th Wave of COVID-19, October 2022
-
Gender and Structural Reform: Achieving Economic Growth
through Inclusive Policies, October 2022
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APEC |
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October, 2022 |
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Australia’s Semiconductor National Moonshot, September 2022.
Australia has recently been forced to cross a Rubicon. Its wholehearted
embrace of global free trade and just-in-time supply chains has had to
confront the hard reality of geopolitics. In many parts of the world,
geopolitics is choking free trade, and China—Australia’s largest trading
partner—has shown itself particularly willing to use trade coercively
and abrogate its free trade commitments, not just with Australia, but
with countries all around the world. Advanced technologies are at the
centre of this geopolitical struggle, because of the risk that withheld
supply poses to national economies and security. As Covid-19 disruptions
have demonstrated, the risks are not even limited to deliberate
coercion... |
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ASPI |
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The Geopolitical Implications of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine, September
2022.
The eminent Harvard University professor of Ukrainian history, Serhii
Plokhy, observed that Russia’s occupation of Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk
in 2014 raised fundamental questions about Ukraine’s continuing
existence as a unified state, its independence as a nation, and the
democratic foundations of its political institutions. This created a new
and dangerous situation not only in Ukraine but also in Europe as a
whole. For the first time since the end of World War II, a major
European power made war on a weaker neighbour and annexed part of the
territory of a sovereign state. This unprovoked Russian aggression
against Ukraine threatened the foundations of international order—a
threat to which, he said, the EU and most of the world weren’t prepared
to respond... |
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ASPI |
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Assessing the Groundwork: Surveying the Impacts of Climate Change in
China, September 2022. he immediate and unprecedented impacts
of climate change are becoming increasingly apparent across China, as
they are for many parts of the world. Since June 2022, China has been
battered by record-breaking heatwaves, torrential downpours, flooding
disasters, severe drought and intense forest fires. In isolation, each
of those climate hazards is a reminder of the vulnerability of human
systems to environmental changes, but together they are a stark reminder
that climate change presents a real and existential threat to prosperity
and well-being of billions of people. Sea-level rise will undermine
access to freshwater for China’s coastal cities and increase the
likelihood of flooding in China’s highly urbanised delta regions... |
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ASPI |
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ASPI AUKUS Update 2: September 2022—The One-Year Anniversary.
Consistent with a partnership that’s focused on the development of
defence and technological capability rather than diplomatic
grandstanding, there have been few public announcements about the
progress of AUKUS. That’s an observation we made in our first AUKUS
update in May, and one we make again in this latest update, one year on
from the joint unveiling of the partnership in mid-September 2021.
Periodic press releases note meetings of the three-country joint
steering groups—one of which looks at submarines and the other at
advanced capabilities—but provide little hint about what was discussed.
On Submarines, we shouldn’t expect to hear anything concrete until the
18-month consultation phase concludes in March 2022... |
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ASPI |
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Marles’s Defence Strategic Review—an Exploding Suitcase of Challenges to
Resolve by March 2023, August 2022.
The Review is to report before March 2023 so that the Albanese
government can make decisions on it at the same time as they are
deciding about the path that gives Australia 8 nuclear submarines within
an AUKUS partnership that makes these safe and effective. Before they
even get to thinking about their task – ‘to ensure Defence has the right
capabilities to meet our growing strategic needs’ —Smith and Houston
will need to confront the ugly fact that Defence’s current plans are
already unaffordable despite the large and growing defence budget the
Albanese government has committed to... |
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ASPI |
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Renewable Energy and Climate Action: The Future of Japan and
Sweden Cooperation, September 2022.
This joint publication of the Institute for Security and
Development Policy (ISDP) and Kajima Institute of
International Peace (KIIP) in Tokyo covers a
solution-oriented approach to Climate Challenges that both
Japan and EU/Sweden confront at large. This study covers
many critical areas such as renewable energy, climate
practices and the role of technology to mitigate climate
challenges. Additionally, this Special Paper analyses the
Climate change mitigation efforts which may lead to
conflicts among countries. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and
the resulting energy crisis have strongly reminded the world
of this point... |
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ISDP |
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U.S.-ASEAN Summit: Democracy Promotion on the Backburner,
September 2022.
As democracy comes under acute threat from rising
authoritarianism across Southeast Asia, this issue brief
explores whether there is a loss of U.S. leadership on
democracy promotion in the region. A critical reading of the
joint statement released after the ASEAN-U.S. special summit
shows that the current U.S. administration has not followed
through with the Obama-era practice of discussing democracy
and human rights issues with Southeast Asian countries.
Against the backdrop of China’s rising influence, this issue
brief makes a case for the Biden administration to focus
democracy promotion efforts on Southeast Asia while taking
into account the political specificities of these
countries... |
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ISDP |
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Enlarging Indo-Pacific into the Orbit of Euro-Atlantic:
Implications for India, September 2022.
Following the release of the United States’ Indo-Pacific
strategy that called for building bridges between the
Indo-Pacific and the Euro-Atlantic, the idea of interlinking
the two geopolitical theaters has gained significant
currency, especially against the backdrop of the Russian
invasion of Ukraine. As China and Russia’s diplomatic and
military cooperation deepened amidst the Ukraine crisis, the
U.S. and some of its European and Asian allies declared that
the security of the two geopolitical regions is indivisible
and requires an inter-theater outlook. India, which is a
major player in the Indo-Pacific region, has been lukewarm
to such a strategic merger... |
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ISDP |
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EU-Taiwan Semiconductor Cooperation: Lopsided Priorities?
September 2022.
The European Union (EU) seeks de facto closer cooperation on
chip production with Taiwan. This was underlined during
Foreign Minister Joseph Wu’s Europe Tour in 2021 and by a
more recent EU Parliament delegation to Taipei amid efforts
to push for a bilateral investment agreement. Having
announced the Chips Act in February 2022, the EU has since
held its first high-level talks with a delegation from
Taiwan’s Ministry of Economy. Meanwhile, reports emerged in
2021 that the world’s largest chip manufacturer –TSMC – has
been in contact with European officials about setting up
local production facilities in the EU... |
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ISDP |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2022 #14: Thailand’s Economic Dilemmas in
Post-Pandemic Asia.
Thailand combines many recent economic trends facing
Southeast Asia, while being immersed in the geopolitics of
Northeast Asia and facing demographic conditions resembling
those of Northeast Asian countries. Thailand continues to
economically and politically manoeuvre around the tensions
in intra-Asian relations. Over the past decade, Thailand has
managed to balance many disparate competitors—attracting
investments from China and Japan, welcoming military
cooperation with both China and the United States, and
hosting travellers from Russia, Ukraine, China, the US,
Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Iran—with a goal of receiving
benefits from engagement with many different sides and
actors. Thailand’s economy suffered greatly during the
height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, the Thai economy
appears to be on a better footing than it was on two years
ago, but with substantial long-term challenges that remain
unresolved... |
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ISEAS |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2022 #13: Health Security in Indonesia and
the Normalization of the Military’s Non-Defence Role.
Military engagement in non-military affairs in response to
global health threats has become prominent since the
outbreaks of poliovirus (2014–17), Ebola, and Zika (Carlin
et al. 2021). However, military activism in non-defence
arenas may have a negative impact on democratic governance,
especially when soldiers are mobilized for domestic
policing. But what is it that motivates leaders to mobilize
military forces to deal with health crises? Likewise, what
is it that motivates the armed forces to engage in public
health control?
There are two views in discussing these questions. Some
analysts argue that it is a matter of utility in a country
where state capacity is limited. They argue that leaders, in
order to effectively deal with the complex challenges of a
health security crisis, must mobilize all available
resources, civilian or military, to maximize the
government’s performance (Chretien et al. 2007; Downie 2012;
WHO 2021). According to this argument, the military obeys a
call-out order as its professional commitment... |
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ISEAS |
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The Political Economy of Education in Myanmar: Recorrecting
the Past, Redirecting the Present and Reengaging the Future,
September 2022.
Myanmar’s education sector has been consistently starved of
investments and resources for many decades. Episodes of
political turbulence have brought frequent crackdowns on
students, with resultant damage to the education system.
