Asia Insight

From the National Bureau of Asian Research, an Asia Insight miniseries examining the future of foreign policy through the lens of emerging leadership in South and Southeast Asia. This first episode features Dr. Christopher Clary of the University at Albany sitting down with Dr. Rohan Mukherjee and Mr. Bashir Ali Abbas to discuss India’s emerging generation of political leaders and the factors influencing their foreign policy outlooks from New Delhi. To view the project webpage, visit https://www.nbr.org/program/next-generation-of-leaders-in-south-and-southeast-asia/. Mr. Bashir Ali Abbas is a Senior Research Associate with the Council for Strategic and Defense Research based in New Delhi, India. His written commentary can be viewed at https://www.nbr.org/publication/continuity-amid-change-how-indias-emerging-political-leaders-will-steer-its-future-foreign-policy/. Dr. Rohan Mukherjee is an Assistant Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Nonresident Fellow at NBR. His written commentary can be viewed at https://www.nbr.org/publication/after-modi-political-leadership-and-the-future-of-indian-foreign-policy/.

In this new Asia Insight miniseries, Next in Line: Rising Leaders and Foreign Policy in South and Southeast Asia examines how a new generation of political leaders is shaping foreign policy across a strategically vital region amid intensifying U.S.-China competition. Across six episodes, leading experts analyze how domestic pressures and international dynamics are converging to influence the foreign policy outlooks of emerging leaders in Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Moderated by Dr. Christopher Clary of the University at Albany and Dr. Ann Marie Murphy of Seton Hall University, the miniseries launches on March 30, 2026, with new episodes released monthly through August 30, 2026.

From the National Bureau of Asian Research, an Asia Insight miniseries exploring the geostrategic significance of China’s borderlands, led by Nadège Rolland, Distinguished Fellow for China Studies at NBR. Episode Seven: Liquid Borders This seventh episode describes China’s position as a “hydro-hegemon,” considers how transboundary rivers can be used either as sources of transborder cooperation or geopolitical leverage, and explores the consequences of China’s river damming. With Selina Ho Li Ching (Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore) and Brian Eyler (Stimson Center). Materials cited or referenced in the recording “Water Wars? A Talk with Ismail Serageldin,” World Policy Journal 26, No.4 (Winter 2009-2010). Li Zhifei 李志斐 “An Analysis of Transboundary River Issues Between China and the Countries of Its Periphery” [中国与周边国家跨国河流问题之分析] Pacific Journal 19, No.3 (March 2011). Mark Zeitoun, Jeroen Warner, “Hydro-Hegemony: A Framework for Analysis of Trans-Boundary Water Conflicts,” Water Policy 8, No.5 (2006). Anthony Spaeth, “China’s Toxic Shock,” Time, November 27, 2005. Brahma Chellaney, “Water, Power, and Competition in Asia,” Asian Survey 54, No.4 (2014). Recommended additional readings Selina Ho, “China’s Transboundary River Policies Towards Kazakhstan: Issue-Linkages and Incentives for Cooperation,” Water International 42, No.2 (2017). Selina Ho, “River Politics: China’s Policies in the Mekong and the Brahmaputra in Comparative Perspective,” Journal of Contemporary China 23, No.85 (2014). Hoang Thi Ha, "China’s Statecraft through the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation: Building a Sino-Centric Regional Order," November 13, 2025 https://strategicspace.nbr.org/chinas-statecraft-through-the-lancang-mekong-cooperation-building-a-sino-centric-regional-order/.

As part of The Evolution of AI Governance and Regulation in the Indo-Pacific project at NBR, this Asia Insight episode features NBR Senior Director of Research and Programs Doug Strub sitting down with Mr. Renan Araujo and Ms. Husan Chahal as they discuss AI risks and the role of multilateral organizations in AI governance. Renan Araujo is the Director of Programs at the Institute for AI Policy and Strategy. Husan Chahal is an AI policy researcher currently working as a Senior AI Risk Analyst for the AI Risk Explorer Project at the Observatorio de Riesgos Catastroficos Globales. She is also a Nonresident Fellow at NBR. Doug Strub is Senior Director of Research and Programs at NBR.

