A prolonged Iran war could divert US assets and attention from the Indo-Pacific, affect China’s strategic calculus on Taiwan and the South China Sea, and strengthen the case for greater defence capacity among US allies including Japan. My interview @asia.nikkei.com: asia.nikkei.com/editor-s-pic...

Truly grateful to Manish Jung Pulami for this most incisive review of Japan’s Quiet Leadership: Reshaping the Indo-Pacific: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Few will mourn the decapitation of the Iranian regime. But hard cases make bad law. The strikes on Iran risk weakening UN Charter constraints on the use of force and carry real spillover risks for Southeast Asia. Read my piece and colleagues' perspectives here: 🔗 bit.ly/4r8KcdV @brookings.edu

Chaired session w 🇯🇵 DefMin Koizumi @munsecconf.bsky.social. He stressed Euro-Atlantic-Indo-Pac links. The 10k N Korean troops sent to support Russia could haunt Asian security on return w combat experience. Intl law flouted in any theatre - & by any power - is undermined everywhere. 📺 bit.ly/4rESQSl

As China cranks up export controls against Japan -now targeting 40 Japanese companies- more important to understand Japan's strategies to reduce dependence on critical minerals: www.brookings.edu/articles/wha...

Super timely and relevent piece posted on @foreignaffairs.com today by @lynnkuok.bsky.social. Much hinges on improving and exercising international institutions and the effective leadership of major powers. One hopes the U.S. some day finds it within itself to be a responsible global citizen again.

From the Baltic and North Seas to the South China Sea and waters around Taiwan, threats to subsea cables - data or electricity - are mounting. My Foreign Affairs piece examines what’s needed to secure subsea infrastructure - lifelines shaping the balance of power above. bit.ly/4spiRWx @brookings.edu

What to make of Trump's 2025 National Security Strategy? My colleagues and I weigh in: www.brookings.edu/articles/bre... @brookings.edu #NSS2025

The world is less bound by law, less anchored in US-led alliances, & more unpredictable as the power balance shifts. I joined the World Economic Forum's #RadioDavos to discuss Trump 2.0, US-China, UN reform & what gives me hope. Tks @robinpomeroy.bsky.social @aloraibi.bsky.social 📺: bit.ly/3JPcmLk

So pleased to join @channelnewsasia.bsky.social to discuss the upcoming #ASEAN summit. Watch the wide-ranging interview here 👉 : channelnewsasia.com/watch/asean-... #ASEAN #APEC2025 #USChinaRelations @brookings.edu

Chaired a NATO Public Forum session in The Hague with 🇦🇺 Deputy PM & Defence Minister Richard Marles on "Partnering in the Indo-Pacific." NATO's ties to the region are more urgent - and more fragile - than ever. In @foreignpolicy.com, I explain why: bit.ly/4fa8Bez 📸 Last pic: hardworking summit dog ❤️

On 10 June, I testified before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific at a hearing titled ‘Building Bridges, Countering Rivals: Strengthening U.S.–ASEAN Ties to Combat Chinese Influence’. @houseforeign.bsky.social

China's salami-slicing in the #SouthChinaSea continues - this time w/ its first on-the ground, formal claim over a previously unoccupied land feature in over a decade. My @foreignpolicy.com piece on Sandy Cay as flashpoint + test of US credibility. TY @ravireports.bsky.social 👉http://bit.ly/3Hg5vsS

Wonderful to join the three-day Munich Leaders Meeting and to celebrate the opening of the @munsecconf.bsky.social's DC office - on a very rainy evening! Congratulations to Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger and @benediktfranke.bsky.social!

🇲🇾 Trade Minister Tengku Zafrul was recently in DC for 48 hrs, meeting w USTR & senior State officials - just after Xi's #SEAsia tour & #UStariffs. Delighted to host him for a private roundtable & that he made time to browse @brookings.edu books by RyanHass & @mireyasolis.bsky.social #Malaysia #MITI

Joined @bloombergtv.bsky.social to discuss Xi’s SoutheastAsia tour. Xi’s visit was a success: 113 agreements signed. Many not binding, but a clear show of presence as US engagement fades. ASEAN will hedge, but deeper China ties cld lead to strategic alignment by choice or necessity 📺 bit.ly/3YFgy4n

U.S. foreign policy is becoming more coercive. In my latest @foreignaffairs.com piece, I argue that pressuring Asia to align could backfire. It may also unfold alongside abandonment, leaving allies & partners simultaneously exposed to pressure and disregard 🔗 www.foreignaffairs.com/guest-pass/r...

Testified before US-China Commission on 20 Mar: “America First” cannot mean America alone. To restore US influence in SE Asia, Washington must: • deepen econ engagement • strengthen partnerships • uphold int'l law & avoid coercion. Tariffs hit economies & strain partnerships. 📄 bit.ly/4idlGnu

“For over a decade, Washington rallied countries by pointing to China’s bullying, lawbreaking and unfair economic practices,” said Lynn Kuok, Lee Kuan Yew Chair in Southeast Asia Studies at the Brookings Institution. “Now, it risks being accused of exactly that.” www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Back at @harvardkennedy.bsky.social—this time speaking in the John F Kennedy Jr Forum, where I once sat as a student and fellow. Spoke alongside Thailand's PM-designate ('23) Pita Limjaroenrat & ASPI's Greg Brown at the inaugural Asia-Pacific Conference. Kudos to the student team & @SGglobalnetwork.

Tks @lowyinstitute.bsky.social for invite to speak at #MSC2025 on Trump 2.0, Xi & the Great Game in Asia w Gen Brawner, Froman @cfr.org, Blanchette @rand.org & moderator Fullilove. Enjoyed panel & chats w @oanalungescu.bsky.social @gideonrachman.bsky.social @shashj.bsky.social @lgflake.bsky.social

Mireya Solís examines how Japan will deal with the looming threat posed by U.S. economic tariffs to its longstanding relationship with the United States.

Very much looking forward to speaking at the Inaugural @harvardkennedy.bsky.social Asia Pacific Conference - thank you for having me! ➡️ www.harvardasiapacificcon.org

This year’s Munich Security Conference exposed a deep rupture in transatlantic relations. Yet, Indo-Pacific security and its connection to Europe's security were also key themes. It was a great privilege to chair two back-to-back ministerial-level discussions on these critical issues.

Vienna is enchanting! I was there to deliver a keynote 'Asia in a Time of Change' at the Federal Economic Chamber’s Asia Day & to join a geopol panel. Nearly 1000 attended, incl Federal Min of Econ Martin Kocher, who opened my remarks 📸: Chinese amb Qi Mei, Martin Kocher, Amelie Gross & panelists

What is the significance of 2027, which some had raised as when China might invade Taiwan? How are conflicts in Europe & the Middle East impacting defence preparedness in Asia?