Myanmar’s 2021 military coup has had dramatic and adverse
effects on education at all levels. Parallel educational
systems — those of the coup regime, the rival National Unity
Government, and ethnic organizations — now operate in
Myanmar. The security of everyone involved in Myanmar’s
education sector is at risk. As Myanmar moves beyond rentier
status, the future of the country’s education sector will
depend on forging an education sector compatible with
diversity, access to modern technologies, and on educated
Myanmar migrants in the diaspora. |
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ISEAS |
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Promoting Cross-Border Connectivity in Asia: The Role of the
Asian Development Bank, September 2022.
Improvements in all forms of connectivity increases a
country’s competitiveness by reducing trade costs, which in
turn affects trade and investment flows, and economic
development. Despite significant progress, gaps in both hard
and soft infrastructure remain in Asia. Cross-border
connectivity (CBC) projects can generate significant
benefits that cannot be realised through national
initiatives alone. ADB and other international financial
institutions (IFIs) have played a critical role in filling
the gap. However, unless capacity utilisation is increased
by software related improvements, the borrowings cannot be
justified. The digital economy will also require new types
of connectivity due to new modes of service delivery, and
IFIs must respond. |
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ISEAS |
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Determinants of COVID-19 Vaccine Rollouts in Southeast Asia,
September 2022.
The emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic necessitated the
administration of safe and effective vaccines to achieve
herd immunity. This paper examines the key determinants of
vaccine rollout in Southeast Asia, using a supply and demand
model. The supply of vaccines in each country depends on
vaccine procurement, state capacity, and the logistics
infrastructure while demand is driven by vaccine acceptance.
All countries utilized a multiple sourcing strategy for
procurement. Digital technology facilitated the roll-out of
vaccination and the issuance of digital vaccination
certificates. Nevertheless, logistic challenges and vaccine
hesitancy continue to dog Indonesia and Philippines, so that
both have yet to achieve the WHO targeted 70% vaccination
rate by June 2022. Myanmar’s internal problems continue to
hold up its vaccination rates. |
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ISEAS |
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Moving Forward Through COVID-19 in Singapore: Well-Being,
Lessons Learnt and Future Directions, July 2022. This paper
reviews the well-being of Singaporeans during the past two years
of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also examines Singaporeans’ outlook
towards the future, such as emerging concerns and perceptions
towards government leadership, as well as lessons learnt from
the pandemic. We found that while the proportion of respondents
who felt stressed from the pandemic has fallen since its earlier
stages in 2020, it did not necessarily translate into
respondents’ self-perceptions of better mental well-being.
Specifically, the proportion of those who felt stressed has
fallen from 50 per cent in W1 (21 April 2020 – 23 April 2020) to
31 per cent in W52 (24 June 2022 – 4 July 2022)... |
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IPS |
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Strengthening AML/CFT Practices for External Asset Manager,
August 2022. This information paper sets out MAS’
supervisory expectations of
effective anti-money laundering and countering the financing of
terrorism (AML/CFT) frameworks and controls for external asset
managers (EAMs), also known as independent asset managers.
The guidance is based on key findings from a series of thematic
inspections and engagements conducted by MAS. EAMs should
review their AML/CFT frameworks and controls against these
expectations in a risk-based and proportionate manner. Where
EAMs observe any gaps in their frameworks and controls, specific
remediation/enhancement measures should be identified and
implemented in a timely manner... |
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MAS |
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Operational Risk Management - Management of Third Party
Arrangements, August 2022. Effective management of
operational risk is fundamental to a financial institution’s (FI)
holistic risk management framework. The nature and scope of
operational risk have evolved over time, given trends such as
the large-scale adoption of remote working and the adoption of
new technologies. The increasing reliance on third party
outsourcing and non-outsourcing arrangements (collectively,
“third party arrangements”) has also prompted supervisory
authorities to update their regulatory approaches. For example,
the Financial Stability Board has published the responses to a
consultation on “Regulatory and Supervisory Issues Relating to
Outsourcing and Third-Party Relationships”, with suggestions to
develop global standards on outsourcing and third party risk
management, and to adopt consistent definitions and terminology... |
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MAS |
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Latest APEC publications:
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APEC Energy Demand and Supply Outlook (8th Edition) - Volume
I, September 2022
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APEC Energy Demand and Supply Outlook (8th Edition) - Volume
II, September 2022
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APEC Energy Overview 2022, September 2022
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Digital Technology and Global Integration: Opportunities for
Innovative Growth, September 2022
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Policy Options for Decarbonising Transportation in APEC,
September 2022
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Understanding the Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economy Model,
August 2022
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APEC Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Symposium – Summary Report,
August 2022
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Workshop on Nanoplastics in Marine Debris in the APEC
Region, August 2022
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2021 PSU Annual Report, August 2022
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Policy Brief: Rejuvenating Cities and Resilience Capacities
for Multi-Challenges of COVID-19 Pandemic, Extreme Weather
Events and Climate-Induced Disaster, August 2022
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Knowledge Note: Rejuvenating Cities and Resilience
Capacities for Multi-Challenges of COVID-19 Pandemic,
Extreme Weather Events and Climate-Induced Disaster, August
2022
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Understanding the Role Played by ICT in Disaster Response of
MSMEs, August 2022
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APEC Capacity Building Workshop on Climate-Smart Agriculture
by Using Geospatial Data and Earth Science Technology,
August 2022
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Public Policy, Fintech and SMEs: Recommendations for
Promoting a New Financing Ecosystem, August 2022
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APEC |
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Latest ADB Publications:
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Local Currency Collateral for Cross-Border Financial
Transactions: Policy Recommendations from the Cross-Broder
Settlement Infrastructure Forum, September 2022
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Thailand’s Evolving Ecosystem Support for Technology
Startups, September 2022
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Tackling Unequal Access to Digital Education in Viet Nam
during the COVID-19 Pandemic, September 2022
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Policy Messages for Planning and Implementing High-Speed
Rail in Asia, September 2022
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Health Security Interventions for COVID-19 Response:
Guidance Note, September 2022
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Disaster Displacement in Asia and the Pacific: A Business
Case for Investment in Prevention and Solutions, September
2022
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Green Bond Market Survey for Cambodia: Insights on the
Perspectives of Institutional Investors and Underwriters,
September 2022
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Green Bond Market Survey for the Lao People's Democratic
Republic: Insights on the Perspectives of Institutional
Investors and Underwriters, September 2022
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Role of Insurance in Protecting Marine Coastal Ecosystems in
Asia and the Pacific, September 2022
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Asia Bond Monitor, September 2022
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Collective Investment Scheme Transactions in ASEAN+3:
Benchmark Product and Market Infrastructure Design,
September 2022
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What We’ve Learned from Working with Thailand’s Private
Sector, September 2022
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Narrowing the Disaster Risk Protection Gap in Central Asia,
September 2022
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Informal Services in Asian Cities: Lessons for Urban
Planning and Management from the Covid-19 Pandemic,
September 2022
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Informal Services in Asian Cities: Lessons for Urban
Planning and Management from the COVID-19 Pandemic,
September 2022
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Financing Climate Targets: A Study of Select G20 Countries,
September 2022
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The Emerging Era of Digital Identities: Challenges and
Opportunities for the G20, August 2022
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ADB |
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Latest ADB Working Paper Series:
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ADB |
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Asian Development Review, Vol.
39,
No. 2, 2022 (Full
Report):
It hones in on trade to analyze how technology changes job
markets in developing Asian economies, assesses e-commerce
growth, and considers trade costs in the Philippines. Studies
cover how farmers in Pakistan can increase productivity, delves
into Nepal's fertilizer market, and asks whether the quality of
ASEAN banks affects credit growth. Additionally, the edition
explores COVID-19’s impact on Tajikistan's remittance-dependent
households, and the outcomes of distributing nutritional
information through conditional cash transfer networks in the
Philippines.
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ADB |
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Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2022 Update:
Entrepreneurship in the Digital Age (Highlights,
Theme Chapter and
Full
Report). The region’s economy is expected to grow 4.3% this
year, compared with ADB’s projection in April of a 5.2%
expansion, while the growth forecast for next year is lowered to
4.9% from 5.3%. The downward revisions have been driven by
increased monetary tightening by central banks, fallout from the
protracted Russian invasion of Ukraine, and recurrent COVID-19
lockdowns in the People’s Republic of China. Inflation in
developing Asia this year is likely to reach 4.5%, up from ADB’s
earlier projection of 3.7%. The forecast for 2023 is 4.0%, up
from 3.1%. While inflation in the region remains lower than
elsewhere, supply disruptions continue to push up food and fuel
prices... |
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ADB |
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September, 2022 |
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North
Korean Food Insecurity: Is Famine on the Horizon? August 2022.