As part of The Evolution of AI Governance and Regulation in the Indo-Pacific project at NBR, this Asia Insight episode features NBR Senior Director of Research and Programs Doug Strub sitting down with Mr. Nigel Cory and Dr. Karryl Kim Sagun Trajano as they discuss AI governance in Southeast Asia, and opportunities and challenges for ASEAN countries to collaborate with the United States in shaping a future AI agenda. Nigel Cory is a Nonresident Fellow at NBR and is a Director with Crowell Global Advisors. His November 2025 paper on "Codeveloping the Model: U.S. and ASEAN Cooperation in Shaping and Deploying AI" can be viewed at https://www.nbr.org/publication/codeveloping-the-model-u-s-and-asean-cooperation-in-shaping-and-deploying-ai/. Doug Strub is Senior Director of Research and Programs at NBR. Karryl Kim Sagun Trajano is a Research Fellow for Future Issues and Technology in the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Her September 2025 paper on "Charting ASEAN’s Path to AI Governance: Uneven Yet Gaining Ground" can be viewed at https://www.nbr.org/publication/charting-aseans-path-to-ai-governance-uneven-yet-gaining-ground/.

From the National Bureau of Asian Research, an Asia Insight miniseries exploring the geostrategic significance of China’s borderlands, led by Nadège Rolland, Distinguished Fellow for China Studies at NBR. Episode Six: In Russia's Shadow This sixth episode unpacks how China has managed to significantly increase its presence in Central Asia across four key domains (political, economic, people-to-people, and security), in what Russia considers a “region of privileged interests,” part of its so-called “near abroad.” With Bradley Jardine (Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs), Nargis Kassenova (Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University), Edward Lemon (Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs), and Temur Umarov (Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center). Materials cited or referenced in the recording Xi Jinping, “Championing the China-Central Asia Spirit for High Quality Cooperation in the Region,” Speech at the Second China-Central Asia Summit, June 17, 2025. “Wang Yi on Neighborhood Diplomacy: Harmony is Key to a Prosperous Family in All Endeavors,” Press Conference, March 7, 2025. Hu Hao [胡昊] China’s Achievements and Challenges in Promoting the Construction of a Community of Shared Future for Mankind in Central Asia [中国在中亚地区推进人类民运共同体建设的成就和挑战] Contemporary China and the World no.4, 2024. Bradley Jardine, Edward Lemon, Backlash: China’s Struggle for Influence in Central Asia (Oxford University Press, December 2025). Bradley Jardine, Edward Lemon, “China Is Using Vocational Training Centers to Rebuild Its Image in Central Asia,” Carnegie Politika, October 6, 2025. Recommended additional readings Nicola Di Cosmo, Ancient China and Its Enemies: The Rise of Nomadic Power in East Asian History (Cambridge University Press, 2002). Craig Benjamin, Empires of Ancient Eurasia: The First Silk Roads Era, 100 BCE-250 CE (Cambridge University Press, 2018). Dan Markey, China’s Western Horizon: Beijing and the New Geopolitics of Eurasia (Oxford University Press, 2020). Adina Masalbekova, Nigora Tangatarova, "What Happens to Central Asian Youth After Following China’s ‘Educational Silk Road?’" The Diplomat, December 29, 2023. https://thediplomat.com/2023/12/what-happens-to-central-asian-youth-after-following-chinas-educational-silk-road/

This first Asia Insight episode of 2026 features NBR President Michael Wills in discussion with NBR colleagues Jeremy Rausch, Nadège Rolland, and Doug Strub on their outlooks for U.S.-Asia policy and the Indo-Pacific more broadly in the year ahead. Jeremy Rausch is Director of Political and Security Affairs at NBR. Nadège Rolland is Distinguished Fellow for China Studies at NBR. Doug Strub is Senior Director of Research and Programs at NBR. Michael Wills is President of NBR.

