This closer coordination comes as drug trafficking networks increasingly exploit regional transit routes and disparities in enforcement capacity, a problem the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) had already identified years before. 

According to the ASEAN Drug Monitoring Report 2022 , Brunei recorded 613 drug arrests that year, equivalent to about 0.14% of its population, with methamphetamine and cannabis remaining the most commonly seized drugs. 

Indonesia, by contrast, was grappling with large-scale and highly organised networks at the time. 

The ASEAN report shows Indonesian authorities dismantled 49 drug syndicates in 2022, including 23 international networks, and seized more than 8.5 tonnes of methamphetamine and over 123 tonnes of cannabis.

Officials from both sides said the cooperation aims to bridge this disparity by pairing Indonesia’s experience in dismantling large syndicates with Brunei’s border controls and early-intervention capabilities. 

The agreement also aligns with ASEAN’s broader push for coordinated responses, as regional assessments warn that traffickers rapidly adapt to enforcement pressure by shifting routes, substances and operating methods.

Both countries said the framework would allow faster intelligence exchange and more coordinated action, as no single jurisdiction can effectively counter transnational drug networks acting across ASEAN.

The Chinese authorities describe such patrols as environmental protection efforts in a newly designated marine reserve. But under international law, the shoal lies within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

The South China Sea has become the stage for one of the world’s most dangerous geopolitical games. Rival states - chiefly China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan - are scrambling to occupy reefs, rocks, and islands in a maritime version of Monopoly. Each new outpost, real or artificial, strengthens territorial claims to surrounding waters rich in fish, oil, and gas.

The Great Wall of Sand

Among the boldest tactics is China’s creation of man-made islands, a project so vast it’s been dubbed the Great Wall of Sand . Using dredging vessels like the enormous  Tian Kun Hao , known as the “Island Maker,” sand is sucked from the seabed and poured over reefs until they rise above the waves. Concrete walls are then added to prevent erosion.

The environmental toll is immense. Dredging destroys coral reefs and marine habitats, clouds the water with sediment that blocks sunlight, and alters ocean currents,  potentially influencing the paths of future storms and typhoons.

One striking example is Fiery Cross Reef, a remote speck in the sea roughly equidistant from Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Once a shallow reef, it is now home to a full-scale Chinese military base, complete with a long runway, hangars, housing blocks, and even sports facilities. From this isolated fortress, Beijing projects power across the region.

Other countries have also manned remote outposts to stake their own claims - the Philippines even grounded a World War II ship onto a reef more than two decades ago and has kept it manned with a permanent garrison since.

The motivation is clear. Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), coastal nations can claim an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) extending 200 nautical miles from their shores, granting rights to fish, oil, and minerals. But artificial islands do not qualify.

Lines on the map

In 2013, the Philippines turned to the United Nations to challenge China's sweeping claims off its shoreline. And won a comprehensive victory three years later. A UN tribunal ruled that the islands upon which Beijing based its claim were not naturally sufficient to sustain inhabitation and therefore not entitled to their own EEZ. China dismissed the verdict as “null and void.”

China continues to assert sovereignty over nearly 90% of the South China Sea, marked by its so-called Nine-Dash Line , a sweeping loop that intrudes into the EEZs of several neighbouring states. Taiwan , formally the Republic of China, maintains a similar claim with eleven dashes based on historical maps and trading routes.

The global stakes

The South China Sea isn’t just a regional flashpoint. It’s one of the busiest maritime corridors on Earth, carrying up to a third of global shipping. And conflicts are frequent, if mainly low-level.

The US is taking a close interest and NATO has also looked at its own role in the region. There's no sign of a resolution and plenty of reason to predict further tensions.

[Editor's note: The most common English names of locations have been used in this article for convenience and do no imply advocacy for any territorial claims on the part of Global South World]

Click here to watch our previous episodes

World Reframed is produced in London by  Global South  World, part of the Impactum Group. Its editors are Duncan Hooper and Ismail Akwei.

ISSN 2978-4891