By Gregory Poling Defense Secretary Ashton Carter’s remarks at the Shangri-La Dialogue on May 30 amounted to a robust, but measured, defense of the United States’ rebalance to the Asia Pacific and its commitment to remain a Pacific power. The…
By Jay L. Batongbacal Philippine media went into a minor frenzy with the startling news that Manila purportedly offered Kuala Lumpur a quid pro quo in March: dropping the Philippine claim to North Borneo (Malaysia’s Sabah State) in exchange…
By John Ziegler The discovery of human trafficking camps in southern Thailand in early May, where at least 30 victims of human smugglers were found buried, once again put Thailand’s role in regional trafficking networks in the spotlight. These victims,…
On the podcast this week, we analyze the looming humanitarian crisis in Southeast Asia’s waters. Murray Hiebert, Senior Fellow with the CSIS Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies, joins to help us understand why thousands of people in region are…
By John Schaus In advance of travel, the secretary of defense will often receive a scene-setter document outlining the issues and objectives to be achieved during the trip. The document below is presented, roughly, in the style of such a…
On the podcast this week, we explore the disconcerting reports out of North Korea in recent days. CSIS Korea Chair Dr. Victor Cha joins to discuss what the latest missile tests, expanding nuclear weapons capability, and alleged public executions of top leadership mean for Kim Jong-un’s regime. We…
By Zachary Abuza The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) recently released their 2014 database, which shows robust growth in defense spending throughout Southeast Asia. Though the SIPRI data only goes through 2014, when at least two countries have already…
Who is he? Khalid Abu Bakar is the Inspector-General of Malaysia’s police force, a post he has held since 2013 after two years as deputy inspector-general. Khalid has held numerous positions in the police since 1976, including as director of…
In our latest podcast, we focus on the 26th ASEAN summit which concluded on April 27th in Malaysia. We caught up with CSIS Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies Ernie Bower to get his take on the outcomes of the…
By Gregory Poling Most observers could be forgiven for seeing the April 26–27 ASEAN Summit in Malaysia as another in a long series of head-of-state talk shops by the grouping. It did not issue any groundbreaking new declarations on the…