As artificial intelligence (AI) has become a new core trajectory of great power rivalry, the Indo-Pacific emerges as a primary arena for an intensifying technological scramble. While traditional international relations (IR) analyses focus mainly on the military advancement of superpower armed forces, a prominent research gap remains in understanding how this new type of competition reshapes regional security architectures and middle-power agency within the broader AI nexus.
Interestingly, middle powers in this region react differently when it comes to prudently choosing their strategic paths. On the one hand, Australia adopts a highly structured, securitised approach aligned with Western frameworks like AUKUS and the Quad, treating AI governance as a vital element of its national security, defence and democratic necessity. On the other hand, ASEAN countries, like Singapore and Malaysia, refuse to participate in this binary zero-sum game. They advocate a 'Third Way' that is non-aligned, focusing on sovereign cloud strategies and localised data-sovereignty laws to maintain their strategic autonomy and protect their national interests from superpower pressure.
The aim of this research is to provide a comparative analysis of these divergent frameworks up to date by demonstrating that navigating the AI nexus is not merely a hard-power arms race. Instead, it presents a complex structural struggle over international norms, data sovereignty, and technological utilisation. Ultimately, this study offers a fresh framework for evaluating how middle powers actively exercise strategic agency rather than being passive observers of these groundbreaking technological shifts in the region and the world.
