Tommy Sheng Hao Chai is an International Security and Strategic Analyst. He studies at the Australian National University.

Tommy graduated in July 2018 with a Bachelor of Arts degree (major in International Relations and minor in Political Science) at the Australian National University. He will be pursuing a Master of Strategic Studies (Advanced) at the ANU Strategic and Defence Studies Centre in Semester 1, 2019. As someone who grew up in Singapore and having served the National Service, Tommy has a strong penchant for international politics, security and strategic studies. His area of research interest includes Southeast Asian and East Asian regional stability, security architectures, great-power politics and middle and small-power strategies.

For his Master thesis, Tommy is keen to examine the potential for the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADDM) and the ADMM Plus to transform into a more robust regional defence arrangement that reinforces traditional security cooperation. He intends to tap into contemporary debates surrounding alignment strategies, enmeshment theory, norm diffusion and ‘minilateral’ security regimes to examine how ASEAN can strengthen its internal capacity while preserving the integrity of ASEAN norms and managing the tides of great-power transition. He is also interested in the balance of power in the South China Sea and the processes of conflict and crisis management currently in progress.