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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Four Steps to Advance the South China Sea Arbitral Award

Five years after a landmark arbitration ruling, Manila’s actions in the South China Sea leave much to be desired. Clamor to do more has built up ahead of President Rodrigo Duterte’s sixth and last State of the Nation Address on July 26. This said, despite some unhelpful off-the-cuff remarks, the arbitral award is being officially […]

Commentary — July 26, 2021

Contest at Kasawari: Another Malaysian Gas Project Faces Pressure

China Coast Guard vessels have been contesting new Malaysian oil and gas development off the coast of Sarawak since early June, just after 16 Chinese military planes patrolled near Malaysia. Remote sensing data reveals an ongoing pressure campaign at sea.

Commentary — July 7, 2021

China’s Plan for the South China Sea: A Mixture of Pressure and Legal Approaches

Five years after an international arbitration court in the Hague ruled that the majority of China’s maritime claims in the South China Sea had no legal basis or validity, much has changed in the regional environment—but not in a positive way. The tribunal award had been expected to exert global diplomatic pressure on China to […]

Commentary — July 7, 2021

The Visiting Forces Agreement and the Future of U.S.-Philippine Relations

President Joseph Biden’s victory in last year’s elections was warmly welcomed across Southeast Asia, a vital region at the heart of a brewing new Cold War. Earlier this year, the annual ISEAS Yusof-Ishak Institute survey showed that almost two-thirds of Southeast Asian respondents expressed their preference for the United States over China, a jump in […]

Commentary — June 22, 2021

Oceans of Opportunity: Southeast Asia’s Shared Maritime Challenges, Session Three

CSIS presents “Oceans of Opportunity: Southeast Asia’s Shared Maritime Challenges.” This final session will feature remarks from John Edgar (Environment Office Chief, USAID Philippines) and expert panel discussions on adapting to climate change and avenues for regional cooperation.

Event by Gregory B. Poling , Whitley Saumweber , John Edgar , Laura David , Jurgenne Primavera , John McManus , Amanda Hsiao , and Jay Batongbacal — June 21, 2021

Oceans of Opportunity: Southeast Asia’s Shared Maritime Challenges, Session Two

​CSIS presents “Oceans of Opportunity: Southeast Asia’s Shared Maritime Challenges.” This session will feature expert panel discussions on combatting plastic pollution and preserving the law of the sea.

Event by Gregory B. Poling , Whitley Saumweber , Secretary Roy Cimatu , Deo Onda , Sandra Whitehouse , Dini Trisyanti , Antonio Carpio , Tara Davenport , Xiao Recio-Blanco , and Jay Batongbacal — June 14, 2021

Why Must the Littoral Combat Ship Project in Malaysia Continue?

Over the last two decades, Malaysia has made concerted efforts toward modernizing its navy. The 15 to 5 Transformation Programme has been the basis of the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN)’s recent restructuring agenda. This program focuses on acquiring new ships to replace aging ones, reducing cost and logistics problems, and building an efficient fleet, in […]

Commentary — June 8, 2021

Oceans of Opportunity: Southeast Asia’s Shared Maritime Challenges, Session One

​CSIS presents “Oceans of Opportunity: Southeast Asia’s Shared Maritime Challenges.” This session will feature expert panel discussions on protecting threatened fisheries and bolstering maritime domain awareness.

Event by Gregory B. Poling , John Law , Gloria Ramos , Kent Carpenter , Mudjekeewis Santos , Laura David , Christopher Merritt , Xylee Paculba , and Nick Lambert — June 7, 2021

North Korea still obtaining new oil tankers, despite sanctions

UN resolutions and a global pandemic were not sufficient to halt North Korea’s acquisition of new oil tankers last year, with Pyongyang adding two new members to its oil smuggling fleet. The new acquisitions follow on from another tanker transfer in 2019, demonstrating North Korea’s ability to draw upon several avenues to continue expanding its […]

Commentary — June 1, 2021

Update: Rapid Construction at Cambodia's Ream Points to China

Satellite imagery from May 21 reveals that two new buildings have been rapidly constructed at Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base, just north of the site of U.S.-funded facilities that were demolished by the Cambodian government last year.

Commentary — May 28, 2021