Asia-Pacific Regional Security Assessment 2023: Key developments and trends

The Asia-Pacific Regional Security Assessment examines key regional security issues relevant to the policy-focused discussions of the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s premier defence summit convened by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. It is published and launched at the Dialogue and the issues analysed within its covers are central to discussions at the event.

Since February 2022, the war in Ukraine has provided a bleak backdrop for discussions about international security. While the war has affected many aspects of security and defence in the Asia-Pacific, the region also has its own dynamics, and important security-related developments have occurred there since the invasion. Among these, China’s ever-growing power and increasingly assertive posture remain the leading long-term challenges for the region.

This tenth edition of the Asia-Pacific Regional Security Assessment contains an introduction and six chapters, authored by IISS experts, which investigate important dimensions of the regional security environment, supported by maps, graphs, charts and tables. Topics include:

• the war in Ukraine and the Asia-Pacific balance of power;
• strained US- China relations and the growing threat to Taiwan;
• Asia-Pacific naval and maritime capabilities;
• China’s Belt and Road Initiative;
• Japanese security and defence policy; and
• the conflict in Myanmar and the international response.

Authors include leading regional analysts and academics at the forefront of research and analysis: James Crabtree, Euan Graham, Nigel Inkster, Nick Childs, Meia Nouwens, Robert Ward, Yuka Koshino, Aaron Connelly and Shona Loong