Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative

AMTI aims to promote transparency in the Indo-Pacific to dissuade assertive behavior and conflict and generate opportunities for cooperation and confidence building

Visit amti.csis.org

The maritime environment in East Asia contains both promise and peril. The Indo-Pacific region is host to some of the world’s most important shipping lanes, facilitates huge volumes of regional trade, and boasts abundant natural resources. Competing territorial claims, incidents between neighboring countries, and increasing militarization, however, raise the possibility that an isolated event at sea could become a geopolitical catastrophe. This is all occurring against a backdrop of relative opaqueness. Geography makes it difficult to monitor events as they occur, and there is no public, reliable authority for information on maritime developments.

The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative seeks to change this. AMTI was conceived of and designed by CSIS. It is an interactive, regularly-updated source for information, analysis, and policy exchange on maritime security issues in Asia. AMTI aims to promote transparency in the Indo-Pacific to dissuade assertive behavior and conflict and generate opportunities for cooperation and confidence building. Because AMTI aims to provide an objective platform for exchange, AMTI and CSIS take no position on territorial or maritime claims.

AMTI Leadership

Gregory B. Poling

Gregory B. Poling

Senior Fellow and Director, Southeast Asia Program and Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative
Harrison Prétat

Harrison Prétat

Associate Director and Associate Fellow, Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative

All content by Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative

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The Evolving Nature of Southeast Asia’s Maritime Security Threats

This article is part of Evolving Threats to Southeast Asia’s Maritime Security, a series of analyses produced by experts convened by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. Southeast Asia’s maritime security landscape is steadily evolving. Earlier in 2022, an RSIS study showed that the region’s maritime stakeholders are increasingly aware of their interconnectivity and […]

Commentary — November 16, 2022

Marcos Jr. and ASEAN: Minilateralism in the South China Sea

Shortly after Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assumed the reins of power in the Philippines, an observer forecasted a major foreign policy reboot, which would defy both his populist and liberal predecessors. The working consensus at the time, however, was that the new Filipino president would largely continue former President Rodrigo Duterte’s Beijing-friendly foreign policy. After all, […]

Commentary — October 18, 2022

ASEAN, China, and the COC negotiation: How relevant is UNCLOS?

The negotiation for the adoption of a Code of Conduct (COC) for the South China Sea between ASEAN countries and China usually sparks controversies. The necessity of a COC regulating maritime activities in the region was first mentioned in an ASEAN document in 1992 and appeared in a joint declaration of ASEAN and China in […]

Commentary — September 30, 2022

The East China Sea: Ten Years After the Senkaku Nationalization Crisis

This month marks the tenth anniversary of Japan’s nationalization of the Senkaku Islands, when the Japanese government purchased them from a private landowner in an effort to reinforce administrative control and to prevent private groups from visiting. The Chinese response to Japan’s action—which was controversial at the time—sparked a crisis in bilateral relations; although there […]

Commentary — September 29, 2022

Hopes and fears as China deep dives into the Pacific

China’s proposal for a Common Development Vision with Pacific island countries (PICs) is by far its boldest pitch in the vast Blue Continent. The breadth of cooperation areas outlined ranged from education, people-to-people ties, and health to climate change, economics, and security. The move elevated the importance of PICs as a collective, which the region […]

Commentary — June 23, 2022

Brahmos in the Philippines and Quad Potential

In December 2021, Secretary of Defense Lorenzana announced that the Philippines would purchase $374 million in Brahmos anti-ship missiles from India. The missile has a range of 156 nautical miles, allowing it to range the Bashi Strait if deployed in northern Luzon and part of the Spratly Islands if deployed on Palawan. This may be […]

Commentary — June 21, 2022