ASEAN
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Partnerships
Southeast Asian leaders urge end of Myanmar violence, inclusive talks
Reuters Southeast Asian leaders meeting in Indonesia called for an immediate end to violence in military-ruled Myanmar, in an effort to create a window for talks and the delivery of humanitarian aid as fighting intensifies. “We were deeply concerned with ongoing violence in Myanmar and urged the immediate cessation of all forms of violence and the use of force,” leaders…
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Partnerships
ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise stresses cooperation, interoperability
FORUM Staff The leaders of the Indian and Singaporean navies, Adm. R. Hari Kumar, pictured, and Rear Adm. Sean Wat, launched the first Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-India Maritime Exercise (AIME-23) at Changi Naval Base, Singapore, in early May 2023. The weeklong exercise provided an opportunity for the Indian Navy and ASEAN navies to work together and improve interoperability,…
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Global Commons
Collective dialogue, action critical to addressing global challenges
FORUM Staff A commitment to multilateralism never has been more important as nations increasingly collaborate based on like-minded values and governmental systems to tackle universal challenges such as climate change, pandemics and emerging technologies. The United Nations’ International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace on April 24, 2023, focuses on positive exchanges and accomplishments among nations despite their differences.…
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Conflicts - Tensions
ASEAN members resisting Chinese bullying in South China Sea
Tom Abke Years of bullying by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) against other South China Sea claimant states has spurred a pattern of resistance among Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members. Beijing has used its arbitrary and discredited territorial claims to justify its harassment of fishing vessels, interference with hydrocarbon exploration and other encroachments on ASEAN states. These…
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Global Commons
CCP-linked hackers stole data from ASEAN servers, analysts say
Benar News Chinese Communist Party-linked hackers stole a trove of data in 2022 from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its member-states, which may have contained strategic information on South China Sea and talks with Washington, a cybersecurity firm and analysts said in early March 2023. Confirming the theft reported by Wired magazine, cybersecurity firm Digital Forensic Indonesia…
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Features
Security Convergence
FORUM Staff Mutual security interests are aligning in the Indo-Pacific to form a shared security capacity that continues to grow. Although the region is not ready for an elaborate series of treaties or agreements that bind nations in defense commitments, multiple countries are coalescing around common security threats to informally strengthen bonds and improve military cooperation and interoperability, defense analysts…
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Key Issues
Global partners join forces to combat human trafficking
Tom Abke Human trafficking has long troubled the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), destroying the lives of millions of people and now recognized as a serious threat to regional security. To counter this scourge, ASEAN is working with the European Union and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to address trafficking’s immediate and underlying causes. “Most…
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Key Issues
Singapore defense official: Cooperation, alliances can strengthen Indo-Pacific
FORUM Staff Regional partnerships in the Indo-Pacific are key to preserving and enhancing stability, Singapore Senior Minister of State for Defence Heng Chee How said in opening the 2023 Shangri-La Dialogue Sherpa Meeting. “I think that our best option remains to improve and to adapt various mechanisms — global, multilateral and certainly regionally … to serve the needs of our…
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Key Issues
An Indo-Pacific view: 5 key issues to watch in 2023
FORUM Staff A year that erupted with seismic events — one geological, the other geopolitical — rumbled to its close with war still raging in Europe but also with the forging of partnerships for peace in the Indo-Pacific and beyond. Just weeks after an underwater volcano in the Pacific Ocean’s Ring of Fire spewed an immense cloud of ash and…
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Asymmetric Threats
Countering Nontraditional Security Threats
Nations must create strong partnerships to face evolving regional challenges
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