NBR Reports

NBR Reports are occasional papers on special topics conducted by the world’s leading experts in Asian affairs.

Latest NBR Report

Dynamics of Assertiveness in the South China Sea: China, the Philippines, and Vietnam, 1970–2015

Dynamics of Assertiveness in the South China Sea: China, the Philippines, and Vietnam, 1970–2015

(May 2022)

This report from the Maritime Awareness Project (MAP) draws on qualitative and quantitative data to identify historical trends of assertive behavior between China, the Philippines, and Vietnam and assess the implications for the disputes in the South China Sea. The report is accompanied by the Maritime Assertiveness Visualization Dashboard—an interactive online tool illustrating key findings.
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Past NBR Reports

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(In)Roads and Outposts: Critical Infrastructure in China’s Africa Strategy
May 2022
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China’s Digital Ambitions: A Global Strategy to Supplant the Liberal Order
March 2022
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Meeting China’s Military Challenge: Collective Responses of U.S. Allies and Partners
January 2022
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Guardians of Intellectual Property in the 21st Century: The Global Supply Chain Industry
December 2021
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India's Energy Future: Designing and Implementing a Sustainable Power Mix
December 2021
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Taiwan’s Response to Disinformation: A Model for Coordination to Counter a Complicated Threat
September 2021
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Investments in Energy Transition
July 2021
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A New Great Game? Situating Africa in China’s Strategic Thinking
June 2021
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Murky Waters in the East China Sea:
Chinese Gray-Zone Operations and U.S.-Japan Alliance Cooperation
May 2021
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Powering Southeast Asia
December 2020
Exploring India's Strategic Futures
Exploring India's Strategic Futures
September 2020
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An Emerging China-Centric Order: China's Vision for a New World Order in Practice
March 2020
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A New U.S. Strategy for the Indo-Pacific
June 2020
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Chinese Perspectives on International Relations in the Xi Jinping Era
June 2020
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Networked Benefits: Realizing the Potential of 5G in South Korea
May 2020
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China's Vision for a New World Order
January 2020
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Partial Disengagement: A New U.S. Strategy for Economic Competition with China
November 2019
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Revolutionizing LNG and Natural Gas in the Indo-Pacific
October 2019
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Securing the Belt and Road Initiative: China's Evolving Military Engagement Along the Silk Roads
September 2019
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Sino-Russian Relations: Perspectives from Russia, China, and Japan
May 2019
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The China-Russia Entente and the Korean Peninsula
March 2019
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Taiwan’s Potential Role in the Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy
March 2019
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Answering China's Economic Challenge
February 2019
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Charting a Path for a Stronger U.S.-Japan Economic Partnership
February 2019
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The Emerging Russia-Asia Energy Nexus
December 2018
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China-Russia Relations: Strategic Implications and U.S. Policy Options
September 2018
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Tenets of a Regional Defense Strategy
August 2018
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Innovation Policy and the Implications for Healthcare and the Life Sciences
March 2018
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The Case for U.S.-ROK-Japan Trilateralism
February 2018
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Reconstructing Taiwan's Military Strategy
February 2018
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Asia's Energy Security and China's Belt and Road Initiative
November 2017
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North Korea and Asia's Evolving Nuclear Landscape
August 2017
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Russia-China Relations: Assessing Common Ground and Strategic Fault Lines
July 2017
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The Future of the U.S.-ROK Alliance: Change and Continuity in North Korea Policy
April 2017
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Japan and the Sino-Russian Entente
April 2017
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Asia's Energy Security amid Global Market Change
December 2016
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Pakistan's Strategic Culture
December 2016
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Taiwan: Asia's Orphan?
December 2016
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Australia's Strategic Culture and Asia's Changing Regional Order
December 2016
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U.S.-ROK-Japan Trilateralism
July 2016
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Approaching Critical Mass
May 2016
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U.S.-China Relations in Strategic Domains
April 2016
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The Rise of Chinese Innovation in the Life Sciences
April 2016
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Mapping Pakistan's Internal Dynamics
February 2016
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Taiwan's Strong but Stifled Foundations of National Power
January 2016
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Indonesia: A Regional Energy Leader in Transition
December 2015
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Strategic Assistance and the U.S.-Japan Alliance
June 2015
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U.S., Japanese, and Asian Energy Security in a New Energy Era
April 2015
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Global Perspectives on the Continuing Evolution of India's IP Policy
March 2015
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U.S.-New Zealand Ties Returning to Normal
December 2014
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Rival Regionalisms and Regional Order
December 2014
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China's Energy Crossroads
November 2014
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Adapting to a New Energy Era
September 2014
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Myanmar's Growing Regional Role
March 2014
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Asia's Uncertain LNG Future
November 2013
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Beijing and the Chinese Diaspora in Southeast Asia
June 2013
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China's Soft Power in East Asia
January 2013
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Oil and Gas for Asia
September 2012
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Reinvigorating the U.S.-Thailand Alliance
June 2012
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India's Security Challenges at Home and Abroad
May 2012
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Health Security Challenges in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh
February 2012
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Maritime Energy Resources in Asia: Legal Regimes and Cooperation
February 2012
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Nontraditional Security Challenges in Nepal
January 2012
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Maritime Energy Resources in Asia: Energy and Geopolitics
December 2011
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Nontraditional Security Challenges in India
November 2011
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The United States-Thailand Alliance
December 2011
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Nontraditional Security Threats in Pakistan
November 2011
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Asia's Rising Energy and Resource Nationalism
September 2011
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Overcoming Barriers to Maritime Cooperation in East and Southeast Asia
July 2011
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China's IP Transition
July 2011
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Ecological and Nontraditional Security Challenges in South Asia
June 2011
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Foreign Military Activities in Asian EEZS
May 2011
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Toward a New Chinese Order in Asia
March 2011
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Politics, Public Opinion, and the U.S.-Indonesian Comprehensive Partnership
December 2010
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Maritime Security in Southeast Asia
November 2010
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The Intersection of Demand, Energy Markets, and Supply Routes
September 2010
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Muslim Grassroots Leaders and Popular Preachers in South Asia
February 2010
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Counterterrorism Cooperation in South Asia
January 2010
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Drug Trafficking and Security in Afghanistan and Pakistan
December 2009
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Development and Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan and Pakistan
May 2011
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Secure Land Rights as a Foundation for Broad-Based Rural Development in China
November 2009
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Managing Unmet Expectations in the U.S.-Japan Alliance
November 2009
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Assessing the Trilateral Strategic Dialogue
December 2008
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Standards, Stakeholders, and Innovation: China's Evolving Role in the Global Knowledge Economy
September 2008
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The Rise of Asia's National Oil Companies
December 2007
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North Korea and Iran: Nuclear Futures and Regional Responses
June 2007
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Russia and the WTO: A Progress Report
March 2007
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Quantifying Innovative Strength through Improved Service Sector Metrics
February 2007
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Technology, Institutions, and Politics in the Development of China's National Standards Strategy
June 2006
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HIV/AIDS in the Muslim World
June 2005
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Asia's Rightful Place in the American Trade Agenda
March 2005
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China's Post-WTO Technology Policy
May 2004
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China and WTO Compliance: Postal and Express Delivery Services
June 2004
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Japan, the United States, and East Asia: Emerging Regional Challenges
March 2004
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The Strategic Importance of U.S.-South Korean Economic Relations
October 2003
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China's WTO Accession
November 2002
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Survey of U.S.-Japan Security Studies and International Economics
November 2001