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 ...
Category: Asia Pacific
Pacifist Japan Struggles to Boost Troops as China Anxiety Grows
By Hiroshi Hiyama Sporting dark face paint and clutching a gun, teenage soldier-in-training Takuma Hiyane crawls across a field on Japan's Okinawa, the front line of the nation's defence as anxiety grows over China's territorial ambitions.
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Cuba President Begins Trip to China, Laos and Vietnam
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said Saturday he has begun a tour of Asia that will take him to China, Laos and Vietnam, his main commercial ally on the continent. Diaz-Canel's trip comes as Cuba, which counts 10.9 million inhabitants, faces a ...
Indonesia, U.S. and Allies Launch Joint Military Drills
Indonesia and the United States launched joint military drills on Monday that will last more than a week, joining allies from 11 countries in exercises aimed at ensuring stability in the Asia-Pacific region. The annual "Super Garuda Shield" drills will take ...
China Slams Germany for ‘Hyping’ Regional Tensions in Asia
China lashed out at Germany on Monday, warning Berlin against "inciting confrontation and hyping up tensions" after its foreign minister said Beijing was "increasingly aggressive" in the Asia-Pacific region. During a visit to Japan, Johann Wadephul said China had made repeated ...
German Minister Says China ‘Increasingly Aggressive’ in Asia-Pacific Region
Germany's foreign minister hit out Monday at what he called China's repeated threats to "unilaterally change" borders in the Asia-Pacific region, calling Beijing "increasingly aggressive." "China repeatedly threatens, more or less openly, to unilaterally change the status quo and shift borders ...
Philippines’ Marcos Strikes Defense Deals in India
The Philippines and India signed a raft of security deals Tuesday aimed at strengthening strategic ties between the nations as they navigate tensions with China across the Asia-Pacific. President Ferdinand Marcos, on a five-day visit to India, was accorded a red carpet ...
Pacific Military Exercises Reveal Global South Countries’ Complex Choices
The Philippines joined other Global South countries like Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and Tonga in the U.S.-led Talisman Sabre military exercises currently taking place in Australia. The exercise, dubbed “the Olympics of war games,” has grown rapidly since its inception in ...
Australia PM in China to Boost Trade Despite Regional Angst
By Peter Catterall Anthony Albanese arrived in Shanghai on Saturday to kick off his second visit to China as Australian prime minister, seeking to bolster recently stabilised trade ties even as geopolitical tensions remain high. ...
Asian Stocks Mixed as Traders Shrug at U.S.-Vietnam Trade Deal
Stocks struggled in Asia on Thursday as investors gave a lukewarm reception to the U.S.-Vietnam trade deal, while the dollar eased ahead of key U.S. jobs data that could impact Federal Reserve interest rates plans. Attention was also on Washington as ...
Chinese Aircraft Carrier Shandong Arrives in Hong Kong
China's first domestically built aircraft carrier sailed into Hong Kong on Thursday, just days after the city marked 28 years under Chinese rule. Commissioned in 2019, the more than 300-metre (1,000-foot) Shandong is China's second carrier and key to the country's ...
U.S., Japan, India, Australia Pledge Mineral Cooperation on China Jitters
By Shaun TANDON U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Tuesday with counterparts from Australia, India and Japan, shifting focus to Asia after a tenure so far marked by crises elsewhere and domestic priorities. Rubio ...
China Says Aircraft Carriers Conduct Combat Training in Pacific
Two Chinese aircraft carrier groups conducted combat drills in the western Pacific Ocean, Beijing said Monday, as it honed its military capacity, unsettling some regional neighbors. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) said its Liaoning and Shandong carrier formations "recently... completed combat ...
Rubio to Welcome Asian ‘Quad’ Back to Washington
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will welcome counterparts from the "Quad" -- Australia, India, and Japan -- to Washington on Tuesday, in an at least brief refocus on Asia, the State Department announced. Rubio had welcomed Quad foreign ministers on ...