https://www.scmp.com/rss/322794/feed Dr William Choong is Senior Fellow at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore. He was previously Shangri-La Dialogue Senior Fellow for Asia-Pacific Security at the IISS until January 2020, where he helped to run the annual IISS Shangri-La Dialogue and contributed to research on regional security issues such as the South China Sea territorial disputes and Japan’s evolution into a "normal" power. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com William Choong,Joanne Lin William Choong,Joanne Lin The United States’ military operation in Venezuela, culminating in the capture and removal of President Nicolas Maduro, might at first have appeared distant to Southeast Asia. What should concern the region, however, is not geography but the logic underpinning Washington’s action: a growing willingness to act unilaterally, in this case undermining sovereignty and invoking presidential powers to justify the use of force against a perceived threat. More troubling still, it dusts off the old... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3341041/what-us-china-grand-bargain-would-mean-southeast-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3341041/what-us-china-grand-bargain-would-mean-southeast-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 24 Jan 2026 02:00:19 +0000 As the Middle East teeters on the brink of a full-scale regional conflict and the war in Ukraine rages on, Asia is also witnessing increased militarisation and heightened risks of unintended conflict. This is driven by the intensifying strategic contestation between the United States and China, which will underpin geopolitical realities for years to come. With bipartisan consensus that it is China – not Russia, Iran or any other country – that poses the most salient strategic threat to the US,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3283919/how-southeast-asia-can-help-bolster-regional-security-amid-growing-us-china-rivalry?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3283919/how-southeast-asia-can-help-bolster-regional-security-amid-growing-us-china-rivalry?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Oct 2024 04:30:13 +0000 Over the past five decades, the strategic relationship between Asean and Australia has evolved significantly. Marked by deepening cooperation and partnership across a broad spectrum of issue areas including security, economic development, education and cultural exchange, this relationship is underpinned by shared interests in promoting regional stability, prosperity, and addressing transnational challenges. Both the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Australia are part of various... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3255572/amid-china-tensions-australia-and-asean-must-iron-out-hard-issues-preserve-regional-stability?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3255572/amid-china-tensions-australia-and-asean-must-iron-out-hard-issues-preserve-regional-stability?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 17 Mar 2024 03:00:19 +0000 South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has been on a roll. At the White House last month, US President Joe Biden and Yoon showed that their two countries are in lockstep, be it in countering North Korea’s nuclear programme, assisting Ukraine in its war against Russia, or improving ties with Tokyo. Closer to home, Yoon aims to increase Seoul’s role and contribution to the region as a “global pivotal state” – a term highlighted in South Korea’s “Strategy for a Free, Peaceful, and Prosperous... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3220960/us-china-rivalry-mounts-south-korea-wants-be-global-pivotal-state-its-not-easy-it-sounds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3220960/us-china-rivalry-mounts-south-korea-wants-be-global-pivotal-state-its-not-easy-it-sounds?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 May 2023 06:00:22 +0000 On February 24 last year, when Russian tanks rolled towards Kyiv to begin the invasion of Ukraine, most Asean member states, barring Singapore, expressed serious concerns but did not condemn Russia. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) adopted a centrist approach in its February 26 statement, calling on “all relevant parties to exercise maximum restraint” that effectively blurred the line between aggressor and victim. However, as the war drags on, it becomes increasingly untenable... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3211294/ukraine-war-no-longer-remote-southeast-asia-impact-year-long-conflict-takes-toll?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3211294/ukraine-war-no-longer-remote-southeast-asia-impact-year-long-conflict-takes-toll?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Feb 2023 02:00:17 +0000 During his first term, US President Donald Trump triggered concerns among Asian countries that Washington would not shoulder the responsibility of maintaining regional and global stability, and could even stage a strategic retrenchment from the Asia-Pacific. Whether Trump or Democratic challenger Joe Biden wins next week’s presidential election, Washington’s approach to the region – in particular Southeast Asia – must change. The US should avoid presenting binary choices as part of its ongoing... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3107197/how-us-can-maintain-influence-over-asean-whether-trump-or-biden?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3107197/how-us-can-maintain-influence-over-asean-whether-trump-or-biden?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Oct 2020 04:06:06 +0000 Singapore’s long-standing relationship with the United States is a classic exposition of the island nation’s foreign policy – taking the world as it is, and seeking to entrench American power and presence in the region for the collective good. Singapore has also sought to involve as many major powers (including the US) in the regional balance, so that no power can dominate, with the Singaporean – and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) – position of not “choosing sides” between... