About the Project
How artificial intelligence, automation, advanced air mobility, drones, and the low-altitude economy are transforming aviation governance across the Indo-Pacific.
The Global Governance of Civil Aviation in the Indo-Pacific Project examines how emerging technologies are transforming aviation governance across one of the world's most dynamic and strategically significant regions. Supported through a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI Grant (25K04983), the project investigates the governance implications of artificial intelligence, automation, advanced air mobility (AAM), unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), and the emerging low-altitude economy.
Through interdisciplinary research drawing upon international relations, technology governance, transport security, and aviation policy, the project seeks to better understand how governments, regulators, industry stakeholders, and international organizations are responding to rapid technological change in civil aviation.
As advanced air mobility systems, autonomous aircraft, drones, and AI-enabled aviation technologies move from experimentation to deployment, governments across the Indo-Pacific are developing new regulatory frameworks, investment strategies, and governance models; however, these developments remain highly uneven, with significant differences emerging in national approaches to certification, safety oversight, and infrastructure planning. The project seeks to better understand these developments by examining how technological innovation intersects with aviation governance, security, and broader questions of regional and global governance.
The AAM Governance Tracker & Data Resources
A central component of the project is the development of an open-access mapping exercise designed to monitor the evolution of advanced air mobility and low-altitude economy ecosystems across the Indo-Pacific region, with a focus on East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. The tracker compiles and analyzes information on regulatory frameworks, government strategies, investment trends, certification initiatives, infrastructure development, demonstration projects, and international partnerships. It also monitors the activities of major industry actors, including aircraft manufacturers, technology firms, telecommunications providers, and foreign investors that are shaping the future of aviation innovation.
The project combines comparative policy analysis, regulatory mapping, stakeholder engagement, and open-access data resources to support evidence-based research and policymaking. Particular attention is given to developments across the Indo-Pacific, where governments are increasingly investing in next-generation aviation technologies while simultaneously developing new regulatory and governance frameworks.
Explore the TrackerResearch Objectives
- Examine how emerging technologies are reshaping national and international civil aviation governance.
- Identify regulatory, legal, and policy challenges associated with advanced air mobility, autonomous systems, and AI-enabled aviation technologies.
- Analyze how states across the Indo-Pacific are developing governance frameworks for low-altitude airspace and next-generation aviation systems.
- Assess the implications of technological innovation for aviation safety, security, and international cooperation.
- Develop publicly accessible research tools and datasets that support comparative analysis and evidence-based policymaking.
Key Research Questions
- How are governments and civil aviation regulators adapting aviation governance frameworks to accommodate emerging technologies?
- What regulatory approaches are being adopted for advanced air mobility and low-altitude economy ecosystems?
- How will artificial intelligence and autonomous systems affect aviation safety, certification, and operational oversight?
- What role do international organizations and standards-setting bodies play in shaping the future governance of emerging aviation technologies?
- How do geopolitical competition, industrial policy, and technological sovereignty influence aviation innovation and regulation?
- What new security challenges emerge from the integration of autonomous and AI-enabled systems into civil aviation?
Research Themes
Civil Aviation Governance in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is emerging as one of the world's most important regions for aviation growth, yet significant variation exists in regulatory capacity, institutional development, and technological readiness across ASEAN member states. This research theme examines how civil aviation authorities, governments, and regional organizations are adapting governance frameworks to address emerging technologies, evolving safety requirements, and new forms of airspace use. Particular attention is given to regulatory harmonization, certification frameworks, institutional capacity, and the role of regional cooperation in shaping the future of aviation governance.
Advanced Air Mobility & the Low-Altitude Economy
Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) and the emerging low-altitude economy are reshaping traditional approaches to aviation regulation and infrastructure development. This research theme examines the development of eVTOL aircraft, drone logistics networks, urban and regional air mobility systems, and supporting infrastructure across the Indo-Pacific. Through the project's AAM Governance Tracker, researchers monitor regulatory developments, certification pathways, investment patterns, demonstration projects, and public-private partnerships to better understand how governments are facilitating or constraining the growth of next-generation aviation ecosystems.
Artificial Intelligence & Aviation Governance
Artificial intelligence is increasingly being integrated into aviation operations, air traffic management, maintenance systems, predictive analytics, and autonomous flight technologies. This research theme explores the governance challenges associated with AI-enabled aviation systems, including safety assurance, certification, accountability, transparency, human-machine interaction, and regulatory oversight. The project examines how national regulators and international organizations are adapting existing governance frameworks to accommodate the growing role of AI in civil aviation.
Aviation Security & Strategic Competition
Emerging aviation technologies are increasingly intersecting with broader questions of national security, technological competition, and strategic autonomy. This research theme examines the security implications of unmanned aircraft systems, dual-use technologies, cybersecurity vulnerabilities, critical infrastructure protection, and the role of foreign investment in aviation innovation. Particular attention is given to how geopolitical competition influences the development, regulation, and deployment of advanced aviation technologies across the Indo-Pacific region.
International Cooperation & Global Aviation Governance
The rapid development of emerging aviation technologies raises important questions regarding international standards, regulatory harmonization, and compliance. This research theme examines the role of institutions such as the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), regional organizations, and transnational industry networks in shaping governance responses to technological change. The project explores how international cooperation can support innovation while maintaining safety, security, and interoperability across national aviation systems.
The research team
Christopher K. Lamont
Christopher Lamont is Professor of International Relations in the Institute for International Strategy and Emerging Technologies at Tokyo International University and Head of AI Governance at the Global Governance Institute in Brussels. He holds a PhD in Politics from the University of Glasgow, an MSc in International and European Politics from the University of Edinburgh, and a BA in International Studies from the University of Mississippi. His research focuses on the governance of emerging technologies, artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, and civil aviation governance, with particular attention to the regulatory, geopolitical, and societal implications of technological change. He is currently Principal Investigator of a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI project (25K04983) examining civil aviation governance, and his publications include work in the journal Air and Space Law and recent research on the governance of artificial intelligence. His broader scholarship spans international relations, global governance, and technology policy, and includes the widely used textbooks Research Methods in International Relations and Research Methods in Politics and International Relations.
Ryo Hinata-Yamaguchi
Ryo Hinata-Yamaguchi from Saku, Nagano specializes in defence and transport security affairs in the Indo-Pacific. Ryo is an associate professor at the Institute for International Strategy and Emerging Technologies, Tokyo International University; Senior Non-Resident Fellow at the Atlantic Council Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Indo-Pacific Security Initiative; and Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Pacific Forum. Ryo has presented, published, and consulted on a variety of topics relating to defense and security, and transport governance in the Indo-Pacific. Ryo previously served as a non-commissioned officer in the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (reserve) and also held positions at the University of Tokyo, Pusan National University, Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang. Ryo received his PhD from the University of New South Wales, MA in Strategic and Defense Studies and BA in Security Analysis from the Australian National University and was also a Korea Foundation Language Training Fellow.
Abbey Dang
Abbey Dang is an International Relations Graduate Student and Research Assistant at Tokyo International University (TIU). An alumna of Troy University (USA), she currently contributes to the research project Global Governance of Civil Aviation in the Indo-Pacific, focusing on Vietnam's emerging low-altitude economy. In tandem with her role as a Teaching Assistant for Human Rights at TIU, her master's thesis investigates the intersection of technology and society, analyzing how Digital Intimacy Technologies (DITs) reconfigure gender norms and create governance and human rights challenges in Japan.