North Korea is a complex humanitarian emergency with food
insecurity at its core. Data on grain prices and quantities
depict a deteriorating situation, made worse by the regime’s
self-isolating response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in
Ukraine. The grain supply appears to have fallen below minimum
human needs, but the situation is neither as dire as the 1990s
famine nor as severe as conditions elsewhere in the world today.
Food insecurity in North Korea is not only a humanitarian issue,
but it is a strategic issue as well. From the perspective of
donors, given the lack of regime accountability, at the present
time aid is unlikely to be an effective lever in achieving other
diplomatic goals, nor does North Korea appear to be the
potential recipient of greatest need... |
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EWC |
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Ukraine
Will Not Happen in Asia: America Seeks to Check China through
Taiwan Visit and Quad Initiatives, August 2022. After
leading a sanction-blitz against Russia and providing $8.7
billion worth of arms and equipment to Ukraine—including M142
High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and M777 155mm
Howitzers—the United States opened a pointed tactical political
flank against China through the Quadrilateral Dialogue, or Quad,
summit held in Tokyo in May. China vehemently condemned US House
of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's August trip to Taiwan
and conducted military drills and missile tests in the waters
and airspace around the island... |
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EWC |
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Will the
Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment be a
Game-changer in the Indo-Pacific? July 2022. The 2022 summit
of the G7, a group of major industrialized countries, namely
Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and
the United States, was held on June 26 to 27 amid the unfolding
Ukraine-Russia war. Argentina, India, Indonesia, Senegal, and
South Africa were also invited, while Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy took part virtually. The Summit witnessed a
significant focus on the war in Eastern Europe and its negative
implications for global energy and food security. However, in an
attempt to address the challenges brought by China’s rise and
expanding economic clout, the G7 leaders unveiled the
Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII)... |
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EWC |
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Australia in the Middle East: Enduring Risks, Interests, and
Opportunities, August 2022.
As Australia refocuses its foreign and defence policies on its near
abroad, it must be careful not to allow ties with the Middle East to
fall into neglect. This analysis examines the impact that two decades of
security engagement in the Middle East have had on Australia’s relations
with the region and argues that while Canberra may have largely ended
the country’s military commitments in the Middle East, the region is
more important in more ways to Australia than it was before that
commitment got underway. An expanded Australian diplomatic footprint,
growing economic ties, and more extensive people-to-people links with
the Middle East means that the region and its security risks have
greater domestic relevance for Australia than they did two decades ago. |
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Lowy |
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Wechat’s Role in Australian Democracy: A Grassroots View, August 2022.
The social media messaging app WeChat is often portrayed in expert and
media commentary as being inherently incompatible with democracy in
Australia because the platform is subject to the scrutiny and censure of
China, an authoritarian one-party state. This study provides the first
in-depth snapshot of how politicians and everyday Chinese-Australians
use WeChat at the grassroots level during council elections. It finds
that WeChat, in these circumstances, can be broadly compatible with
liberal democracy and significantly enhances democratic participation in
a multicultural society. Using the December 2021 New South Wales (NSW)
local elections as a case study, this paper analyses qualitative data
collected from private group chats, interviews with Chinese-Australian
politicians, and editors from media outlets on WeChat... |
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Lowy |
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‘Deep Roots’: Agriculture, National Security and Nation-Building in
Northern Australia, August 2022.
This report offers a multidisciplinary analysis of the various
components that make up and influence the vast and complex agriculture
industry network in northern Australia. It examines the economic and
historical underpinnings of the agriculture industry we know today; the
administration, direction and implementation of agricultural policy and
funding across levels of government; the many and varied demographic and
cultural characteristics of the northern Australian population; and the
evolution of place-based physical and digital infrastructure. The role
of infrastructure and infrastructure funding in northern Australia plays
a key role in the report’s narrative... |
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ASPI |
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India’s Cyber Security Policy: Strategic Convergence and
Divergence with Quad, August 2022.
The rise in cyber-attacks across the Indo-Pacific and beyond
has necessitated a robust and a common approach towards
cyber-resilient information infrastructure in the region.
The Quad has taken a good leadership role in this regard
through the Joint Cyber Principles of Quad Cybersecurity
Partnership. India has had a cyber-security policy since
2013 and has since been working to mitigate cyber threats at
source. A nodal cyber-security agency, a strong regulatory
framework, a center for protection of critical
infrastructure, periodic audits, have all successfully built
a strong cyber-security architecture in the country. The
cyber-security policy of India shares many common principles
with the Quad Joint Cyber Principles... |
|
ISDP |
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Three Decades of India’s Eastward Engagement: China’s
Perceptions and Responses, August 2022.
This issue brief looks into China’s perceptions and
responses to India’s Act East Policy. It argues that China
sees India’s Act East Policy in three phases – the first two
correspond to a period when both managed to establish an
equilibrium and understanding, and when India desired to
strike a balance between the US and China. The third phase
corresponds to the ascendance of Prime Minister Modi to the
Indian political scene – the time when the equilibrium was
lost owing to the power shift favoring China, and China’s
malevolent relations with India following frequent standoffs
resulting in the Doklam and Galwan conflicts. India
realigning its Act East Policy and sub-regional and
multilateral mechanisms like BIMSTEC, SAGAR, IORA, and Quad,
etc., have been pronounced as part and parcel of India’s Act
East Policy serving the unstated goals of India’s
Indo-Pacific strategy... |
|
ISDP |
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Japan’s Historic Moment: Global Challenges Necessitate
Policy Evolution, August 2022.
As Japan’s power and importance in the regional and
international domain continues to grow, this issue brief
provides an analysis of the domestic and international
threats that are challenging and shaping Japan’s historic
moments. The piece asserts that while the assassination of
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe showed that Japan is not immune to
domestic threats, it is incorrect to connect it to threats
to democracy or rule of law. However, challenges such as the
Russian invasion of Ukraine, China’s belligerent actions,
the growing US-Japan camaraderie, status quo changes in the
Taiwan Strait as well as economic challenges such as Japan’s
own new form of capitalism highlight that Japan’s national
security and defense policy remains filled with symbolism... |
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ISDP |
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Japan in the Indo-Pacific: Investing in Partnerships in
South and Southeast Asia, August 2022.
Japan's interest in Southeast Asia and Southeast Asia have
evolved over time. When Japan opened up to international
trade in the Meiji period (1868), its interests revolved
around resource acquisition, including natural resources and
energy resources. This evolved towards securing sea lanes of
communication (SLOCs) to ensure that Japan could get access
to the critical natural and energy resources needed to fuel
its modernization, growth during its imperial period and
post-WW 2 reconstruction. Today, Japan looks at the
Indo-Pacific region through the lens of Southeast Asia and
South Asia rather than focusing on only securing natural and
energy resources... |
|
ISDP |
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Belt and Road Initiative: China’s Lending Hands Come with
Claws, August 2022.
With the economic crisis unfolding in Sri Lanka, there is a
renewed interest in better understanding and analyzing the
Belt and Road Initiative to prevent nations from both
falling under China’s orbit and as a consequence to its
“debt-traps”. This issue brief broadens the scope of
analysis on the BRI by examining projects in South East Asia
that may have greater geo-economic and geo-strategic
significance than debt traps or deep sea ports or even power
rivalry. While China has taken advantage of the
infrastructure deficit in South East Asia as it has in other
parts of the world, the old adage, ‘the devil is in the
details’ is an appropriate characterization of the BRI in
the region. This paper details the cost of roads laid per
mile to the significance of special economic zones (SEZ) in
the Mekong region in shaping the regional trade
architecture. |
|
ISDP |
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Chinese Influence Networks in Finland: A Preliminary Case
Study, August 2022.
