Ms Sarah Teo

Sarah Teo is Associate Research Fellow with the Regional Security Architecture Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. Her research interests include multilateral security and defence cooperation in ASEAN and the Asia Pacific, middle powers in the Asia Pacific, the foreign policies of Australia and South Korea, as well as IR theory. She is the co-author, with Ralf Emmers, of Security Strategies of Middle Powers in the Asia Pacific (Melbourne University Publishing, 2018); and has also published in peer-reviewed journals including The Pacific Review, International Relations of the Asia-Pacific, Australian Journal of International Affairs, and Asian Survey. From 2012 to 2015, she was a delegate to the Track II Network of ASEAN Defence and Security Institutions (NADI). She received her Master of Science (International Relations) from RSIS in 2012 and her Bachelor of Communication Studies from Nanyang Technological University in 2009. She is currently pursuing a PhD at the Department of Government and International Relations, University of Sydney.

• Multilateral security and defence cooperation in ASEAN and the Asia Pacific
• Middle powers in the Asia Pacific
• Foreign policies of Australia and South Korea
• International Relations theory

• Participant, Track II Network of ASEAN Defence and Security Institutions (NADI), since 2012

Working Papers

• WP265 | South Korea’s Middle-Power Engagement Initiatives: Perspectives from Southeast Asia

  28 July, 2013

• WP245 | Dividing the Korean Peninsula: The Rhetoric of the George W. Bush Administration

  14 August, 2012

Policy Reports

• The Future of the ADMM/ADMM-Plus and Defence Diplomacy in the Asia Pacific

  23 February, 2016

• Impact of the Sino-Japanese Competitive Relationship on ASEAN as a Region and Institution

  24 December, 2014

• South Korea's Defence Diplomacy in East Asia

  01 December, 2013

• Strategic Engagement in the Asia Pacific: The Future of the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus)

  21 August, 2013

Commentaries

• Reimagining DPRK Summit Diplomacy: Can ASEAN Play a Bigger Role?

  25 March, 2019

• CO17083 | Strengthening ASEAN-US Relations: Korean Peninsula as Conduit?

  02 May, 2017

• CO15234 | China-Japan-Korea Trilateral Summit: What does it mean for East Asia?

  04 November, 2015

• CO14079 | US Presence in Asia Pacific: Messages from Obama’s East Asia Tour

  30 April, 2014

• CO13078 | ASEAN Unity: From Word to Deed

  26 April, 2013

• CO13051 | Tensions on the Korean Peninsula: Will Park's Trustpolitik Work?

  02 April, 2013

• CO12226 | North Korea's Rocket Launch: Opportunity for Regional Cooperation?

  13 December, 2012

• CO12169 | ASEAN Centrality: Why it is Important for US and China

  11 September, 2012

• CO12135 | North Korea: Regime Reform or Cosmetic Change?

  26 July, 2012

• CO12115 | Japan-South Korea Military Cooperation: Implications for Northeast Asia

  04 July, 2012

Event Reports

• Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs - RSIS Asian Security Conference 2014

  13 March, 2014

Authored Books

• Emmers, Ralf, and Sarah Teo. Security Strategies of Middle Powers in the Asia Pacific. Carlton, VIC: Melbourne University Publishing, 2018.

Journal Articles

• "Contending visions of East Asian regional order: insights from the United States, China, Japan, and Indonesia" (with Bhubhindar Singh, Shawn Ho, and Tsjeng Zhizhao Henrick) in Asian Affairs: An American Review, Vol. 46, No. 1, 2019. pp. 19-41
• "Can Australia be one of us? The view from Asia" in Australian Foreign Affairs, Vol. 5, No., 2019, pp. 77-93
• Teo, Sarah. “Middle power identities of Australia and South Korea: comparing the Kevin Rudd/Julia Gillard and Lee Myung-bak administrations.” The Pacific Review 31, no. 2 (2018): 221-239.
• Bhubhindar Singh, Sarah Teo & Benjamin Ho, "Rising Sino-Japanese competition: perspectives from South-East Asian elites", Australian Journal of International Affairs, Volume 71, Issue 1, February 2017, Pages 105-120, DOI: 10.1080/10357718.2016.1157849
  
• Teo, Sarah, Bhubhindar Singh and See Seng Tan. "Southeast Asian Perspectives on South Korea’s Middle Power Engagement Initiatives." Asian Survey 56, no. 3 (2016): 555-580.
• Sarah Teo and Henrick Z Tsjeng, "A Diplomatic Decade: The ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting", Global Asia 11, No. 1 (Spring 2016): pp. 84-89.
• Teo, Sarah. "Dividing the Korean Peninsula: The Rhetoric of the George W. Bush Administration." The Journal of Defence and Security 6, no. 2 (2015): 1-17. 
• Desker, Barry, Sarah Teo and Dylan Loh. "The ASEAN Regional Forum and its continued relevance." New Zealand International Review 40, no. 4 (2015): 17-20.
• Emmers, Ralf, and Sarah Teo. "Regional security strategies of middle powers in the Asia-Pacific." International Relations of the Asia-Pacific 15, no. 2 (2015): 185-216. doi:10.1093/irap/lcu020.

