Category Program

Indo-Pacific Strategy

Manila’s Constitutional Constraints: Why Philippines-China Joint Oil Exploration Remains Politically Fraught

Philippines Constitution Limits South China Sea Oil Deal

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s openness to joint oil exploration with China in the South China Sea is constrained by the Philippine Constitution, which mandates state control of resource extraction. This constitutional framework creates structural barriers to agreements that might satisfy Beijing's sovereignty claims while maintaining Philippine legal authority.

ANSPI Climate and Security Desk
April 13, 2026

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

Thailand’s Expanding Financial Crime Investigation Targets International Fraud Network

Thailand Financial Crime Investigation: Mauerberger Network

Thailand has intensified asset seizures targeting an international fraud and money laundering network connected to South African businessman Benjamin Mauerberger. The case reveals systemic vulnerabilities in Thailand's financial regulatory framework and highlights the need for comprehensive regional cooperation to combat transnational financial crime in Southeast Asia.

ANSPI Climate and Security Desk
April 12, 2026

Indo-Pacific Strategy

Artificial Intelligence and Economic Sovereignty in Southeast Asia: Navigating the New Industrial Divide

AI and Economic Sovereignty in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia faces a critical choice: whether to shape AI development according to regional interests or remain subordinate to foreign technology platforms. The region's response will determine whether AI generates inclusive prosperity or replicates historical patterns of economic extraction.

ANSPI Climate and Security Desk
April 11, 2026

Indo-Pacific Strategy

China’s Dual-Track Energy Strategy in Central Asia: Modernisation and Risk Management

China's Energy Strategy in Central Asia: Modernisation vs Stabilisation

China employs fundamentally different energy strategies in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, prioritising modernisation in the stable former while pursuing stabilisation in the politically volatile latter. This divergence reveals Beijing's sophisticated risk management approach to Belt and Road investments.

ANSPI Climate and Security Desk
April 10, 2026

Indo-Pacific Strategy

Mongolia’s Political Realignment: Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene and the Test of Democratic Stability

Mongolia Leadership Transition and Democratic Stability

Mongolia's leadership transition tests the resilience of its democratic institutions and balancing strategy between great-power competition. The success or failure of this political moment carries implications for regional stability and institutional governance in Central Asia.

ANSPI Climate and Security Desk
April 9, 2026

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

Kyrgyzstan’s Emergence as a Crypto Corridor: Sanctions Evasion and Central Asian Trade Dynamics

Kyrgyzstan Crypto Corridor: Sanctions Evasion

Kyrgyzstan has become a critical financial node facilitating cryptocurrency transactions between sanctioned Russia and Central Asian trade networks. This development reveals vulnerabilities in international sanctions regimes and creates regional stability challenges.

ANSPI Climate and Security Desk
April 8, 2026

Indo-Pacific Strategy

Vietnam’s Leadership Transition: To Lam’s Presidential Appointment Signals Shift in Communist Party Power Dynamics

To Lam's Vietnam Presidency: Collective Leadership Shift

To Lam's appointment as Vietnam's State President while serving as Communist Party General Secretary breaks with decades of collective leadership. This institutional shift reflects leadership confidence in executive consolidation to address economic challenges and regional security pressures.

ANSPI Climate and Security Desk
April 7, 2026

Indo-Pacific Strategy

The DMZ Gambit: Why Trump’s Unscripted 2019 North Korea Summit Defied Diplomatic Convention

Trump Kim Jong Un DMZ Summit 2019: Diplomacy Without Results

In June 2019, President Trump's unscripted DMZ summit with Kim Jong Un created global headlines but produced no substantive agreements. This analysis examines how personal diplomacy without institutional frameworks fails to resolve fundamental strategic disputes in Northeast Asia.

ANSPI Climate and Security Desk
April 6, 2026

Climate & Resource Security

Central Asian Water Crisis: Why the Aral Sea’s Collapse Reshapes Global Resource Security

Aral Sea Crisis: Lessons for Indo-Pacific Water Security

The Aral Sea's catastrophic collapse from deliberate water diversion reveals how resource mismanagement generates cascading geopolitical crises. Partial recovery efforts in Kazakhstan offer lessons for Indo-Pacific transboundary water governance amid rising competition for shared rivers.

ANSPI Climate and Security Desk
April 5, 2026

Indo-Pacific Strategy

Beijing’s Ethnic Assimilation Framework and Taiwan’s Democratic Identity: Diverging Visions of Nationhood

Beijing Ethnic Policy and Taiwan Identity: Incompatible Nationhood Models

Beijing's assimilationist ethnic policies and Taiwan's pluralistic democratic model represent fundamentally incompatible visions of nationhood, creating a structural barrier to reunification that transcends economic or diplomatic negotiation.

ANSPI Climate and Security Desk
April 5, 2026