Category: Geopolitics
ASEAN Under Pressure at Start of Leaders’ Summit
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations leaders’ summit kicks off in Jakarta on Tuesday as it fights for its relevance and unity amid mounting geopolitical tensions. Increasing jockeying between China and the United States in the South China Sea has piled pressure ...
Gabon’s Coup Could Open Opportunities for China
China’s response to last week’s coup in Gabon kept to well-trodden themes. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Webin told reporters: “China is closely following the developments in Gabon. We call on relevant sides in the country to proceed from the fundamental interests of ...
African Climate Summit Starts in Nairobi Amid Anger at Event’s “Western Agenda”
The first day of the inaugural African Climate Summit in Nairobi started with long queues as thousands of journalists and tens of thousands of delegates tried to get into the Kenyatta International Convention Center. More than twenty heads of state and key ...
Malaysia Joins India in Chinese Map Row
Malaysia added its voice to a dispute between New Delhi and Beijing over a newly-issued “standard map” of China. On Tuesday, India’s Foreign Ministry lodged a formal protest over the map, which was issued by China’s Ministry of Natural Resources because it ...
India Fumes Over China’s New Map That New Delhi Claims Includes a Lot of Its Territory
The Indian government issued a formal diplomatic protest on Tuesday against China over the publication of Beijing's new official map that New Delhi claims includes large swathes of its territory. The 2023 edition of the "standard map of China" that ...
If You Want to Understand Why China and India Are So Far Apart on Resolving Their Border Dispute, Then Read This Blog
Part of the problem at the root of the worsening border dispute between India and China is that both sides are approaching the issue from two totally different, wholly divergent perspectives. While the Indian government accuses China of encroaching on its ...
Chinese Commentators Are Nervous About Russian and Western Influence in Niger
Until now, Chinese commentators have been largely quiet about the implications of the July 26 coup in Niger on Chinese interests in the West African country. Now, though, that's starting to change as anonymous political commentators are publishing some fascinating perspectives ...
Did Indonesia Support U.S. Criticism of Beijing’s Actions in South China Sea?
An interesting dispute has emerged from U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s meeting with his Indonesian counterpart Prabowo Subianto last week. According to the Pentagon readout from the joint press conference following the meeting, they committed to working together for regional stability and ...
Backgrounder: Why Next Week’s ASEAN Summit is Worth Watching
Attendees at next week’s Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders’ summit will face a roster of tough issues. In addition to the alarming rise of tensions in the South China Sea and the ongoing military dictatorship in Myanmar, the region is also facing the economic slowdown in ...
Modi Comes Under Intense Criticism Back Home After “Brief Conversation” With Xi
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi came under withering criticism this weekend from his political rivals and the media back home for the way he handled a short, "informal" exchange with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of last week's BRICS summit in Johannesburg -- their first ...
Xi-Modi Talks in Joburg Sparks New Optimism About Improving Ties With India
Reactions in China to last week's brief conversation between President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi were far more upbeat than those in India. To be sure, there was nowhere near as much commentary about the meeting in the ...
Modi Subtly Blames China for the Global South Debt Crisis
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi re-surfaced longstanding suspicions that China is fueling the Global South debt crisis by engaging in predatory lending. In an interview with India Today published on Friday, the Prime Minister insinuated that unnamed "forces" are ensnaring ...