China’s activities influencing opinion in the Nordic region
have recently gained increasing attention among both
scholars and journalists. Although Finland has remained on
the sidelines, domestic discussion on China’s activities in
Finland has also gained ground, especially after the spring
of 2020, when various Finnish media reported on, among other
things, the activities of Chinese united front groups in
Finland. Preliminary findings suggest that although China’s
influence activities in Finland seem rather mild compared to
many other countries, their methods and techniques largely
fit global patterns. This case study reviews Chinese
activities in Finland by focusing on the recent attempts to
establish networks of influence and intelligence in various
socio-political domains... |
|
ISDP |
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Clean-Energy Supply Chains in the Indo-Pacific: Prioritizing
the Quad’s Role, August 2022.
In recognition of the Indo-Pacific region being vital to the
clean-energy transition, the ‘Indo-Pacific Clean Energy
Supply Chain Forum’ was hosted in July 2022 by Australia
with support from its Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad)
partners. The clean-energy transition is expected to gain
momentum in the coming years as regional countries race to
meet their climate targets and attempt to reduce their
energy insecurity by ceasing the import of fossil fuels.
However, while this acceleration of the green transition is
certainly desirable, the present clean-energy supply chains
are not stable enough to facilitate the shift. The
transition will only move the region’s dependence on China
for energy as a consequence of Beijing’s current
near-monopoly over clean-energy supply chains, making them
vulnerable to disruptions and weaponization for foreign
policy gains... |
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ISDP |
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Quad 4.0? To Securitize or Not to Securitize, August 2022.
From an ad-hoc body that emerged to coordinate a response to
a devastating tsunami in 2004, the Quad has grown into a
critical and formalized framework with a practical agenda.
As the grouping has become an important and (in all
likelihood) a permanent fixture in the Indo-Pacific region,
debates on its nature and character, and where its
priorities must lie have also grown. This paper addresses a
key point of contention regarding the Quad’s future: Whether
the grouping should move toward a rigid security treaty
alliance by enhancing its security focus, or whether it
should continue on its present trajectory and focus on
becoming a public good provider in the region. This paper
reflects on the Quad’s evolution thus far and aims to make a
case as to why the Quad must cautiously stay removed from a
reverting to its initial security focus and instead focus on
achieving its vision of becoming a force for good in the
region... |
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ISDP |
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Examining the Drivers of Changes in Mean Earning and Earning
Inequality in Indonesia, August 2022.
This paper examines the main drivers behind changes in mean
earning and earning inequality in Indonesia between 2001/2
and 2018. During this period, there was an increase in
workers’ education level, average age, job quality, and mean
earnings. As more women participate in the labor market and
women earn lower wages than men, higher female labor force
participation lowered mean earning. For the overall period,
the decline in educational returns at all levels of
education contributed negatively to earnings. Gini index
increased during this period, driven by education
distribution effect and spatial location premium effect... |
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ISEAS |
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APEC Regional Trends Analysis, August 2022 Update:
Future-Proofing APEC Amid Challenges and Uncertainties,
August 2022.
The APEC region is expected to significantly moderate in the
near term to 2.5 percent in 2022 and 2.6 percent in 2023
following a 5.9 percent rebound in 2021, reflecting sharp
downgrades in economic growth for all member economies, in
tandem with the rest of the world. Already reeling from a
pandemic that is marked with virus mutations, the world is
also dealing with soaring inflation, a protracted war in
Ukraine and heightened uncertainty... |
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APEC |
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Resiliency in a Post-Pandemic APEC: Approaches to Driving
Growth in Digital Services, August 2022.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on global
trade; and services is arguably the hardest-hit sector. This
is particularly true for services that traditionally have
required in-person contact (e.g., professional and tourism
services) since changing consumer preferences and government
containment measures had made operations challenging during
the pandemic. These difficulties prompted people and
businesses to adopt new solutions at an unprecedented speed,
including digitalizing services delivery... |
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APEC |
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Enhanced APEC Agenda for Structural Reform: Individual
Action Plans. July 2022.
This report is the collation of the IAPs submitted by APEC
member economies as at 4 July 2022. The IAPs in this
compilation reflect domestic initiatives of individual APEC
member economies and the content of each economy’s IAP has
not been endorsed by other economies. Economies are
encouraged to continuously update their IAPs as living
documents through to 2025. This report may be periodically
refreshed to capture new or updated IAPs. |
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APEC |
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Latest ADB Publications:
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Toward Inclusive Access to Trade Finance: Lessons from the
Trade Finance Gaps, Growth, and Jobs Survey, August 2022
-
Building Regulatory and Supervisory Technology Ecosystems:
For Asia’s Financial Stability and Sustainable Development,
August 2022
-
The Hybrid Annuity Model for Public-Private Partnerships in
India’s Road Sector: Lessons for Developing Asia, August
2022
-
Mapping the Public Voice for Development—Natural Language
Processing of Social Media Text Data, August 2022
-
Women’s Resilience in Fiji: How Laws and Policies Promote
Gender Equality in Climate Change and Disaster Risk
Management, August 2022
-
Multilateral Development Bank Support for Disaster-Resilient
Infrastructure Systems, August 2022
-
Hybrid and Energy Storage Systems: Review and
Recommendations for Pacific Island Projects, August 2022
-
Beating the Heat: Investing in Pro-Poor Solutions for Urban
Resilience, August 2022
-
Pacific Economic Monitor, August 2022
-
Road Map Update for Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage
Demonstration and Deployment in the People's Republic of
China, August 2022
-
Financial Instruments to Strengthen Women’s Economic
Resilience to Climate Change and Disaster Risks, August 2022
-
Addressing Inequality in the People’s Republic of China,
July 2022
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ADB |
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Latest ADBI Working Paper Series:
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Female Rural–Urban Migrants and Online Marketplaces in
Emerging Economies: Evidence from Thailand and Viet Nam,
August 2022
-
Macroeconomic Effects of COVID-19 in a Commodity-Exporting
Economy: Evidence from Mongolia, August 2022
-
Institutional Quality and Macrofinancial Resilience in Asia,
August 2022
-
Impacts of COVID-19 on Households’ Business, Employment and
School Education: Evidence from Household Survey in CAREC
Countries, August 2022
-
Global Engagement and Innovation Activities: The Case of
Malaysian Manufacturing Firms, August 2022
-
Foreign Fund Flows and Equity Prices during the COVID-19
Pandemic: Evidence from India, July 2022
-
Evaluating COVID-19’s Impact on Firm Performance in the
CAREC Region Using Night-Time Light Data: Azerbaijan,
Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia, July 2022
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ADB |
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Latest ADB Working Paper Series:
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ADB |
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Key Indicators for
Asia and the Pacific 2022
(Full Report):
-
Part I:
Sustainable Development Goals
-
Part II:
Regional Trends and Tables
-
Part III:
Global Value Chains
-
Part IV:
Harnessing Administrative Data for a More Resilient Data and
Statistical Data
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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August, 2022 |
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India and
the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, July 2022. India’s
decision to join the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) may
have surprised many who have followed India’s recent record in
joining bilateral and multilateral economic arrangements. In
2019, India announced that instead of signing the deal, it would
leave the negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic
Partnership (RCEP), a fifteen-member trade agreement in the Asia
Pacific. In 2020, India and the United States’ effort to sign a
bilateral trade and investment agreement stalled. In 2021, the
United States and India announced that working towards a free
trade agreement was off the table... |
|
EWC |
 |
Taiwan Matters for America Special
Series:
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Scholarly Ties, Cooperative Research, Academic Dialogue, and
International Student Exchanges in US‒Taiwan Relations, July
2022
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US-Taiwan Relations and the National Security vs. Human
Rights Fallacy, July 2022
-
US
Policy Toward Taiwan Should Emphasize Substance, Not
Fanfare, July 2022
-
Taiwan and America: Partners in the Battle for the Cognitive
Domain, July 2022
-
Expanding the Depth and Breadth of the US-Taiwan
Technological Partnership via the Semiconductor Ecosystem,
July 2022
-
Taiwan’s Big and Clean Bets: Towards Green Cooperation, July
2022
-
Resilient Industry Ecochains for the US-Taiwan Partnership,
July 2022
-
Taiwan-US Cooperation in Public Health and Pandemic
Containment, July 2022
-
A
Thought Piece for Taiwan Matters for America, July 2022
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EWC |
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US-Korea Relations:
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EWC |
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Special Series on The Pacific
Islands:
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|
EWC |
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How to Make Indonesia’s Sovereign Wealth Fund Work, July 2022.
