INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CHINA STUDIES

Australia in the Region: Dialogue, Transparency and Trust

2025-06-04T15:36:02+08:00

A decade or two ago, readers may have wondered why the Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia would write an introduction to an edition of the International Journal of China Studies. But our region has changed rapidly since then and Australia’s place in and vision for the region has changed along with it.
Today, Australia recognises that having a deep understanding of our region matters. And more than ever, it matters how we work with regional partners, including China, to shape a peaceful, prosperous and secure region.

Exporting Autocracy via BRI? Experiences from Southeast Asia

2025-06-04T15:50:25+08:00

While most agree that China’s Belt and Road Initiative is an ambitious strategy to maximise its geopolitical position worldwide, policymakers and scholars have questioned whether the BRI implies an attempt to promote Beijing’s governance model. This article takes a political economy approach to analyse the domestic political dynamics of the recipient countries. Political elites tend to employ available incentives to consolidate their winning coalitions if their political survival is threatened. A regime under transition is vulnerable to external influence during political competition, and the “convenient” money from Beijing becomes an offer that the ruling elites of recipient states cannot decline. Consequently, such external influence indirectly undermines the regime dynamics of recipient states. The case studies of four Southeast Asian states — Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand — offer supportive evidence for this explanation.

Taiwan’s Image in Thai Civil Services: Impact of 2022 New Southbound Policy

2025-06-04T15:53:56+08:00

The New Southbound Policy (NSP) was the Taiwan’s government policy under the President Tsai Ing-wen administration. The policy aimed to closely engage Taiwan with 18 countries in ASEAN, South Asia, and Oceania. Thailand was one of the countries. This study surveyed the Thai civil services’ attitude of the nine related agencies toward Taiwan after the implementation of the policy in 2022. The sampling of the research was 120 Thai civil services of Knowledge Worker Position category (K category) of the nine related agencies to the NSP. The image of Taiwan was evaluated by 20 questions of seven indices which were visibility about Taiwan, description about Taiwan, preference for Taiwan, foreign relations with Thailand, policy evaluation on the New Southbound Policy, and policy recommendation. The questionnaire distribution and the survey operation followed the Thai government’s One-China Policy. The participant answers were personal opinions. The values of Taiwan perceived in Thailand from the reflection of the perception of the Thai civil service sample was in a positive way. Technological advancement was the most admired image of Taiwan. Travel and tourism aspect was the most successful aspect of the NSP implementation in Thailand. Tourism was emphasized as recommendations to help tighten relations between Thailand and Taiwan.