EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Both China and ASEAN countries envisaged high economic growth rates for several years with economic growth tied to stable supplies of energy resources. The upheavals and instability in the Middle East has strengthen China’s perception that energy reserves available in Southeast Asia and the South China Sea could become China’s most reliable resources. The…

Energy security, usually defined as the availability, reliability and affordability of the energy resources, has become a primary concern for the survival and well-being of both developed and developing nations.  From the mid-1960s until 1993, China was energy self-sufficient. Since 2011, China has become the largest global energy consumer, the world's second-largest oil consumer behind the United…

   As a result of its expansive policy within the South China Sea, the People’s Republic of China has faced widespread international criticism for its actions in the area. In recent weeks, that criticism has been on the rise. This is due to an international case that had been organized by the island nation of the Philippines in order to bring attention to the growing crisis that is…

Executive Summary While disputes in the South China Sea are not new, China’s recent behaviour in the South China Sea, including its continued development of airstrips in the contested territory, is reaching a pivotal juncture. China’s regional neighbours are taking tougher stances against Beijing’s perceived aggressive actions, indicated by the Philippines’ case against China’s…

Executive Summary China’s “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR) initiative, formally presented on 28 March 2015, is not just another “new Silk Road project”. Rather it is a consistent and ambitious Eurasian strategy of an emergent power. The OBOR initiative is based on existing and planned linkages from various regions of China towards the outside world. Supported by large financial…

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Washington and Beijing are hoping to negotiate the first arms control accord for cyberspace. Seemingly an historic occasion, the agreement is unlikely to be concluded in time for the upcoming Obama-Xi summit. The two sides have been unable to agree on the scope, basic terminology, or language of the document. These obstacles also risk obscuring the existence of parties in Washington…