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U.S., UK and Australia Sign Landmark Defense Pact, Prompting Dark Warning from Beijing

The leaders of the United States, United Kingdom and Australia, members of the so-called AUKUS alliance, signed a landmark pact valued at nearly $400 billion that will allow Australia to deploy long-range nuclear-powered submarines for the first time. Australia will procure at ...

Chinese Government Warns AUKUS Submarine Deal Will Trigger a New Arms Race in Asia-Pacific

The Chinese government warned that the deployment of nuclear-powered attack submarines to Australia would provoke a dangerous new arms race and undermine the increasingly fragile stability in the Asia-Pacific region. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin issued a blunt response when ...

Uneasy About Australia’s New Submarine Deal with the U.S. and UK, Indonesia Echoes China’s Concerns About Asia-Pacific Arms Race

Indonesia's Foreign Ministry took to Twitter on Tuesday to restate its longstanding concern that Australia's acquisition of U.S. and UK-made nuclear-powered attack submarines could destabilize the Asia-Pacific region and violate the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) of which Australia is a signatory. Jakarta's statement ...

Why “Encirclement” has Become a Chinese Talking Point

This year-old map produced by the UK-based think tank Council on Geostrategy is circulating widely on Twitter this week following Tuesday's AUKUS summit in California and last week's comments by President Xi Jinping that the U.S. and its allies are "encircling" China.

China Issues Fresh Warning to the Philippines About Expanding Military Ties With the U.S.

For the second time in a week, the Chinese government has issued a warning to the Philippines not to grant the U.S. military access to more bases in the country. An editorial in Tuesday's edition of the state-run China Daily ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

Plugging into African Agency

After several years of declining funding, the African end of the Belt and Road Initiative seems to be roaring back. The newest Griffith University/Green Development Finance Center data on the Belt and Road Initiative shows that engagement with Africa jumped by 395%, while a few big projects boosted engagement in Nigeria alone more than twelvefold.
These shifts indicate a window of opportunity for African electrification. 60% of Africans still ...

What to Make of China’s Mideast Diplomatic Breakthrough?

New details are emerging about the landmark diplomatic deal brokered by China for Saudi Arabia and Iran to restore diplomatic relations. The initial excitement about the prospects for peace between these two Persian Gulf rivals has given way to a more ...