Indonesia has finally joined a long list of emerging economies with
sovereign wealth funds. Indonesia Investment Authority (INA) was
established in 2021 with the task of making long-term investments to
support sustainable national development. INA’s immediate role is to
purchase attractive assets from infrastructure-related state
enterprises, which have built up large debts since the government
actively mobilised them in the mid-2010s. Through this process, state
enterprises will eventually be able to use the proceeds to strengthen
balance sheets and conduct more development projects. Moreover, INA is
searching for external co-investors. Since domestic financial resources
are limited, foreign investment could contribute to accelerating the
implementation of economic projects. While benefiting from co-investors’
large capital pool and know-how, INA, in turn, could help co-investors
manage financial, political, and geostrategic risks. Although still at
an early stage, talk on co-investment is progressing with diverse
financiers... |
|
Lowy |
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Japan’s Security Strategy, July 2022.
This special report demonstrates the extraordinary proactivity of Japan
towards issues of regional order-building, security and defence policy,
and military capability development and teases out the implications for
Australia as a closely aligned partner. The author collates and presents
a wide range of disparate official source documentation and thematic
analyses to render an appraisal of Japan’s security strategy in a
comprehensive but digestible format. The report concludes that, while
Japanese activity in the security sphere has been unprecedented and
prolific, Canberra must also be aware of certain limitations in terms of
resources, and political caveats to Japan becoming a ‘normal country’ or
bona fide ‘great power’. Canberra, too, must be a creative, practical
policymaker if the full benefits of the deepening special strategic
partnership with Japan are to contribute to a truly free and open
Indo-Pacific. |
|
ASPI |
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North of 26 Degrees South and the Security of Australia: Views From the
Strategist, Volume 5, July 2022.
The Northern Australia Strategic Policy Centre’s latest report is a
series of articles published in The Strategist over the last six months,
building on previous volumes by identifying critical intersections of
national security, nation-building and Australia’s north. This issue,
like previous volumes, includes a wide range of articles sourced from a
diverse pool of expert contributors writing on topics as varied as
biosecurity, infrastructure, critical communications, cyber-resilience,
maritime infrastructure, foreign investment, space, and Indigenous
knowledge-sharing. It also features a foreword by ASPI’s new Executive
Director, Justin Bassi. The 19 articles propose concrete, real-world
actions for policy-makers to facilitate the development, prosperity and
security of Australia’s north. The authors share a sense that those
things that make the north unique – its vast space, low population
density, specific geography, and harsh investment environment – are
characteristics that can be leveraged, not disadvantages. |
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ASPI |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2022 #12: The Halal Project in Indonesia:
Shariatization, Minority Rights and Commodification.
Discussions on halal are not newly invented in the context
of Indonesia only since the formalization of the halal issue
in the 1990s. The matter has been recognized since the
coming of Islam to the archipelago. As with other religions
such as Judaism, Islam also has regulations on the
lawfulness and the unlawfulness of consuming and producing
goods, which are classified as halal (permissible) and haram
(impermissible or forbidden). In addition, halal and haram
are considered important distinctions in Islam. Because
halal and haram have doctrinal positions in Islam, all
Muslims are committed to upholding that difference in their
daily life. Other than taking part in mandatory prayers,
Muslims are regulated in what is permissible and
impermissible in eating, drinking and other behaviours.
Those who do not obey are categorized as sinful Muslims... |
|
ISEAS |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2022 #11: Justifying Digital Repression via
“Fighting Fake News” - A Study of Four Southeast Asian
Autocracies.
In mainland Southeast Asia, the governments of Cambodia,
Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam have been using the pretext of
curbing “fake news” to control digital space. The phenomenon
of “fake news” gained international traction in light of,
among other things, the 2016 US elections and Brexit, in
which false online information contributed to the rise of
hate speech and extremism, political divides and the eroding
of democracy. While these concerns are legitimate and have
led to the implementation of various regulatory measures and
content moderation policies, political leaders, especially
autocratic ones, have found it useful to make policy
responses to “fake news” as a means to stifle critics. This
weaponizing of “fake news” allegations has served to tighten
the regimes’ grip on information to the detriment of a
healthy information environment... |
|
ISEAS |
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Russian Foreign Policy under Putin: What Does it Mean for
India? July 2022.
The special and privileged strategic partnership between
India and Russia has been under renewed scrutiny since the
latter launched an invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. New
Delhi has continued to carry out a fine balancing act in
maintaining its engagement with Moscow while also managing
close ties with its Western partners. Driven by national
interests and geostrategic calculations, bilateral ties have
remained strong despite a sense of stagnation in recent
years. What factors account for this development, what are
the opportunities and challenges, and how have Russian
foreign policy decisions impacted its relationship with
India? This issue brief traces the history of Indo-Russia
ties in the 21st century to answer these questions and
understand their current trajectory amidst the ongoing war. |
|
ISDP |
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India’s Act East Policy: Finding Opportunities in
Post-Pandemic Adversities, July 2022.
India’s Act East Policy has fallen short of its promised
potential due to factors like China’s increasing influence
in the region, rising tensions between India and China, and
India’s withdrawal from the RCEP. Since the end of 2019, the
COVID-19 pandemic has damaged economies, disrupted supply
chains, interrupted services, and led to many more
challenges. Despite such issues, the pandemic triggered a
new urgency to re-imagine the cooperation and explore new
avenues of collaboration under the Act East Policy. This
issue brief discusses the new areas of cooperation – in
health, digitalization, and the green economy – with India’s
eastern neighbors. |
|
ISDP |
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China in Sri Lanka and Solomon Islands: Role of Littorals in
the Geopolitical Competition, July 2022.
This issue brief discusses the growing Chinese sphere of
influence in Sri Lanka and Solomon Islands, its impact on
the region and on the regional powers, India and Australia.
The Rajapaksa regime in Sri Lanka and Sogavare
administration in Solomon Islands face significant
geostrategic competition where security agreements and
multiple infrastructure projects are carried out in the
littorals by extra-regional powers. Both regimes faced
public protest, and are seen as fragile democracies where
Chinese maneuvers are visible. China is making inroads using
the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to expand into Sri
Lanka’s regional provinces. How do Sri Lanka and Solomon
Islands threaten their immediate regional power? How can the
Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF)/Quad help vulnerable
nations to realign with a rules-based order? What is the
role of littorals in the security balance? |
|
ISDP |
 |
Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2022 Supplement: Recovery
Faces Diverse Challenges.
This Supplement revises the growth forecasts for developing
Asia from 5.2% to 4.6% for 2022 and from 5.3% to 5.2% for
2023, reflecting worsened economic prospects because of
COVID-19 lockdowns in the People’s Republic of China (PRC),
more aggressive monetary tightening in advanced economies,
and fallout from Russia’s protracted invasion of Ukraine.
The inflation forecast for developing Asia is revised up,
from 3.7% to 4.2% for 2022 and from 3.1% to 3.5% for 2023,
amid higher fuel and food prices. Inflation pressures in the
region are, however, less than elsewhere in the world... |
|
ADB |
 |
Trade Interdependencies in COVID-19-Related Essential
Medical Goods: Role of Trade Facilitation and Cooperation
for the Asian Economies, July 2022.