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3095027/can-singapore-maintain-its-sweet-spot-between-china-and-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3095027/can-singapore-maintain-its-sweet-spot-between-china-and-us?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Jul 2020 10:16:56 +0000 The United States has announced a historic withdrawal from Afghanistan after bagging a negotiated deal with the Taliban, ending a war in a country where American troops have been fighting for nearly two decades. Historic retreats are not new to the American geopolitical lexicon. In 1978, the US announced that it would sever diplomatic relations with Taiwan and recognise the communist government in Beijing. In 1975, US forces withdrew from South Vietnam, after coming to a negotiated settlement... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3074497/trumps-troop-withdrawals-are-forcing-asia-contemplate-post-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3074497/trumps-troop-withdrawals-are-forcing-asia-contemplate-post-us?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Mar 2020 01:00:15 +0000 About two years ago, while chairing a panel discussion on Asia-Pacific security, I made a comment about how an agreement between the United States, Japan and South Korea on sharing intelligence about North Korea was a net positive for the region.  The discussion ended, and as scholars are wont to do, I ambled out of the room for a well-deserved coffee break. I was approached by a South Korean naval officer, who told me his minister would like to have a word. Surrounded by a phalanx of officers,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3024405/south-korea-and-japan-must-break-cycle-hate-and-move-regions-good?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3024405/south-korea-and-japan-must-break-cycle-hate-and-move-regions-good?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Aug 2019 02:30:05 +0000 Speaking at the recent Shangri-La Dialogue, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong used an oft-spoken aphorism: “When elephants fight, the grass is trampled; when elephants make love, the grass also suffers.” Over the weekend, I counted at least three other instances in which the statement was used. It shows one thing: Sino-American competition has intensified, and has indeed become a dialogue of the deaf. During the meeting, acting US Secretary of Defence Patrick Shanahan and his Chinese... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3014029/us-china-rivalry-over-south-china-sea-especially-may-be-continuous?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3014029/us-china-rivalry-over-south-china-sea-especially-may-be-continuous?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Jun 2019 17:00:07 +0000 Berthed at Singapore’s Changi Naval Base last week, the warship JS Izumo cut a sharp silhouette. Commissioned in 2015, the Izumo’s career is a reflection of Japan’s success as a regional power. As Japan’s biggest surface combatant, the Izumo weathered opposition from countries such as China, which accused Japan of launching an aircraft carrier prohibited under its pacifist constitution. Japan insists the Izumo is a helicopter destroyer, and hence legal under its reinterpreted constitution, which... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/3010999/america-and-japans-vision-indo-pacific-free-chinese-threat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/3010999/america-and-japans-vision-indo-pacific-free-chinese-threat?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 May 2019 01:00:07 +0000 When James Mattis, the US secretary of defence, took to the stage at the 2017 Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, the mood in the Island Ballroom of the eponymous luxury hotel was apprehensive. The Donald Trump administration was five months old, and the new US president had withdrawn from the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership and sought to renegotiate Nafta. But Mattis hit all the right notes about the sustainability of American power in the Asia-Pacific. Asked whether the United States was... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2159158/america-under-trump-lacks-commitment-compete?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2159158/america-under-trump-lacks-commitment-compete?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Aug 2018 18:03:00 +0000 Faced with a crushing defeat in the South China Sea arising from the historic Permanent Court of Arbitration judgment last month, China has upped the ante in the East China Sea. On Sunday, Tokyo protested to Beijing after Chinese coastguard ships sailed into the 12-nautical-mile territorial sea surrounding the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu islands. Chinese fighter ‘flies within 50km’ of disputed Diaoyu Islands Earlier this month, on August 5, Chinese fishing vessels entered the territorial sea around... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2008381/boiling-point-can-china-and-japan-find-way-ease-rising?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2008381/boiling-point-can-china-and-japan-find-way-ease-rising?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Aug 2016 09:52:39 +0000 For a forum frequently described as a defence ministers’ talk shop or a “media feast”, the Shangri-La ­Dialogue can boast num­erous achievements in its 15th year. As the latest sign of international pushback against China’s assertive activities in the South China Sea, France announced it would urge European Union states to coordinate “regular and visible” naval patrols in the disputed area. After an absence of several years, the Indian and South Korean defence ministers spoke at the dialogue’s... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1975001/china-sailing-solo-south-china-sea-issues-despite-its-claims?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1975001/china-sailing-solo-south-china-sea-issues-despite-its-claims?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Jun 2016 08:45:00 +0000