From the National Bureau of Asian Research, an Asia Insight miniseries exploring the geostrategic significance of China’s borderlands, led by Nadège Rolland, Distinguished Fellow for China Studies at NBR. In this special episode, NBR Project Manager Alayna Bone sits down with NBR Distinguished Fellow for China Studies Nadège Rolland to look back at NBR’s Mapping China’s Strategic Space: Borderlands project, what we have learned so far, and to share some highlights of what is in store for 2026.

From the National Bureau of Asian Research, an Asia Insight miniseries exploring the geostrategic significance of China’s borderlands, led by Nadège Rolland, Distinguished Fellow for China Studies at NBR. Episode Five: The Himalayan Rim China’s growing economic and political power is redrawing the map of South Asia as a cluster of countries centered around its Himalayan borderlands, connecting its land neighbors through infrastructure building and economic corridors, while redefining the region’s governance norms according to the so-called "Chinese model." This fifth episode, recorded in New Delhi with Professor Jabin T. Jacob (Shiv Nadar Institute of Eminence, India), Shruti Jargad (Australian Strategic Policy Institute), and Dr. Constantino Xavier (Center for Social and Economic Progress, India) takes a look at the many facets of China’s increased presence in the Himalayan region. Materials cited or referenced in the recording Constantino Xavier and Jabin T. Jacob (Eds.) “How China Engages in South Asia: In the Open and Behind the Scenes,” CSEP Report, July 2025. Constantino Xavier and Jabin T. Jacob (Eds.) “How China Engages in South Asia: Themes, Partners and Tools,” CSEP Report, May 2023. Shruti Jargad and Constantino Xavier, “Semantics as Strategy: Interpreting China’s Official Discourse on South Asia,” CSEP Working Paper 103, September 2025. National Land Borders Law of the People’s Republic of China (adopted on October 23, 2021 and officially in effect as of January 1, 2022) https://www.mfa.gov.cn/web/wjb_673085/zzjg_673183/bjhysws_674671/bhflfg/ldfxzhxfl/202303/P020230313533924391693.pdf. Recommended additional readings The PRC’s Land Borders Law, USINDOPACOM J06/SJA TACAID Series, October 23, 2023 https://www.pacom.mil/Portals/55/Documents/Legal/J06%20TACAID%20-%20PRC%20LAND%20BORDERS%20LAW%20-%20FINAL.pdf.