This paper empirically investigates the state of trade
interdependency for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) essential
medical goods—vaccines and their value chains, personal
protective equipment, and diagnostic test kits—across 29
Asia and the Pacific economies. Expanding on Hayakawa and
Imai (2022), the analysis investigates whether trade
facilitation, proxied by membership in regional trade
agreements (RTAs), can help mitigate any adverse impact on
trade in essential medical goods... |
|
ADB |
 |
Latest ADBI Working Paper Series:
|
|
ADB |
 |
Latest ADB Publications:
-
The Rise of Asia: Perspectives and Beyond, Published 2022
-
The Story of Lanka Electricity Company, July 2022
-
How to Recover Learning Losses from COVID-19 School Closures
in Asia and the Pacific, July 2022
-
Sea-Level Change in the Pacific Islands Region: A Review of
Evidence to Inform Asian Development Bank Guidance on
Selecting Sea-Level Projections for Climate Risk and
Adaptation Assessments, July 2022
-
Economic Insights from Input–Output Tables for Asia and the
Pacific, July 2022
-
Practical Responses to Real Problems: Eight Poverty
Reduction Cases from the Asian Development Bank, Volume 2,
July 2022
-
Viet Nam’s Ecosystem for Technology Startups, July 2022
-
Monitoring and Evaluation of ADB’s Climate Change
Operational Framework 2017–2030, July 2022
-
Blue Economy and Blue Finance: Toward Sustainable
Development and Ocean Governance, Published 2022
-
Long-Term Care for Older People in Viet Nam: The Current
Scenario, and Next Steps Toward a Healthy, Aging Population,
July 2022
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ADB |
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Latest APEC publications:
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APEC |
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July, 2022 |
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Philippine Perspectives on the 75th
Anniversary of US-Philippines Bilateral Relations, June 2022:
|
|
EWC |
 |
The Australian Defence Force and Its Future Energy Requirements, June
2022.
The global energy system is undergoing a rapid and enduring shift with
inescapable implications for militaries, including the ADF.
Electrification and the use of alternative liquid fuels are occurring at
scale across the civilian economies. Despite that, fossil fuels, such as
diesel and jet fuel, will be around for a long time to come, given their
use in long-lived systems like air warfare destroyers, Lockheed Martin’s
F-35 aircraft, M1A2 Abrams tanks, and in capabilities still in the
design stage but planned to enter service beginning in the mid-2030s
such as the Hunter-class frigates. Australian supply of these fuels is
provided by globally sourced crude oil flowing through a handful of East
and Southeast Asian refineries. Supply arrangements for these critical
commodities are likely to become more fraught, however. This is already
occurring because of the fracturing of global supply chains and the
drive for national resilience in many nations, driven by Covid-19, the
return of coercive state power and, of course, Putin’s war in Ukraine.
Australia’s dependence on imports for liquid-fuel security, at least as
it pertains to the ADF, extends well beyond insufficient reserves and
refineries... |
|
ASPI |
 |
Countering the Hydra: A Proposal for an Indo-Pacific Hybrid Threat
Centre, June 2022.
Enabled by digital technologies and fuelled by geopolitical competition,
hybrid threats in the Indo-Pacific are increasing in breadth,
application and intensity. Hybrid threats are a mix of military,
non-military, covert and overt activities by state and non-state actors
that occur below the line of conventional warfare. The consequences for
individual nations include weakened institutions, disrupted social
systems and economies, and greater vulnerability to coercion—especially
from revisionist powers such as China. But the consequences of increased
hybrid activity in the Indo-Pacific reach well beyond individual
nations. The Indo-Pacific hosts a wide variety of political systems and
interests, with multiple centres of influence, multiple points of
tension and an increasingly belligerent authoritarian power. It lacks
the regional institutions and practised behaviours to help ensure
ongoing security and stability. And, because of its position as a
critical centre of global economic and social dynamism, instability in
the Indo-Pacific, whether through or triggered by hybrid threats, has
global ramifications... |
|
ASPI |
 |
Ukraine-Russia War: A Prelude to a Post-Western
International Order? June 2022.
This Issue Brief analyzes how the collective action of
developed countries in response to Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine has demonstrated just how dominant the so-called
“Western” international order is. Instead of a post-Western
international order emerging, the developed countries’
response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and concerns about
China’s revisionist track record, reveals how so-called
Western international order is adapting to outcompete and be
resilient against revisionist states that chose to use
military or other means to revise international order in
their favor. |
|
ISDP |
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Rethinking Greater Central Asia: New American and Western
Approaches to Continental Trade and Afghanistan, June 2022.
Greater Central Asia is reeling from the twin shocks of the
U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and Vladimir Putin’s
invasion of Ukraine. The chaotic U.S. withdrawal risks
postponing indefinitely Central Asian efforts to escape the
region’s key geography-induced challenge – its landlocked
status – as the prospect of building direct links to the
world seas through that country now seem bleak. Russia’s
aggressive behavior in Ukraine suggests it could be poised
to assert itself in Central Asia as well, benefiting from
Central Asia’s inability to connect directly to the world
economy. These events, to which China’s growing role in the
region should be added, suggest that U.S. and EU approaches
to the region – governed through relatively recent strategy
documents – must be rethought. The Afghan government formed
in 2002 had worked with international funders and partners
to reopen the ancient corridors to the South and to
transform them into modern roads and railroads supplemented
with pipelines for the east-west shipment of gas and
north-south power lines for transmitting electricity... |
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ISDP |
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Political and Economic Reforms in Kazakhstan Under President
Tokayev, November 2021.
Kazakhstan’s leaders have long harbored ambitious visions
for their country’s future. The country’s first President,
Nursultan Nazarbayev, launched several far-reaching goals
for the country’s development, most notably in 2012 the
“Kazakhstan 2050” strategy, which aimed for Kazakhstan to
take a place among the world’s 30 most developed states by
mid-century. For a young country in the third decade of its
independence, such lofty goals clearly required far-reaching
reforms. Still, Kazakhstan’s leadership focused primarily on
reforming the country’s economy. While acknowledging the
need for political reforms, the leadership explicitly
followed a strategy that prioritized the economy. President
Nazarbayev on numerous occasions stated that “we say: the
economy first, then politics.” But major shifts in the
global political economy in the past decade forced a
revision to this strategy. By 2015, it had become clear that
a focus on economics alone would not be sufficient for
Kazakhstan to reach its stated goals... |
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ISDP |
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After the India-US Civil Nuclear Agreement: Assessing
India’s Responsible Nuclear Status in Global Governance,
June 2022.
India has maintained a historical opposition to joining the
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and
the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), in arguing that
both treaties create an unfair hierarchical system in global
governance. However, in spite of contesting these norms that
govern nuclear practices, India has been successful in
gaining de facto recognition from the United States through
a bilateral signing of the 123 Agreement. While examining
this paradox, this paper argues that even with the rendered
de facto recognition, India’s nuclear identity remains far
from being normalized... |
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ISDP |
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Kazakhstan’s June Referendum: Accelerating Reform, May
2022.
The violence of January 2022 exposed both the demand for
greater change in Kazakhstan’s society, as well as elite
conflicts involving influential forces seeking to block
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s reform initiatives. As
President Tokayev emerged from the crisis with greater
authority over the country’s governing institutions, he
fast-tracked a political reform package planned for later in
the year, and submitted it to a nationwide referendum
scheduled for June 5. The changes envisaged accelerate the
pace of reform in the country, but remain within the
fundamental paradigm of top-led gradual change to the system
that has been Tokayev’s intention since his election in
2019. Conditions for their implementation will not be easy,
given a difficult economic and geopolitical environment.
Still, these reforms represent a shift: while earlier
reforms sought to build participatory and competitive
politics only very slowly at the local level, the current
reform package envisages a gradual liberalization of the
political system at all levels in order for the system to
maintain its legitimacy. |
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ISDP |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2022 #10: Muslim Sectarianism versus the
De-escalation of Sectarianism in Malaysia.
