Insights

IRPP • Op-ed

In preparing for conflicts, we may be compromising our ability to confront the climate emergency. Sustainability must be part of our defence strategy.

Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada • Explainer

On February 28, Singapore unveiled its first-ever National Space Strategy, positioning itself as a player in the global space industry. The strategy prioritizes research and development, talent cultivation, and international partnerships. It also presents new opportunities for collaboration with Canada’s space industry. Deepening ties with Singapore—and with Southeast Asia more broadly—could bolster Canada’s efforts to diversify its space partnerships, especially in the areas of space research, satellite technology and the sustainable use of space.

Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada • Report

In 2023, India became the first country to land on the coveted lunar south pole, and in January 2024, it became the first Asian country to successfully place a probe in the sun’s orbit. Although India's space program began in the late 1960s, these recent milestones, along with its expanding current and planned activities, have elevated India to one of the leading spacefaring nations, alongside the U.S., China, and Russia. These achievements are paving the way for India to fulfil its ambition of becoming a major space power.

Asia Policy Journal • Article

As the world transitions into a new era of technological advancement, space exploration and utilization have become increasingly critical for national security, economic development, and scientific innovation. For Singapore, a nation renowned for its strategic foresight and economic dynamism, space represents both an opportunity and a necessity. Positioned at the crossroads of major geopolitical currents, Singapore's space ambitions are intricately linked to its national objectives, the broader regional context, and the intensifying strategic competition between the United States and China, as well as to opportunities presented elsewhere, such as in India.

East-West Center • Op-ed

States seeking to deepen their engagement in the Arctic, such as Singapore, may find themselves trying to balance tensions, especially in the wake of Sino-Russian cooperation in the region and US-China strategic competition

Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada • Report

On May 3, China launched its “complex and ambitious” Chang’e-6 space mission, which, if successful, will be the first ever to collect samples from the far side of the moon. This mission, and other future “firsts” on the moon, Mars, and beyond are bolstering China’s plans to become a space superpower by 2045. There are already ample signs that China is enacting policies and making the necessary investments to do so. In April, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the most extensive reorganization of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in a decade, with an emphasis on strengthening China’s military presence in space. And in its 2022 white paper, Beijing outlined a range of space policies focused on defending China’s national security, incentivizing its commercial space industry, boosting innovation, and making advancements in ventures such as satellite services, space tourism, and resource extraction.

Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada • Report

The global space industry is undergoing a significant transformation. Whereas it was once “the preserve of the governments of a few spacefaring nations,” it now involves a greater number of actors engaged in a widening range of activities. The actors include new countries, the private sector, academia, and even citizens who are, for example, making advancements in military and security intelligence, monitoring climate change, improving navigational capacity, or setting up space tourism businesses. Asia is a major factor in this revolution: China, India, Japan, and South Korea have all expanded their national space programs and actively nurtured their commercial space sectors with investment incentives.

Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada • Explainer

The role of technology, especially artificial intelligence (AI), featured prominently at the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in December 2023. While climate technologies are increasingly touted as tools to mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis, some experts urge caution, noting many of these technologies — including AI — consume significant amounts of energy, leaving them only somewhat effective. Another worry is the potential for these technologies to widen inequity between developed and developing countries, not least of all in the Indo-Pacific.

Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada • Explainer

The importance of the Global Biodiversity Framework to Southeast Asia cannot be emphasized enough. Especially as the region hosts some of the planet’s richest biodiversity, addressing nature loss is increasingly urgent and requires a multi-stakeholder approach – including sustainable infrastructure, efficient financial capacity, and urgent policy changes. Does the region have the capacity to step up to the challenge?

Asia Policy Journal • Article

Amid multiple global crises and conflicts, the often-cited concept of Arctic exceptionalism—the unique governance that has facilitated cooperation in the region—has come under strain.

The Yearbook of Polar La • Article

Soft law has been observed to be increasing within the frontiers – regions and issue-areas that extend beyond national jurisdiction, and where governance substantively integrates scientific and technological knowledge. The often-used assumption for the prevalence of such instruments has been the uncertainty of scientific knowledge. This paper takes this facile analysis further by examining the dynamic changes to the number and diversity of state and non-state actors as well as their relative influence. Using a revised definition of soft law which encompasses both binding and non-binding forms, this article shows that this has not been the case. Through analysis of the legal framework within which the region is governed and a mixed methodology drawing from the fields of international relations and international law, this research confirms that soft law is prevalent within the Arctic and that it is an outcome of domestic politics, as well as geopolitical tensions among the relevant states.

UArctic • Article

Soft law has been observed to be increasing within the global system, particularly in regions and issue-areas where scientific and technological knowledge has been substantively integrated into decision-making and governance. The often-used assumption for the prevalence of such instruments has been the uncertainty of scientific knowledge. This paper takes this oversimplified analysis further by examining the contemporary changes to the international system such as the number and diversity of state and nonstate actors as well as their relative influence through a close examination of the Arctic and climate change.

University of British Columbia • Report

Soft law has been observed to be increasing within the global system, particularly in regions and issue-areas where scientific and technological knowledge has been substantively integrated into decision-making and governance. The often-used assumption for the prevalence of such instruments has been the uncertainty of scientific knowledge. This dissertation examines this assumption and takes the analysis further by examining contemporary changes to the international system, such as the number and diversity of state and non-state actors as well as their relative influence, through a close examination of three cases — the Arctic, Outer Space, and Climate Change.

Energy Studies Institute • Report

From 29–31 August 2018, the Energy Studies Institute (ESI), National University of Singapore hosted the Arctic Renewable Energy Atlas (AREA) Project workshop participants in Singapore. Initiated by the Arctic Council’s Sustainable Development Working Group (SDWG), AREA integrates a range of resources from maps and data to research activities and storytelling, thereby enhancing knowledge of best practices and local action on renewable energy within the Arctic region.

East Asia Forum • Op-ed

Sixteen years after its admission into the Arctic Council, France published its official Arctic roadmap in 2016. Japan released a ‘Basic Plan on Ocean Policy’ in 2013 highlighting its official Arctic initiatives, and it published a more comprehensive official Arctic policy paper in 2015. In January 2018, China became the latest Arctic Council observer to release its policy. But Singapore, despite joining the Arctic Council in 2013, has yet to formulate an official policy, which has led some other Arctic states to question what its interests truly are in the region.

Russian International Affairs Council • Report

Climate change has altered and is altering various environments, and in that context, the geopolitics of these regions is also changing. The melting of Arctic sea ice, for example, has made the economic prospects of shipping, fisheries and resource extraction in the Arctic increasingly feasible. Given the highly volatile climatic impact on the Arctic ice, natural resources and indigenous communities, the governance of the Arctic is complex, and increasingly so as more non-regional actors gain a foothold in Arctic affairs via the Arctic Council (AC). One such actor is Singapore, which was admitted as an observer alongside China, India, Japan and the Republic of Korea in 2013.