From the National Bureau of Asian Research, an Asia Insight miniseries exploring the geostrategic significance of China’s borderlands, led by Nadège Rolland, Distinguished Fellow for China Studies at NBR. Episode Four: The Great Wall of Villages Since 2016, China has been building or refurbishing several hundreds of so-called “xiaokang (well-off) villages” along its Borderlands, complete with new infrastructure and an increased security presence. Some of these villages have been built on Bhutan’s sovereign territory. This fourth episode trails the strategic motives and the unfolding development of China’s border villages revitalization campaign. With contributions from Japneet Kaur (Center of Excellence for Himalayan Studies, Shiv Nadar University, India), Professor James Leibold (La Trobe University, Australia) and Professor Robert Barnett (School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London and Lau China Institute, King’s College, United Kingdom). Materials cited or referenced in the recording “South China Sea: What’s China’s Plan for Its ‘Great Wall of Sand’?” BBC, July 14, 2020 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-53344449. Muyi Xiao, Agnes Chang, “China’s Great Wall of Villages,” New York Times, August 8, 2024 https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/08/10/world/asia/china-border-villages.html. Robert Barnett, “Forceful Diplomacy: China’s Cross-Border Villages in Bhutan,” Turquoise Roof Bulletin, October 15, 2024 https://turquoiseroof.org/forceful-diplomacy-china-cross-border-villages-in-bhutan/. Japneet Kaur, Devendra Kumar, Jabin T. Jacob, “Beyond the Military Prism: China’s Development Objectives in Xiaokang Villages in Tibet Autonomous Region,” Shiv Nadar University Centre of Excellence for Himalayan Studies Occasional Paper no.4 (February 2025) https://snu.edu.in/centres/centre-of-excellence-for-himalayan-studies/research/beyond-the-military-prism-chinas-development-objectives-in-xiaokang-villages-in-tibet-autonomous-region/. Sun Chunri [孙春日] “Population Loss in the Border Areas between China and North Korea, and Countermeasures：A Case Study of Yanbian Korean Ethnic Minority Autonomous Prefecture” [中朝边境地区人口流失及对策 – 以延边朝鲜族自治州为列] Journal of Northern Minzu University no.93 (2010). Yang Minghong [样明洪] and Wang Zhoubo [王周博] “Types, Causes and Governance of the ‘Hollowing Out’ of China’s Land Border Regions” [我国陆地边境地区 ‘空心化’ 的类型、成因与治理] Journal of Sichuan Normal University 47 no.6 (2020). “Xi Jinping Delivers an Important Speech at the Second Xinjiang Work Forum” [习近平在第二次中央新疆工作谈会上发表重要讲话] People’s Daily, May 30, 2014. Owen Lattimore, The Inner Asian Frontiers of China, 1940. Glossary of Chinese terms used in the recording 边境小康村 bianjing xiaokang cun: border areas moderately-prosperous (or well-off) villages 成都山地所 Chengdu shandi suo: Chengdu Mountain Institute (a research institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences) 三农问题 sannong wenti: “Three rural problems”(nongmin 农民rural people, nongcun 农村rural areas, nongye 农业rural production) 兴边副民行动 xingbian fumin xingdong: “Border Revitalization and Prosperous Residents Program” (a State campaign aimed at boosting economic development along China’s borderlands launched in 1998) 治国必治边、治边先稳藏 zhiguo bi zhibian, zhibian xian wen zang: “To govern the country, one must govern the borders; to govern the borders, one must first stabilize Tibet” (Xi Jinping addressing a delegation of officials from the Tibetan Autonomous Region in 2013 https://cpc.people.com.cn/n/2013/0902/c64102-22771651.html) 空心化 kongxinhua: hollowing out 神圣国土守护者 shensheng guotu shouhuzhe: “Guardians of the sacred lands” 中华民族 zhonghua minzu: Chinese nation

This episode of Asia Insight complements an ongoing NBR initiative examining Indo-Pacific approaches to digital regulations and competition policy, with this episode focusing on Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) enforcement activities targeting U.S. firms, featuring NBR Senior Director of Research and Programs Doug Strub in conversation with NBR Advisor Tami Overby and NBR Nonresident Fellow Nigel Cory. Nigel Cory is a Nonresident Fellow at NBR and is a Director with Crowell Global Advisors. Tami Overby is a member of the Board of Advisors at NBR and is a Partner at DGA Group Government Relations. Doug Strub is Senior Director of Research and Programs at NBR.

From the National Bureau of Asian Research, an Asia Insight miniseries exploring the geostrategic significance of China’s borderlands, led by Nadège Rolland, Distinguished Fellow for China Studies at NBR. Episode Three: The Opening-Up/Securitization Paradox Since the early 1990s, China’s borderlands have played a crucial role in the central government’s "opening-up" program. However, starting in the mid-2010s, at the same time as the Belt and Road Initiative was supposed to accelerate China’s opening-up to the rest of the world, Beijing also began to harden the security of its borders – a trend intensified by the Covid-19 pandemic. This third episode examines the tension between prioritizing openness and maintaining security. With contributions from Professor Victor Konrad (Carleton University, Canada), and Professor Alessandro Rippa (University of Oslo, Norway). Materials cited or referenced in the recording Zhuang Rui [庄芮], Song Huike [宋荟柯], Zhang Xiaojing [张晓静], "Strategic Considerations on China’s Border Opening-Up: Historical Logic and Forward Direction" [我国沿边开放战略思考：历史逻辑与推进方向] Chinese Economy and Trade, no.7 (2021). "More Indulgence, My Dear Friend? Why China Is Grudgingly Mending Ties with North Korea," The Economist, September 27, 2025. Glossary of Chinese terms used in the recording Xibu dakaifa 西部大开发 Great Development of the West / Great Western Development Recommended additional readings Zhiding Hu and Victor Konrad, "Repositioning Security Spaces of Exclusion, Exception, and Integration in China-Southeast Asia Borderlands," Regions & Cohesion 11, no. 2 (Summer 2021). Thomas Ptak, Jussi P. Laine, Zhiding Hu, Yuli Liu, Victor Konrad, Martin van der Velde, "Understanding Borders Through Dynamic Processes: Capturing Relational Motion from South-West China’s Radiation Centre," Territory, Politics, Governance 10, no.2 (2022). Alessandro Rippa, Borderland Infrastructures: Trade, Development, and Control in Western China (Amsterdam University Press, 2020). Alessandro Rippa, "Mapping the Margins of China’s Global Ambitions: Economic Corridors, Silk Roads, and the End of Proximity in the Borderlands," Eurasian Geography and Economics 61, no.1 (2020). Zhang Zheren [张哲人] Li Wei [李慰] "Comprehensively Optimizing the Regional Opening-Up" [全面优化区域开放布局] Hongqi no.16 (2023). Guo Yinhong [郭垠宏] Song Tao [宋涛] Sun Man [孙曼] "The Functional Evolution and Temporal Division of China’s Border Regions in the Context of the Security-Development-Opening Up Nexus" [安全、发展与开放关联下的中国边境地区功能演化及时段划分] Geographical Research 42, no.10 (October 2023).