In 1992, a group of academics from the National University
of Malaysia (UKM) organized a seminar titled “Seminar Ahli
Sunnah dan Syiah Imamiyyah” (“Seminar on Ahl al-Sunnah and
Imami Shi’ism”) in Kuala Lumpur. The two-day event arguably
aimed to demonize the Shi’a sect and its adherents, as
evident from the content of the presentations which will be
discussed below. Among the various presenters was Wan Zahidi
Wan Teh (1992, pp. 1–34), a lecturer from the Department of
Shariah who presented a paper on “Ahlul Bait Menurut
Pandangan Sunnah dan Syiah” (“The Prophet’s Household
According to Sunnis and Shi’as”). After a lengthy
explanation of his own understanding of the Ahlul Bait, he
argued that Shi’as should not have the right to talk about
the Ahlul Bait, and he dismissed them as a movement founded
by Jews. He then quoted the founder of Wahhabism, Imam
Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab, and referred to Shi’as as
apostates (ibid., p. 30). Proclaiming himself as adefender
of Islam, he concluded that the goal of Shi’as in
Malaysia... |
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ISEAS |
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Attitudes towards Work and Workplace Arrangements Amidst
COVID-19 in Singapore, April 2022. This paper presents the
attitudes and perceptions of Singaporeans towards work and
workplace arrangements amidst the global COVID-19 pandemic. It
also examines their work experiences, beliefs and aspirations,
as well as their well-being during this period. The pandemic has
pushed both employers and employees to consider new ways of
work. While many employers, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, have
been slow in initiating flexible working arrangements, the
pandemic has accelerated the adoption of such practices. Indeed,
the world’s biggest experiment on remote working has proven that
employees generally remain productive even when they are not
on-site. A major draw of flexible working arrangements has been
its potential to allow greater work-life harmony. For working
parents, especially females who typically carry a heavier
caregiving burden, flexible working arrangements has allowed
them to work while taking care of their children. It has also
given more opportunities for men, who otherwise would have been
confined to the office, to better share in domestic work... |
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IPS |
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Precarity in Platform Work: A Study of Private-Hire Car Drivers
and Food Delivery Rider, February 2022. Since 2019, aided by
a Social Science Research Council Thematic Grant, researchers
from the Institute of Policy Studies began research to
understand the experiences of platform workers, specifically the
experiences of private-hire car (PHC) drivers and delivery
riders. This research was complemented by a collaboration with
technology super-app Gojek which started in January 2021 and
ended in April 2021. While planned before the COVID-19 pandemic
and extended well into the current times, the studies were
conducted against the backdrop of increasing economic and social
uncertainty and work precarity; conditions that have existed
before the pandemic but further amplified since then. We were
interested in areas such as the profile of these workers, the
reasons for their joining and/or leaving (if at all) platform
work, financial and physical health, job protections and
precarity, future job prospects and to discover other
job-related insights to obtain a better appreciation of these
workers, as well as their contexts. This working paper reflects
our ongoing work in this area... |
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IPS |
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Latest ADBI Working Paper Series:
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Monetary Stance and Favorableness of Monetary Policy in the
Media: The Case of Viet Nam, June 2022
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Women Online: A Study of Common Service Centers in India
Using a Capability Approach, June 2022
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The Impact of Sending Top College Graduates to Rural Primary
Schools, June 2022
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The Cold Economy, June 2022
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Technology Spillover and Absorptive Capacity of Firms and
Countries, June 2022
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Is
Hiring Foreign Worth It? Spillover from Foreign Firms’ Human
Capital and Local Firms’ Productivity, June 2022
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Simultaneity and Heterogeneity in Import and Productivity:
Case Study of Indonesian Manufacturing, June 2022
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Mobile-Assisted Language Teaching: A Systematic Review with
Implications for Southeast Asia, June 2022
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Harnessing Foreign Technology to Improve Firm Performance:
Evidence from Philippine Manufacturing Enterprises, June
2022
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Recent Developments in Basic Education in Thailand: Issues
and Challenges, June 2022
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Latest ADB Working Paper Series:
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Latest ADB Publications:
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Cambodia’s Ecosystem for Technology Startups, June 2022
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Singapore’s Ecosystem for Technology Startups and Lessons
for Its Neighbors, June 2022
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The Asia–Pacific Road Safety Observatory’s Indicators for
Member Countries, June 2022
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Asia Bond Monitor, June 2022
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Labor Market Conditions for Health and Elderly Care Workers
in the People’s Republic of China, June 2022
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Creative Economy 2030: Imagining and Delivering a Robust,
Creative, Inclusive, and Sustainable Recovery, June 2022
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Green Bond Market Survey for Thailand: Insights on the
Perspectives of Institutional Investors and Underwriters,
June 2022
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Recent Technological Advances in Financial Market
Infrastructure in ASEAN+3: Cross-Border Settlement
Infrastructure Forum, June 2022
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Women’s Resilience in the Lao People's Democratic Republic:
How Laws and Policies Promote Gender Equality in Climate
change and Disaster Risk Management, June 2022
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Women’s Resilience in Mongolia: How Laws and Policies
Promote Gender Equality in Climate change and Disaster Risk
Management, June 2022
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Promoting Local Currency Sustainable Finance in ASEAN+3,
June 2022
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Leveraging Fintech to Expand Digital Health in Indonesia,
the Philippines, and Singapore: Lessons for Asia and the
Pacific, June 2022
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WTO Accession and Post-Accession Trade Policy by Selected
Transition Economies in the Caucasus and Central Asia, June
2022
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Regional Flyway Initiative: Investing in the East
Asian–Australasian Flyway for Nature and People, June 2022
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ADB |
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Latest APEC publications:
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Promote Supply Chain Connectivity by Enhancing and Better
Understanding Digital Innovation in APEC Port Industry, June
2022
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Best Practices and Recommended Policies for Optimising the
Plastic Supply Chain in Southeast and East Asia, June 2022
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Project Report: APEC Sustainable Coastal Cities Symposium
2021, June 2022
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Individual Action Plan for the Enhancement of the Ratio of
Women's Representation in Leadership: Final Review Study and
Online Workshop, June 2022
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Final Report on Capacity Building for Digital Innovation
Using Blockchain Technology, June 2022
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APEC Cross-Domain Innovation Ecosystem Guidebook: A New
Growth Path for SMEs through Digital Platforms, June 2022
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Learning Workshop in Artificial Intelligence: Experiences of
APEC Economies, June 2022
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Study on Transparency of Technical Barriers to Trade
Notifications in the APEC Region, June 2022
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The Future of Women at Work: Empowering Women’s Role in the
Transition Era of Automation, June 2022
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Sustainable Materials Management of Food in the APEC Region:
A Review of Public Policies That Support Reducing Food Loss
and Waste, June 2022
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PPFS Webinar on Sharing Best Practices on Digitalization and
Innovation of APEC Food System, June 2022
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Capacity Building on Testing and Conformity Assessment of
Fine Bubble Technologies for Use in Agro-/Aqua-Culture and
Water Treatment in APEC Region, June 2022
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Follow-Up Peer Review on Energy Efficiency in Indonesia,
June 2022
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Research Outcomes: Summary of Research Projects 2021
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APEC |
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June, 2022 |
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China's Military Advances Make Case for Strategic Stability
Talks, May 2022. China has long sought to distinguish its
nuclear posture and force structure from those of Russia and the
United States. However, its recent military advances and shifts
in arsenal size, mating posture, alert status, dual-capable
systems, and machine learning and autonomy demonstrate an
ever-growing degree of convergence with these two countries.
While introducing the potential for arms races or crises, these
developments also increase the impetus for strategic stability
dialogues. Unlike arms control negotiations, which tend to
concentrate on limits to weapons development and numbers,
strategic stability dialogues are broader and focus on weapons
employment and escalation. Though past efforts to engage in such
talks have met with challenges, the appeal of strategic
stability talks may be growing. |
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EWC |
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NATO’s Asia-Pacific Partners & Their Ukraine Response: Why
Global Partnerships Matter for America, May 2022. The North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is traditionally thought of
as a military alliance between 28 European member states and 2
North American member states (Canada and the United States).
However, NATO has been stepping up engagement with its four
“Asia-Pacific partners” (Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New
Zealand) since December 2020, when these four countries
participated for the first time in a NATO Foreign Ministerial
Meeting. But these four countries have been involved with NATO
as “partners across the globe” for decades — Japan since the
early 1990s, South Korea and Australia since 2005, and New
Zealand since 2001... |
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EWC |
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Turning Point? Putin, Xi, and the Russian Invasion of Ukraine, May 2022.
At their Beijing summit in February 2022, Chinese President Xi Jinping
and Russian President Vladimir Putin proclaimed a “friendship without
limits”. Yet Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, and the Chinese response to
it, has exposed the limitations of the Sino–Russian partnership. Far
from being an “axis of authoritarians”, this is a traditional great
power relationship centred in strategic calculus. Chinese and Russian
interests diverge in key respects, and the war has highlighted
contrasting visions of global order and disorder. Xi Jinping has
attempted to steer a “neutral” course that preserves the partnership
with Russia while protecting China’s global interests. This balancing
act will become harder to sustain as the war in Ukraine drags on.
