Asia and Indo-Pacific
Asia and the Indo-Pacific are often presented as the heart of international relations in the 21st century.
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France opens Space Command to Japanese officer as ties deepen under new road map — "A key aim [of France-Japan defense cooperation] is to reduce critical vulnerabilities as well as to strengthen sovereign capabilities and reduce reliance on U.S.-provided data. New opportunities are emerging in advanced technologies, including AI-enabled systems, autonomous platforms and space applications."
quoted by Gabriel Dominguez in the Japan Times
Geoeconomics: 'All dependencies, minerals, currencies and semiconductors, are now being weaponized'
According to geopolitics expert Marc-Antoine Eyl-Mazzega, the competition for control over minerals, logistics and the flow of raw materials is benefiting the US and China. Europe lags behind in this geoeconomic race, with a tangible impact on how major powers are reshaping their defense capabilities.
France and Japan hedge against rising threats with strategic autonomy push
As French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Japan this week for his first visit to the country since 2023, international attention was largely centered on the ongoing Middle East conflict.
Japan seeks French backing as Macron begins Asia trip in Iran war’s shadow
Emmanuel Macron touched down in Tokyo on Tuesday with a packed agenda and a receptive audience in a Japanese government anxious about a choked oil route and looking for support amid its diplomatic falling-out with Beijing.
Replay - From Ambition to Action: Exploring Technological Partnerships with India
Replay of the conference at Ifri, March 18, 2026
Can EU-India technological cooperation reshape global strategic balances? This conference brought together European and Indian leaders to discuss opportunities and challenges in AI, semiconductors, and digital innovation. Watch the full debate.
Replay - Navigating the Taiwan Strait Tensions: Perspectives from Japan, the Philippines, and France
Conference Replay - As tensions continue to rise in the Taiwan Strait and discussions grow about hybrid frictions potentially escalating into a kinetic conflict in the coming years, neighboring countries are bracing for impact. Japan and the Philippines would be on the front lines if a crisis were to erupt in the Taiwan Strait.
China Plays Up Image of Reliable Partner as Foreign Monarchs Visit "The visit gives China a chance not only to reaffirm its closeness with the (Thai) Kingdom, but also to signal its continued regional relevance at a time when U.S. influence is visibly receding. It comes just two weeks after Trump's brief stop at the ASEAN Summit, where his visit's only visible outcome was his role in overseeing the signing of the short-lived peace declaration between Thailand and Cambodia. By contrast, China announced the deepening of its free-trade agreement with ASEAN" - Juliette Loesch.
quoted by Liz Lee in Reuters
guest author for The Diplomat
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Related centers and programs
European Think-tank Network on China (ETNC)
The European Think-tank Network on China (ETNC) is a gathering of China experts from a selection of European research institutes. It is devoted to the policy-oriented study of Chinese foreign policy and relations between China and European countries as well as China and the EU. It facilitates regular exchanges among participating researchers with a view to deepening the understanding within the European policy and research community and the broader public of how Europe, as a complex set of actors, relates with China and how China’s development and evolving global role is likely to impact the future of Europe. The network’s discussions and analyses take a decidedly ‘bottom-up’ approach, accounting for the various aspects of bilateral relations between European countries and China, and the points of convergence and divergence among EU member states in order to examine EU-China relations in a realistic and comprehensive way. The views presented in ETNC reports are the sole responsibility of the signed authors and do not in any way represent the views of all members of the ETNC, its participating institutions, nor the institutions with which the authors are affiliated.
Center for Asian Studies
Asia is a nerve center for multiple global economic, political and security challenges. The Center for Asian Studies provides documented expertise and a platform for discussion on Asian issues to accompany decision makers and explain and contextualize developments in the region for the sake of a larger public dialogue.
The Center's research is organized along two major axes: relations between Asia's major powers and the rest of the world; and internal economic and social dynamics of Asian countries. The Center's research focuses primarily on China, Japan, India, Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific, but also covers Southeast Asia, the Korean peninsula and the Pacific Islands.
The Centre for Asian Studies maintains close institutional links with counterpart research institutes in Europe and Asia, and its researchers regularly carry out fieldwork in the region.
The Center organizes closed-door roundtables, expert-level seminars and a number of public events, including an Annual Conference, that welcome experts from Asia, Europe and the United States. The work of Center’s researchers, as well as that of their partners, is regularly published in the Center’s electronic journal Asie.Visions.