Year: 2023
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WEEK IN REVIEW: Insurgent Group in Myanmar Reportedly Seized Another Key Border Crossing With China
An insurgent group in Myanmar has reportedly seized another key border crossing with China, further eroding the ruling junta’s control of the northeastern Shan State. Beijing remains concerned about factional fighting in Myanmar spilling over the border and has even deployed PLA troops on the Chinese side. (DIPLOMAT) ...
Related Posts
Latin America’s Diplomacy: Balancing EU and China With Mercosur
By Alvaro Mendez and Chris Alden The negotiations for the EU-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement (FTA) have spanned over two decades and are now facing renewed delays. This prolonged process is a crucial moment in Latin America's trade policy, especially as Brazilian ...
The Africa-China 2023 Year in Review
2023 was a transformative year for China’s ties with Africa. Chinese investment, trade, and diplomatic engagement were either flat or declined sharply over the past year, highlighting how this once-vibrant relationship is now entering a new, more austere period.
China Cuts Off Vital Lifeline to Argentina, Recalls Ambassador
The younger generation loves to say — with saltier wording — “You mess around and find out.” Argentina’s new president, Javier Milei — who while campaigning used fierce anti-China rhetoric — has apparently messed around and found out.
Australia Refuses to Send Ships to Red Sea
The Australian government has reportedly indicated that it won’t send ships to join the U.S.-led Operation Prosperity Guardian in the Red Sea. The operation is aimed at containing attacks from Yemeni Houthi militias on commercial shipping and to keep sea lanes open. Defence ...
Tonga's King Tupou VI and China’s President Xi Jinping shake hands after a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on November 25, 2025. Photo by MAXIM SHEMETOV / POOL / AFP
By Ben Strang More than four years on from one of the most powerful volcanic eruptions in history, Tonga is struggling to improve its infrastructure as it pays off a massive Chinese loan. When Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai erupted on ...
WEEK IN REVIEW: Insurgent Group in Myanmar Reportedly Seized Another Key Border Crossing With China
An insurgent group in Myanmar has reportedly seized another key border crossing with China, further eroding the ruling junta’s control of the northeastern Shan State. Beijing remains concerned about factional fighting in Myanmar spilling over the border and has even deployed PLA troops on the Chinese side. (DIPLOMAT) ...
Latin America’s Diplomacy: Balancing EU and China With Mercosur
By Alvaro Mendez and Chris Alden The negotiations for the EU-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement (FTA) have spanned over two decades and are now facing renewed delays. This prolonged process is a crucial moment in Latin America's trade policy, especially as Brazilian ...
The Africa-China 2023 Year in Review
2023 was a transformative year for China’s ties with Africa. Chinese investment, trade, and diplomatic engagement were either flat or declined sharply over the past year, highlighting how this once-vibrant relationship is now entering a new, more austere period.
China Cuts Off Vital Lifeline to Argentina, Recalls Ambassador
The younger generation loves to say — with saltier wording — “You mess around and find out.” Argentina’s new president, Javier Milei — who while campaigning used fierce anti-China rhetoric — has apparently messed around and found out.
Australia Refuses to Send Ships to Red Sea
The Australian government has reportedly indicated that it won’t send ships to join the U.S.-led Operation Prosperity Guardian in the Red Sea. The operation is aimed at containing attacks from Yemeni Houthi militias on commercial shipping and to keep sea lanes open. Defence ...
China Hawks in the U.S. Back Albanese’s Decision to Concentrate Force Deployments in Asia
Australia’s decision not to contribute a warship to the U.S.-led patrolling of Red Sea shipping lanes is playing into U.S. political divisions in the run-up to next year’s election. Reaction from the Biden Administration has so far been muted. The Australian ...
Chinese Experts on Red Sea: Not Our Problem
Chinese exporters’ profit margins are suffering as container shipping companies reroute their ships away from the Red Sea. The move to escape strikes by Houthi militias against ships headed for Israel will add to shipping time and costs, driving up shipping quotes for next year.
UN Security Council Vote on Gaza Postponed
The UN Security Council pushed back voting on a resolution calling for a pause in violence in Gaza. The delay comes amid fears of another U.S. veto, even though “cease-fire” doesn’t appear in the UAE-sponsored wording of the proposed resolution.
Don’t Overestimate China’s Influence in the Middle East: Researcher
China’s complex position as a rising diplomatic power and a major oil buyer in the Middle East raises questions about its position as realities in the region shift rapidly. This discussion has both overstated China’s ambitions as wanting to replace the U.S. ...
5 Most Important China Stories of 2023 in Southeast Asia’s Climate Landscape
With the overwhelming war in Gaza and the return of rising COVID-19 cases around the world, as we end the year, it’s easy to lose track of other defining events in the past twelve months. From China’s river diplomacy in Mekong ...
China Doesn’t Join U.S.-Led Red Sea Force
The United States announced it will coordinate joint patrols with allies to guard commercial ships in the Red Sea as the region comes under repeated attacks from Yemeni Houthi militias. China did not join the coalition, named Operation Prosperity Guardian. It includes the EU, NATO, Japan, and ...
Marcos Says ‘We Have to Do Something We Have Not Done Before’ to Deal With China
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has sparked a flurry of speculation over seemingly unprecedented comments he made regarding confrontations with Beijing in the South China Sea. In a recent interview with Japanese media, Marcos said traditional diplomacy with China had failed ...