By David Schaefer, an intern in the Lowy Institute's International Security program. The Indo-Pacific is a strategic system encompassing the Indian and Pacific oceans, reflecting the expanding interests and reach of China and India as well as the enduring role of the US. The Lowy Institute's International Security program presents a weekly selection of links illuminating the changing security picture in this increasingly connected super-region.
- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting the US, and the Wall Street Journal reports that part of the agreement he has reached with the Obama Administration includes the creation of a new inter-agency group that will iron out problems arising from the 2005 civil nuclear cooperation deal.
- While the media is focused on civil unrest in Hong Kong, Olivia Enos points out that long-term trends in demography will soon begin to squeeze China's economy.
- China has launched another batch of satellites in what military experts believe to be a growing range of ocean surveillance and missile early warning systems.
- Project 2049 have published a report on Taiwan's defence strategy, which it says is 'constructing what may be the world's most robust air and missile defence network'.
- US diplomats are visiting Seoul to revive the six-party talks over de-nuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. CSIS has a biographical sketch of Sydney Seiler, the US State Department's special envoy to the talks.
- Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's latest speech before the Japanese Diet mentioned his desire to 'build up a friendly relationship' with China. The Japan Times parses this remark as a diplomatic gesture to Beijing.
- With an eye towards the volatile South China Sea, Indonesia's Defence Minister has announced plans to station an F-16 fighter squadron on Indonesia's Riau Islands.
- For a comprehensive account of Indo-Pacific maritime disputes, Mohan Malik's new book is being released in the coming weeks, and includes a chapter titled 'Mapping the Indo Pacific? China, India, and the United States', authored by Rory Medcalf.
The Lowy Institute International Security Program's work on Indo-Pacific security is supported by two grants from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.