Indian Navy Transfers Fully Operational Warship to Vietnam, Adding Yet More Naval Hardware to the South China Sea

The Indian Navy gifted the Vietnam People's Navy with an aging yet still functioning warship on Saturday during a handover ceremony for the INS Kirpan in the central Vietnamese port city of Cam Ranh. The transfer comes one month after Indian Defense ...

China, India, and the Awkwardness of the SCO

By Saniya Kulkarni There has been much scrutiny of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit two weeks ago – especially around the fact that it was entirely virtual. Compelling arguments have been put forth on both sides, the advantages and disadvantages ...

New Philippine Military Head Signals China Focus

The Philippine government announced that its new military chief will be Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., the former head of its army. Brawner’s appointment seems to strengthen the Marcos administration’s hardening towards China in relation to territorial disputes in the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea. ...

Are the BRICS a Bloc? A Group? A Threat? It All Depends on Where You Sit.

If you haven't watched Netflix’s popular TV show, the Diplomat, do not worry. In 2023, international diplomacy in the real world seems more thrilling and dramatic. With the approaching of this year’s BRICS (i.e., Brazil, China, India, South Africa, and Russia) Summit to be held in Johannesburg, ...

China Turns to Ex-President Duterte to Try and Salvage Ties With the Philippines

Chinese President Xi Jinping turned to an old friend this week in an effort to repair badly-damaged ties with the Philippines. Xi met with former president Rodrigo Duterte at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Monday in what appeared to ...

Yet Another Failed G20 Debt Gathering

A meeting of finance ministers and central bank heads of the G20 group of leading economies produced few results despite increasingly shrill calls for action to help the roughly 50% of developing countries stalked by debt distress. Progress at the ministerial meeting, ...

Why Did Taiwan’s Foxconn Exit Indian Chip Deal? Chinese Columnist Drops Some Gossip

Earlier in July, the Taiwanese contract electronics maker Foxconn, one of Apple’s largest suppliers, announced it was pulling out of a $19.5 billion deal to produce semiconductors in India. The joint venture between Foxconn and the Indian mining and metals firm Vedanta ...

Disputes Over Borders and Business Dominate China-India Talks

China's top diplomat Wang Yi called on his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar to re-orient their two countries' steadily deteriorating ties away from "specific issues" that Wang feels shouldn't "define the overall relationship." Wang made the request on Friday during talks with ...

What Happened to Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang?

It's been three weeks since Qin Gang was last seen in public, sparking a wave of rumors (many emanating from Taiwan) that the Chinese Foreign Minister has been benched for allegedly having an affair with Phoenix News TV journalist Fu Xiaotian. Initially, ...

South China Sea Ruling Anniversary Adds Pressure to ASEAN Gatherings

Protests in Manila this week marked the seventh anniversary of a Permanent Court of Arbitration tribunal’s finding in favor of a Philippine claim over a stretch of the South China Sea also claimed by China. This comes as a week of ...

NATO Communique Dials Up Tensions

Chinese state media is responding strongly to a NATO communique released this week that characterizes China as a threat to the bloc’s interests. The communique, released during a two-day NATO summit in Lithuania, said: “The ...

The Solomon Islands’ Beijing Embassy Opens Amid Western Concern About Stronger China Ties

The Solomon Islands officially opened its new embassy in Beijing this week, following the upgrading of their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership. These stronger ties include an agreement on police cooperation. This follows riots in the capital Honiara in 2021, partly ...
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