On this episode of Asia Insight, NBR Senior Director of Research and Programs Doug Strub sits down with NBR Advisor Meredith Miller and SAFE Senior Policy Analyst Zoe Oysul to discuss U.S. and Indonesian critical minerals strategies and opportunities and challenges for the two countries to work together within the larger geopolitical context. Meredith Miller is a member of the Board of Advisors at NBR and is a Senior Advisor at DGA-Albright Stonebridge Group. Zoe Oysul is a Senior Policy Analyst at SAFE’s Center for Critical Minerals Strategy. Doug Strub is Senior Director of Research and Programs at NBR.

From the National Bureau of Asian Research, an Asia Insight miniseries exploring the geostrategic significance of China’s borderlands, led by Nadège Rolland, Distinguished Fellow for China Studies at NBR. Episode Two: A Hundred Years of CCP Borderlands Policies The Chinese Communist Party’s borderlands policies fluctuated over time since its founding, alternating between periods of gradual integration and forced assimilation. Regardless of the methods used, the Party’s goal has remained the same: to meld all these regions and their people into a coherent national whole. This second episode examines how the notions of Borderlands, of nation-building, and of ethnic policies have been intimately intertwined throughout the hundred years of CCP existence. With contributions from Professor Benno Weiner (Carnegie Mellon University), Professor Robert Barnett (School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London and Lau China Institute, King’s College), and Professor James Leibold (La Trobe University). Materials cited or referenced in the recording Benno Weiner, The Chinese Revolution on the Tibetan Frontier (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2020) Andrew Martin Fisher, The Disempowered Development of Tibet in China: A Study in the Economics of Marginalization (Plymouth: Lexington Books, 2014) Fei Xiaotong [费孝通], The Chinese Nation’s Diversity to Unity Model [中华民族多元一体格局] (Beijing: Central University for Nationalities Press, 1989) Ernest Renan, “What is a Nation?” (speech delivered at the Sorbonne University, Paris, on March 11, 1882) Glossary of Chinese terms used in the recording Minzu 民族 nation, nationality(ies), ethnic group(s) Shaoshu minzu 少数民族 ethnic minorities Minzu tuanjie 民族团结 ethnic/national unity Minzu gongzuo 民族工作 ethnic policy work / nation building work Duoyuanyiti 多元一体 diversity within unity / plurality and unity / multiple origins, one body / from diversity towards unity Zhonghua minzu 中华民族 Chinese nation Zhulao 铸牢 to forge Zhuhun 铸魂 to cast souls Zhonghua minzu gongtongti yishi 中华民族共同体意识 collective consciousness of the Chinese nation / a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation Recommended additional readings Uradyn E. Bulag, “Good Han, Bad Han: The Moral Parameters of Ethnopolitics in China,” in Thomas Mullaney et.al. (Eds.) Critical Han Studies: The History, Representation, and Identity of China’s Majority (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2012) Vanessa Frangville, “‘Unity Within Diversity’: The Chinese Communist Party’s Construction of the Chinese Nation,” in Jérôme Doyon et.al. (Eds.) The Chinese Communist Party: A 100-Year Trajectory (Canberra: Australian National University Press, 2024) James Leibold, “Toward A Second Generation of Ethnic Policies?” Jamestown China Brief 12(13) July 7, 2012 James Leibold, “Ethnic Policy in China: Is Reform Inevitable?” East-West Center Policy Studies 68, 2013 Benno Weiner, “‘This Absolutely Is Not a Hui Rebellion!’: The Ethnopolitics of Great Nationality Chauvinism in Early Maoist China,” Twentieth-Century China 48(3) 2023