Chapters in Edited Books

• Caballero-Anthony, Mely, Ralf Emmers, Theresa Robles, and Sarah Teo. “The Role of Think Tanks in Shaping Policy Debates in Asia: S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.” In Think Tanks, Foreign Policy and the Emerging Powers, edited by James G. McGann, pp. 225-237. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2019.
• Cocq, Céline, and Sarah Teo. “Countering Terrorism: Challenges and Opportunities in ASEAN-EU Cooperation.” In Interregionalism and the European Union: A Post-Revisionist Approach to Europe's Place in a Changing World, edited by Mario Teló, Louise Fawcett and Frederik Ponjaert, pp. 175-191. Farnham: Ashgate, 2015.
  
  
• Henrick Z. Tsjeng, Sarah Teo and Christabelle He, with Tan Seng Chye (ed). "Singapore's experience in response to disasters at national and regional levels". In NADI Joint Working Paper: Sharing Experiences in ASEAN HADR Management, pp.64-88; recommendations pp. 111-112. Bangkok: Strategic Studies Center, National Defence Studies Institute, 2015.

Op-Eds

• Moving ASEAN Toward Sustainable Defense Cooperation, The Diplomat, 17 July 2019
• South Korea steps up on the Korean Peninsula, East Asia Forum, 12 January 2019
• Could Minilateralism Be Multilateralism’s Best Hope in the Asia Pacific?, The Diplomat, 15 December 2018
• Huan, Amanda, and Sarah Teo. "ASEAN 2018: Towards Resilience and Innovation in Uncertain Times." Thinking ASEAN, issue 32, February 2018. Jakarta: The Habibie Center.
• Teo, Sarah. "Debating ‘rules’, ‘order’ and ‘peace’ in the Asia-Pacific." Defense Advisers, 30 June 2017. https://www.defenseadvisers.com/general/debating-rules-order-peace-asia-pacific.
• Teo, Sarah. "Debating ‘rules’, ‘order’ and ‘peace’ in the Asia–Pacific." The Strategist, 28 June 2017. www.aspistrategist.org.au/debating-rules-order-peace-asia-pacific.
• Singh, Bhubhindar, and Sarah Teo. “ASEAN has an instrumental role in US-China power play." Channel NewsAsia, 8 May 2017. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/commentary-asean-has-an-instrumental-role-in-us-china-power-play-8826380.
• Ho, Shawn, and Sarah Teo. “After the ASEAN Summit, ASEAN should pay more attention to the North Korea threat.” Channel NewsAsia, 1 May 2017. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/commentary-after-the-asean-summit-asean-should-pay-more-8808228.
• Teo, Sarah. “The Strengths and Weaknesses of Asia’s 2 Major Defense Meetings.” The Diplomat, 21 March 2017. http://thediplomat.com/2017/03/the-strengths-and-weaknesses-of-asias-2-major-defense-meetings.
• Singh, Bhubhindar, Sarah Teo, and Benjamin Ho. "Sino-Japanese Competition and ASEAN." Australian Outlook, 9 January 2017. http://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/australian_outlook/sino-japanese-competition-and-asean.
• Teo, Sarah. "S Korea stuck between global ambitions and regional realities." Today, 11 August 2016. http://www.todayonline.com/commentary/s-korea-stuck-between-global-ambitions-and-regional-realities.
• Teo, Sarah. "South Korea stuck between global ambitions and regional realities", East Asia Forum, 9 Aug 2016.
• Teo, Sarah. Book review of North Korea-US Relations under Kim Jong Il: The Quest for Normalization? By Ramon Pacheco Pardo (Abingdon and New York: Routledge, 2014). Pacific Affairs 89, no. 1 (2016): 191-193.
• Sarah Teo, "ADMM-dialogue partners informal meetings as a source of regional stability", PacNet # 82, Pacific Forum (CSIS), 25 February 2016.
• Sarah Teo, "What does the China–Japan–South Korea Trilateral Summit mean for East Asia?", East Asia Forum, 27 November 2015.
• Teo, Sarah. “Asian Powers Hold Renewed Talks: A New Start or Same Old?” The Diplomatist, April 2015. New Delhi: L.B. Associates (Pvt) Ltd.
• Ho, Benjamin, Bhubhindar Singh, and Sarah Teo. "ASEAN Chairmanship in 2015: Perspectives and Prospects", Asia Pacific Bulletin, No. 298, 13 January 2015, http://www.eastwestcenter.org/publications/malaysia%E2%80%99s-asean-chairmanship-in-2015-perspectives-and-prospects.
• Teo, Sarah. "Seoul searching for a China–Japan diplomatic balance." East Asia Forum, December 13, 2014. http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2014/12/13/seoul-searching-for-a-china-japan-diplomatic-balance/.
• Teo, Sarah. "South Korea’s Foreign Policy in 2013: Building Trust in East Asia." E-International Relations, February 6, 2014. Accessed May 25, 2014. http://www.e-ir.info/2014/02/06/south-koreas-foreign-policy-in-2013-building-trust-in-east-asia.
• Teo, Sarah. "Rocket launch offers an opportunity to cooperate." The Nation, December 19, 2012. Accessed May 25, 2014. http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/Rocket-launch-offers-an-opportunity-to-cooperate-30196361.html.
• Teo, Sarah. "N. Korean rocket launch could unite neighbours." The Straits Times, December 14, 2012.
• Teo, Sarah. "North Korea: Regime reform or just Cosmetic Change?" Lianhe Zaobao, August 2, 2012.
• Teo, Sarah. "North Korea: Regime reform or just Cosmetic Change?" The Nation, July 31, 2012. Accessed May 25, 2014. http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/North-Korea-Regime-reform-or-just-cosmetic-change-30187282.html.