Beijing’s default position is still to lean towards Moscow. For both
sides, the partnership is too important to fail. But over time, its
quality will erode. As China and Russia follow different trajectories of
development, the commonalities between them will become fewer. The
relationship will become increasingly unequal and dysfunctional, and be
defined principally by its constraints... |
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Lowy |
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China’s Messaging on the Ukraine Conflict, May 2022.
In the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,
social media posts by Chinese diplomats on US platforms almost
exclusively blamed the US, NATO and the West for the conflict. Chinese
diplomats amplified Russian disinformation about US biological weapon
labs in Ukraine, linking this narrative with conspiracy theories about
the origins of COVID-19. Chinese state media mirrored these narratives,
as well as replicating the Kremlin’s language describing the invasion as
a ‘special military operation’. ASPI found
that China’s diplomatic messaging was distributed in multiple languages,
with its framing tailored to different regions. In the early stage of
the conflict, tweets about Ukraine by Chinese diplomats performed better
than unrelated content, particularly when the content attacked or blamed
the West. ASPI’s research suggests that, in terms of its international
facing propaganda, the Russia–Ukraine conflict initially offered the
party-state’s international-facing propaganda system an opportunity to
reassert enduring preoccupations that the Chinese Communist Party
perceives as fundamental to its political security... |
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ASPI |
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The Transnational Element of a ‘Domestic’ Problem: Policy Solutions to
Countering Right-Wing Violent Extremism in Australia, May 2022.
The rise of right-wing violent extremist (RWE) ideas bursts to the
forefront of public attention in flashes of violence. Shootings and
vehicular attacks perpetrated by individuals motivated by hateful views
stun the public. They have also sharpened government attention to and
galvanised action on addressing such violence. These incidents of
violence and these disturbing trends call for renewed vigilance in
confronting RWE, which ASIO has since classified as ‘ideologically
motivated violent extremism’ (IMVE), in Australia’s security agencies’
policy and law enforcement responses. As governments respond to IMVE, it
is important to nuance how they conceptualise the challenges posed by
RWE and, therefore, scope their solutions... |
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ASPI |
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AUKUS Update #1: May 2022.
On the 16th of September 2021, the leaders of Australia, the UK and the
US announced the creation of a new trilateral security partnership
called ‘AUKUS’—Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. The
three national leaders stated, ‘We will foster deeper integration of
security and defense-related science, technology, industrial bases, and
supply chains. And in particular, we will significantly deepen
cooperation on a range of security and defense capabilities.’ At a time
of rapidly increasing strategic uncertainty, when it’s increasingly
clear that authoritarian regimes are willing to use military power to
achieve their goals, it’s important to monitor the implementation of
AUKUS so that governments and the public can assess whether it’s
achieving the goal of accelerating the fielding of crucial military
technologies... |
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ASPI |
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Understanding the Price of Military Equipment, May 2022.
Confusion reigns in discussions about the cost of the Department of
Defence’s equipment projects. Whether we’re talking about media
articles, parliamentary committee hearings, letters to the editor,
duelling internet commentators or any other forms of discourse that
address Defence acquisitions, the only thing that’s clear is that we’re
almost always talking past each other when it comes to the cost of
military equipment. Defence doesn’t help when it releases only a bare
minimum of information. This sorry state of affairs reached its peak
several years ago, when it turned out that when Defence said that the
cost of the Attack-class submarine was $50 billion it really meant that
the cost was somewhere around $90 billion. The situation gets even
murkier when commentators compare the cost of military acquisition
projects here in Australia with ones overseas. It’s very rare that we
can make a direct, apples-to-apples comparison between local and
overseas projects, and very often it’s more like apples-to-orangutans.
Being completely unaware of the basis of the costs they’re comparing
doesn’t stop some commentators from making strong claims about the
rapacity of foreign arms companies or the competence of the Australian
Defence Department... |
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ASPI |
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India and the Persian Gulf: Bilateralism, Regional Security
and the China Factor, May 2022.
This issue brief discusses how regional security in the
Persian Gulf is vital for the international oil and gas
market, and maritime security in the western Indian Ocean.
For India, the region is additionally significant for the
presence of its large expatriate population in the GCC and
as an “extended neighborhood.” For three decades, India’s
policy towards the Gulf and wider West Asia/Middle East
region has been marked by bilateralism within the broader
framework of a multi-aligned foreign policy. India eschews
taking sides in regional disputes as it can harm its primary
interests pertaining to trade, commerce, business, security
and
defense cooperation. However, the developments in the
Indo-Pacific, deterioration of Sino Indian relations, the
expansion of China threat perception to western Indian
Ocean, and the convergence on the China factor with the US
and European countries is pushing India to recalibrate its
regional approach as noticeable from three recent events. |
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ISDP |
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South Korea’s Foreign Policy in Changing Times: Reversing
Course? May 2022.
The tragedy currently unfolding in Ukraine may be a symptom
of new dynamics in global geopolitics. The changing balance
of power epitomized by the rise of China and the shrinking
American interest and resolve in asserting its traditional
global role has emboldened Putin’s ambition to restore the
past glory of the Russian empire. The same dynamics have
also made geopolitics acuter in East Asia, from which South
Korea can never be free. The COVID-19 pandemic since 2020
has only accelerated the competitive nature of international
power dynamics. Faced with the broader shift in world order,
how will South Korea’s foreign policy under the new
government unfold? This policy brief attempts to explain the
main objectives of the incoming government’s foreign policy
and how these might be implemented. In so doing, it
evaluates the new government’s view of the past five years
of South Korean foreign policy under outgoing President Moon
Jae-in – a policy which it seeks in part to reverse. |
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ISDP |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2022 #9: Financial Technology Adoption in
Greater Jakarta: Patterns, Constraints and Enablers.
The COVID-19 pandemic has arguably accelerated changes in
consumer behaviour, leading to more people performing
economic activities online. One important change is the
adoption of fintech as a preferred transaction and payment
method. This trend is driven by a significant proportion of
the unbanked population and the lower-income segment in
urban areas. New fintech start-ups such as ShopeePay
(E-wallet), Shopee Paylater (Buy Now Pay Later or BNPL) and
Kredivo (Online Lending Service) and Bibit (Mutual Fund
Invesment) have all introduced innovative ways to offer
online financial services in Indonesia’s rapidly growing
digital economy. Fintech enterprises offering E-wallet, BNPL,
Online Lending... |
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ISEAS |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2022 #8: Understanding and Reducing Methane
Emissions in Southeast Asia.
The Global Methane Pledge was ratified at the end of 2021.
While intense discussion of its significance dominated the
climate discourse in North America and Europe, the reception
of the Pledge in Southeast Asia was lukewarm. This paper
aims to help the policy community understand four major
aspects concerning methane emissions: basic science, global
ambition, regional trends, and sector challenges. In 1990,
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
published its First Assessment Report, in which scientists
stated with certainty that human-caused greenhouse gases
were accumulating in the atmosphere. One of these
significant gases was methane. Since then, global methane
emissions have increased by 17.4 per cent, reaching 8.3
billion tCO2e in 2018... |
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ISEAS |
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Monetary
Authority of Singapore: Macroeconomic Review, Volume XXI,
Issue 1, April 2022 (Full
Report):
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MAS |
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Latest APEC publications:
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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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Making Urban Power Distribution Systems Climate-Resilient,
May 2022
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Climate Change Risk Profile of the Mountain Region in Sri
Lanka, May 2022
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Labor Migration in Asia: COVID-19 Impacts, Challenges, and
Policy Responses, May 2022
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National Single Window: Guidance Note, May 2022
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A Comparative Analysis of Tax Administration in Asia and the
Pacific: Fifth Edition, Published 2022
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Harnessing the Potential of Big Data in Post-Pandemic
Southeast Asia, May 2022
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Strengthening Domestic Resource Mobilization in Southeast
Asia, May 2022
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Supporting Post-COVID-19 Economic Recovery in Southeast
Asia, May 2022
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Implementing a Green Recovery in Southeast Asia, May 2022
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Foundational (K-12) Education System: Navigating 21st
Century Challenges, May 2022
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Launching a Digital Tax Administration Transformation: What
You Need to Know, May 2022
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The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement: A
New Paradigm in Asian Regional Cooperation? May 2022
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Policy Measures to Foster Growth in the People's Republic of
China (Observations and Suggestions, April 2022
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ADB |
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