In this episode of Asia Insight, we explore a recent NBR research project that examined the cumulative impact of three trends—the evolution of the Indo-Pacific geopolitical landscape, recurring questions about U.S. alliance commitments, and domestic political debates on nuclear armament—on the sustainability of U.S. extended deterrence and nuclear restraint in Australia, Japan, and South Korea. Zack Cooper is the project’s Principal Investigator, and he is also a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Bee Yun Jo is a Research Fellow in the Center for Security Strategy at the Sejong Institute in South Korea. Lavina Lee is Director of the Foreign Policy and Defence Program at the United States Studies Centre, University of Sydney in Australia.

From the National Bureau of Asian Research, an Asia Insight miniseries exploring the geostrategic significance of China’s borderlands, led by Nadège Rolland, Distinguished Fellow for China Studies at NBR. Episode One: From Empire to Nation When you look at the People’s Republic of China’s map today, you look roughly at the map of the Qing empire - with the notable exceptions of outer Mongolia, Taiwan, and portions of Siberia. Two hundred years ago, the Qing’s borderlands included the Manchu, Tibetan, Hmong, Mongol and Hui (Turkic-speaking Muslim populations of the western regions). Today, twenty neighbors share a land or a maritime border with China. In this first episode, with the help of Professor Nicola Di Cosmo (Institute of Advanced Study) and Maria Adele Carrai (NYU Shanghai), we travel back in time to better understand how the imperial borderlands have been integrated within China’s national territory at the turn of the 20th century. Materials cited in the recording Joseph W. Esherick, How the Qing Became China, in. Esherick et. al. (Eds) Empire to Nation: Historical Perspectives on the Making of the Modern World (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2006) Maria Adele Carrai, Sovereignty in China: A Genealogy of a Concept since 1840 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019)

This episode of Asia Insight was recorded directly following NBR’s annual Energy Security Workshop in Washington, D.C., on July 22, 2025. NBR advisor and Energy Security Program research director Mikkal Herberg hosts a conversation with Philip Andrews-Speed, Kurt Glaubitz, and Ken Koyama. The four discuss takeaways from the workshop’s presentations on Asia’s LNG (liquified natural gas) landscape and the implications for regional energy and economic security, while also delving deeper into areas they plan to explore further ahead of NBR’s annual Energy Security Program report release in late-2025. Philip Andrews-Speed is a Senior Research Fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. Kurt Glaubitz is the Co-Founder of the Asia Natural Gas and Energy Association and Former Corporate Affairs General Manager for the Chevron Corporation, Asia Pacific Exploration and Production. Mikkal Herberg is a member of NBR’s Board of Advisors and the Research Director of NBR’s Energy Security Program. Ken Koyama is Senior Managing Director and Chief Economist in charge of the Research Strategy Unit at The Institute of Energy Economics, Japan.

The project Documenting China's Borderlands is led by Nadège Rolland, Distinguished Fellow for China Studies at NBR. The project investigates how China invests in, engages with, and deepens its presence within its land and maritime border neighbors in an attempt to reshape its immediate periphery. In this introductory episode hosted by NBR President Michael Wills, Rolland discusses what sparked this research effort, how the project defines China's borderlands, which areas of Chinese statecraft will be examined, and what our listeners can ultimately expect from this forthcoming Asia Insight miniseries. The virtual dashboard mentioned in the conversation will be publicly available starting July 28, 2025.