Coastal nations around the world are turning to marine protected areas in an attempt to safeguard their oceans, promote biodiversity and increase sustainability. In addition to aiding conservation efforts, these ‘blue parks’ can reach across international boundaries to help prevent conflict and promote cooperation.

The US is far behind other countries like China when it comes to the race for critical minerals lying beneath international waters. By joining the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, Washington can shape the rules for seabed mineral exploration.

The US can strengthen national security and increase economic output by onshoring processing and refining of valuable minerals on the sea floor. It should not rely on China for its supply of rare minerals for both sensitive military hardware and technologies for a sustainable future.

The deep chasm in US-China relations is playing out in the halls of the US Congress, where bipartisan efforts across a range of committees are targeting China. A recent tabletop war game exercise on Taiwan shows the optics on US-China relations look bad as global challenges continue to mount.

Marine protected areas offer a potential solution to many of the threats facing the region’s oceans, including illegal fishing and habitat destruction. They are also a non-threatening way for countries that have competing claims in the South China Sea to come together and work for mutual benefit.

Asean and Vietnam in particular are in position to bolster an effective maritime approach to regional integration to better protect the marine environment. China’s maritime actions undermine the freedoms set out in UNCLOS, making it essential for Asean to convince the US to ratify the agreement.

Geopolitical tensions are reshaping Asia’s security architecture, and Japan is angling for a greater role. But first, it must settle its domestic issues, from resistance to militarisation, to the Unification Church political crisis and structural economic challenges.

Digital trade is the top selling point of the framework, which the US is set to discuss at the Asean special summit this week. But first, both sides have to tackle a big sticking point: intellectual property protection.

Science-based voices are vital to help protect the region’s ocean as land reclamation, industrial run-off and overfishing risk irreversible damage. Science diplomacy can establish a starting point for regional cooperation to deal with environmental and geopolitical problems.

While the West has reason to feel the end of the pandemic is near, things look bleaker for other parts of the planet. If viable alternatives to Western vaccines emerge, rich countries could find China has usurped the mantle of vaccine leadership.

Reports of sexual violence against women in detention in Myanmar draw attention to a broader pattern which Asian governments have not addressed apolitically. For instance, South Korea’s dogmatism in fighting for reparations for the ‘comfort women’ is at odds with its failure to acknowledge a dark chapter in Vietnam war history.

The devastation wrought by island building in the waters, mainly by China, has wide impact on an already fragile ecosystem. Cooperation on scientific research and environmental management must be encouraged to limit the damage, and as a way to build trust.