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AsiaCentre

Founded in 2005, Asia Centre is an independent research institute that holds debates and issues publications on matters relating to international, strategic, economic relations, as well as the political and social transformations underway in the Asia-Pacific region. At the crossroads of university research as well as public and private decision-making, Asia Centre researchers identify critical regional issues and analyse them in-depth, taking into consideration both local and global dimensions. Asia Centre’s programs are developed with a vast network of partners, companies and major specialist centres in Europe, North America and Asia. The Centre carries out joint operations with these groups, for a better interpretation of ideas and issues. The conclusions of these meetings, such as the results of the work carried out using original sources by our researchers, are widely distributed through the Centre’s publications as well as through international journals, books and media.

Other analyses

Taiwan cooking oil scandal: Why Isn’t Beijing Adding Fuel to the Fire? • Isabelle Feng

31 July 2026 No Comments

In this new piece, Isabelle Feng looks back at the tainted cooking oil scandal that has affected Taiwan for several weeks, and at Beijing’s measured response to the affair. She examines the protests held in Taipei on 25 July, the coverage of the event by Chinese state media, and reactions observed on Chinese social media. She puts this episode in perspective alongside the history of food safety scandals in mainland China and the question of freedom to protest on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

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Transnational Security in the Sulu Sea: Something New or Something Old? – Joseph Franco

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South East Asia (3)

Joseph Franco, Research fellow, Centre of Excellence for National Security, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
Note d’actualité n°9/16 de l’Observatoire de l’Asie du Sud-Est, cycle 2018-2019, Juin 2018

States bordering the Sulu Sea have found a new impetus to conduct cooperative security mechanisms to combat violent extremist groups in the southern Philippines. The emergence of Islamic State-linked groups highlighted the shared vulnerabilities of Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Joint training exercises and intelligence exchanges have focused on early detection and swift response to potential terrorist plots. Nevertheless, while all these initiatives appear novel, it is part of decades-long military-to-military links. Likewise, the transnational threat posed by non-state armed groups in the proximity of the Sulu Sea can be traced back to the long history of colonial-era piracy and slave trading.

Introduction

Something New: Recent Initiatives

Something Old: Military Cooperation Among Maritime Southeast Asian States

Something Older: Pre-colonial Roots of Sulu Sea Insecurity

Old Meets New? Considering Non-Ideological Approaches to the Sulu Sea

Conclusion

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