ERIC ANG
Eric Ang is a a research fellow with the Yokosuka Council on Asia Pacific Studies (YCAPS) and a PhD student from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS). His research interest focuses on maritime security in Southeast Asia, and includes preventing Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing and combating fisheries-related crimes, civil-military responses to Maritime Security challenges such as Theft Robbery And Piracy at Sea (TRAPS), maritime-terrorism, and protection of critical maritime infrastructure, as well as maritime information sharing and domain awareness. He spent the past decade as a maritime security practitioner with work that has included reviewing and developing maritime security doctrines, guides, and procedures at the operational level, as well as the organisation and running of various seminars, and information-sharing exercises. Eric is also a Chartered Marine Technologist and member of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (CMarTech, MIMarEST) since 2014, and completed his MSc (International Relations) at RSIS in 2023.
Created by: Quan Tran
DR. RAHMAN YAACOB
Dr Abdul Rahman Yaacob is a Research Fellow in the Southeast Asia Program at the Lowy Institute. His research interests include Southeast Asia’s defence and security issues and the region’s relations with major powers.
Before joining the Lowy Institute, Dr Rahman completed his PhD at the National Security College, Australian National University. His dissertation examined Singapore’s defence policy and analysed the broader strategic and security issues relating to ASEAN during the Cold War.
His latest publication explores the strategic implications of the Cambodian Ream Naval Base, following his in-depth fieldwork to the kingdom. Dr Rahman examines how the base reflects growing Chinese influence and its impact on regional security dynamics.
During his PhD program, Dr Rahman was a lead investigator on a project funded by a grant from the Australian Army Research Centre. The project focused on understanding Southeast Asian security concerns and explored the potential areas for closer defence cooperation between Australia and its northern neighbours.
He is also an Academic Staff member and lectured in the ASEAN-Australia Defence Postgraduate Scholarship Program at the Strategic & Defence Studies Centre, ANU. From 2020 to 2023, he was a Teaching Fellow at the Australian Command and Staff Course, Australian War College.
Before commencing his PhD program, Rahman served nearly 18 years with the Government of Singapore. He held various command and staff postings in security-related areas and received several awards, including Ministerial Awards for Operational Excellence and a Commendation for the Rejection of Bribe.
Created by: Quan Tran
DR. COLLIN KOH
Collin Koh is senior fellow at the Institute of Defence & Strategic Studies, a constituent unit of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, based at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He primarily researches on maritime security and naval affairs in the Indo-Pacific region, focusing especially on Southeast Asia.
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