Veerle Nouwens is a Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Indo-Pacific Programme at the International Security Studies Department of the Royal United Services Institute, focusing on geopolitical relations in the Indo-Pacific region. Her research interests include China’s foreign policy, cross-strait relations, maritime security and ASEAN.

Prior to joining RUSI, Veerle worked for the EEAS at the Delegation of the European Union to Singapore’s Political Section. In this role, she focused on EU-Singapore bilateral relations, regional security, and Europe’s role in Southeast Asia. In addition, she has experience of both bilateral and multilateral engagements through internships at the European Commission, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, in the Military Analysis Team of the Office of the Prosecutor.

Veerle holds an MPhil in Modern Chinese Studies from the University of Oxford, an MA in International Relations and Diplomacy from Leiden University, and a BA in International Relations from Macquarie University. She has attended semester programs at both Peking University and Tsinghua University and has lived and travelled across Asia. She is fluent in Dutch and English, and speaks Mandarin at intermediate level.