Combating Fisheries Related Crime in the South China Sea: Leveraging Maritime Information Sharing Centers

Introduction The South China Sea (SCS) is not only the main source of animal protein for the coastal communities of Asia, but also one of the world’s most productive fishing zones, producing approximately 12% of global fish catch in 2015. More than half of the world’s fishing vessels, from small artisanal fishing boats to large […]

Coalition of the Unwilling? Resistance to Marcos Jr.’s EDCA Deal

A year after securing a landslide election victory, Philippine president Marcos Jr. has found himself in a political sweet spot. The Southeast Asian country posted robust economic growth despite fears of a global recession, while his approval ratings have remained extremely high despite public concerns over stubborn inflation in the past year. Marcos Jr. has […]

Decolonizing Diego Garcia: A Boon for India?

India has invested significant sums and resources in constructing and negotiating its military footprint in the Indian Ocean. Delhi has expanded its presence in the Andaman Islands and developed Mauritius’ Agaléga into a base. However, despite its tacit support spanning decades, one key island has remained off limits to Indian military planners: Diego Garcia. Despite […]

Southeast Asia’s Maritime Security Challenges: An Evolving Tapestry

This article is part of Evolving Threats to Southeast Asia’s Maritime Security, a series of analyses produced by experts convened by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. Located at the crossroads of the Indo-Pacific, the Southeast Asian region incorporates some of the world’s most essential straits and sea lines of communication. The region also […]

Terrorism as an Evolving Threat to Southeast Asia’s Maritime Security

This article is part of Evolving Threats to Southeast Asia’s Maritime Security, a series of analyses produced by experts convened by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. How has the maritime terrorism threat evolved over the last 20 years? Twenty years ago, terrorist organizations such as Jemaah Islamiya (JI), the Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia (KMM), […]

Marcos Jr. Steers Manila toward Washington and Tokyo

Less than a year into office, Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has already signaled a major overhaul in his country’s foreign policy. In response to China’s harassment of Philippine coast guard vessels in the South China Sea, the Filipino leader summoned Chinese ambassador Huang Xilian to express his “serious concern” over the “increasing frequency and […]

Illicit Maritime Drug Trafficking as an Evolving Threat to Southeast Asia’s Maritime Security

This article is part of Evolving Threats to Southeast Asia’s Maritime Security, a series of analyses produced by experts convened by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. How has the illicit maritime drug trafficking threat evolved over the last 20 years? Maritime drug trafficking has transformed into a long-standing threat to maritime security in […]

Maritime Refugees as an Evolving Threat to Southeast Asia’s Maritime Security

This article is part of Evolving Threats to Southeast Asia’s Maritime Security, a series of analyses produced by experts convened by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. How has the threat evolved over the last 20 years? Migrants, including asylum seekers and refugees, traveling by sea, are neither a new nor insignificant phenomenon. Among […]

Piracy and Armed Robbery as an Evolving Threat to Southeast Asia’s Maritime Security

This article is part of Evolving Threats to Southeast Asia’s Maritime Security, a series of analyses produced by experts convened by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. How has piracy/sea robbery evolved over the last 20 years? Piracy has existed since ancient times, wherein pirates looted vessels carrying commodities. Today, piracy and armed robbery […]

Gamechanger: Marcos Jr. Transforms the Philippine-U.S. Alliance

Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s emphatic election victory earlier this year—securing more votes than all his rivals combined—caught many observers by surprise, including the victor himself. Many critics feared that the return of the controversial political dynasty to the Malacañang presidential Palace would spell doom for the Philippines’ besieged democracy following six years of authoritarian populism under […]

Occupational Health and Safety as an Evolving Threat to Southeast Asia’s Maritime Security

This article is part of Evolving Threats to Southeast Asia’s Maritime Security, a series of analyses produced by experts convened by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. How have threats related to maritime occupational health and safety evolved over the last 20 years? Maritime occupational health and safety (OHS) has been a longstanding problem […]

Environmental Crimes as an Evolving Threat to Southeast Asia’s Maritime Security

This article is part of Evolving Threats to Southeast Asia’s Maritime Security, a series of analyses produced by experts convened by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. How have environmental crimes evolved over the last 20 years? Environmental crime has received less attention than other forms of transnational maritime crimes. Whereas IUU fishing and […]

Climate-induced Disasters as an Evolving Threat to Southeast Asia’s Maritime Security

This article is part of Evolving Threats to Southeast Asia’s Maritime Security, a series of analyses produced by experts convened by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. How has the threat of climate-induced disasters evolved over the last 20 years? Natural hazards originating from the oceans such as tropical storms and tsunamis that are […]

The Sense and Sensibility of Malaysia’s Approach to its Maritime Boundary Disputes

When it comes to maritime boundary disputes, Malaysia is willing to select from a wide range of policy instruments at its disposal: from legal to political negotiation, and from restraint to combative skirmishes at sea. Malaysia can be accommodating, as it was with Indonesia when the two delimited their continental shelves in 1969 based on […]

Interstate Disputes as an Evolving Threat to Southeast Asia’s Maritime Security

This article is part of Evolving Threats to Southeast Asia’s Maritime Security, a series of analyses produced by experts convened by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. How have the threats associated with interstate disputes evolved over the last 20 years? Most territorial and maritime disputes between Southeast Asian states seem to have stabilized […]

The Evolving Nature of Southeast Asia’s Maritime Security Threats

This article is part of Evolving Threats to Southeast Asia’s Maritime Security, a series of analyses produced by experts convened by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. Southeast Asia’s maritime security landscape is steadily evolving. Earlier in 2022, an RSIS study showed that the region’s maritime stakeholders are increasingly aware of their interconnectivity and […]

Marcos Jr. and ASEAN: Minilateralism in the South China Sea

Shortly after Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assumed the reins of power in the Philippines, an observer forecasted a major foreign policy reboot, which would defy both his populist and liberal predecessors. The working consensus at the time, however, was that the new Filipino president would largely continue former President Rodrigo Duterte’s Beijing-friendly foreign policy. After all, […]

The East China Sea: Ten Years After the Senkaku Nationalization Crisis

This month marks the tenth anniversary of Japan’s nationalization of the Senkaku Islands, when the Japanese government purchased them from a private landowner in an effort to reinforce administrative control and to prevent private groups from visiting. The Chinese response to Japan’s action—which was controversial at the time—sparked a crisis in bilateral relations; although there […]

Brahmos in the Philippines and Quad Potential

In December 2021, Secretary of Defense Lorenzana announced that the Philippines would purchase $374 million in Brahmos anti-ship missiles from India. The missile has a range of 156 nautical miles, allowing it to range the Bashi Strait if deployed in northern Luzon and part of the Spratly Islands if deployed on Palawan. This may be […]

Foreign Policy under Marcos Jr.: More like Father than Outgoing Duterte

Throughout much of his adult life, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. lived in his father’s shadow. To many observers, he lacked both the fierce ambition as well as the intellectual credentials of former Filipino dictator, Ferdinand Marcos, who reigned longer than any president in the country’s history. His own father fretted over ending up with a […]