The Asia-Pacific Regional Security Assessment 2019 is the sixth IISS Strategic Dossier to be published in association with the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue. It investigates a wide range of important regional security themes relevant to the policy-focused discussions that can be expected at the Dialogue in 2019 and beyond, including:
- the significance of the United States 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific' strategy;
- the challenges posed by North Korea's nuclear-weapon and long-range missile programmes;
- the implications of China's influence operations, its aspirations to become a 'cyber superpower', its Belt and Road Initiative and its activities in the South China Sea;
- strategic competition in the Indian Ocean;
- the growing importance of military exercises and the impact of expanding power-projection capabilities in the region.