Addressing hybrid threats in the Indo-Pacific

How authoritarian propaganda presents Indonesian protests as foreign-instigated

Russia and China often work from the same playbook. This is clear in their reactions to domestic protests in places of interest, including Indonesia.

Since late August, Indonesians have been protesting against police violence and politicians’ perks. Moscow and Beijing have taken advantage of this chaos, claiming it is a direct result of the United States meddling in the domestic affairs of an Asian nation. The Indonesian government and its diplomatic partners, as well as the public, should be aware of these operations. Moreover, governments and intelligence experts should forecast the next steps Russia-China collaboration to enable preventative measures.

It is not new for Russia and China to frame demonstrations as Western-engineered: they have done so in response to domestic protests in Moscow and Hong Kong. The two countries have also discredited democracy protests elsewhere—including in Ukraine, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Serbia and Thailand—using claims of covert US interference in domestic politics.

Authors:

Fitriani is a senior analyst with ASPI. Radityo Dharmaputra is a lecturer in Russia-Eurasian studies with the Department of International Relations at Universitas Airlangga, Indonesia.

Defending against State-Sponsored Economic Cyber-Espionage for Commercial Purposes

The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) has launched the world’s first capacity-building initiative dedicated to raising awareness about the threat of economic cyber-espionage in key emerging economies across the Indo-Pacific and Latin America.

Through a series of research reports, case studies, and learning materials, this initiative highlights how economic cyber-espionage is not just a concern for advanced economies—it is a growing risk for emerging economies like India, Brazil, and Indonesia, which are rapidly digitising their industries.

For this project, ASPI also published three reports:

1. State-sponsored economic cyber-espionage for commercial purposes: Tackling an invisible but persistent risk to prosperity (2022): Highlights how state-sponsored cyber-espionage has intensified, with more targeted industries and universities now based in emerging economies

2. State-sponsored economic cyber-espionage for commercial purposes: Assessing the preparedness of emerging economies to respond to cyber-enabled IP theft: Evaluates the readiness of 11 emerging economies—including Argentina, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam—to counteract cyber-enabled IP theft.

3. State-sponsored economic cyber-espionage for commercial purposes: Governmental practices in protecting IP-Intensive industries: Reviews how governments around the world are responding to the threat of economic cyber-espionage and considers how states are employing, among others, legislative, defensive, and reactive measures.

Authors:
Gatra Priyandita is a senior analyst with ASPI’s Cyber, Technology and Security program and Bart Hogeveen is a senior fellow and director Europe for ASPI. 

Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific united in response to hybrid threats

The European Union’s high representative for foreign affairs and security, Kaja Kallas, and Singapore’s coordinating minister for national security, K Shanmugam, on Friday called out Russian and Chinese hybrid warfare, respectively. Their complementary statements highlight the importance of coordinated action between the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific.

Kallas’s warning extends beyond Europe’s security crisis to the Indo-Pacific, where Moscow and Beijing’s hybrid playbook offers a warning and the coordinated global response offers a model.

Authors:

James Corera is director of ASPI’s Cyber, Technology & Security program. Bart Hogeveen is a senior fellow and director Europe for ASPI.

Mapping a decade’s worth of hybrid threats targeting South Korea

While Australia is coming to terms with the realities of hybrid threats, South Korea has long been on the front line. Reflecting its formal state of war with North Korea, South Korea has endured decades of grey-zone provocations, including infiltration attempts, cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns. 

However, the hybrid threat landscape confronting South Korea is evolving in both intensity and complexity—just as it is for the broader Indo-Pacific. For South Korea, it now extends beyond North Korea’s traditional campaigns to encompass state actors such as China, emerging technologies such as AI, and threats including intellectual property theft. 

Mapping a decade’s worth of hybrid threats targeting Australia

Hybrid threats, enabled by digital technologies and fuelled by geostrategic competition, are reshaping international security and global norms. Most often, states (commonly working through non-state proxies) are exploiting cybersecurity vulnerabilities and engaging in economic coercion, information warfare and even physical sabotage. They do so in order to advance their strategic ambitions and undermine the interests of others, while avoiding the threshold for conflict.

ASPI has been collecting open-source data to examine the nature and frequency of hybrid threats targeting Australia. We’ve built a database that spans nine years, from March 2016 to February 2025, and in that time we have tracked 74 activities. Understanding the scale that confronts us is the first step to strengthening public awareness and building an effective national response.

From Ouagadougou to Oceania: Burkina Faso leader a Pacific resistance symbol

In a world increasingly shaped by digital influence and disillusionment with the Western-led global order, Captain Ibrahim Traore has emerged as an icon of anti-colonial resistance. He seized power in Burkina Faso through a military coup in 2022, and his image is now gaining surprising traction in the Pacific islands.

This development reveals deeper vulnerabilities and aspirations in the Global South, especially in regions such as the Pacific where strategic anxieties, post-colonial identities and distrust in Western institutions collide. While neither his ideology nor governance model is being adopted wholesale, it is essential to understand Traore’s growing appeal as his curated image is being embraced in digital spaces hungry for alternative leadership models.