South East Asia

This is second in the series on the flux in the global scene by the seasoned diplomat, an expert on Middle East, Eurasia, Central Asia, South Asia and the Asia-Pacific…Third on Myanmar will follow. The “hidden agenda” of the war on terror in Afghanistan has been an open secret. The …

The current standoff is, in essence, about the future of free speech in Europe. If notoriously feckless European officials fail to stand firm in the face of mounting Chinese pressure, Europeans who dare publicly to criticize the CCP in the future can expect to pay an increasingly high personal cost …

China’s economic influence in Central Asia has gained a new character after President Xi Jinping came to power. In almost all economic activities there is a growing Chinese presence, and these actors range from large multinational firms to small businesses. In a region with weak states and institutions, these players …

With the May 1 deadline for an expected United States (US) military withdrawal from Afghanistan a little less than a month away, multiple avenues of diplomacy have been launched as the administration of President Joe Biden in Washington DC navigates the future of the US involvement in the 20-year-long war …

An investigation by a U.N. team of experts found Yemen’s Houthis were responsible for a Dec. 30 attack on Aden airport that killed at least 22 people as members of the country’s internationally recognized government arrived, two diplomats familiar with the matter said on Monday.

The Paris Climate Accord is more of an aspiration than a strategy while the Iranian nuclear problem has always been a way of avoiding the real issue: the danger that the Islamist regime poses for regional peace and stability. [T]he Biden doctrine, if one might suggest such a label… could …

The failure of the Obama administration to defend the Philippines in early 2012, in a confrontation similar to today’s, emboldened China’s regime to adopt an even more aggressive posture in its peripheral waters. China claims all the waters inside the dashes are sovereign as well, terming them “blue national soil.” …

Iran wants to leverage China’s role in the region and show that it can resist the US. China also wants to reassure the West that Iran will safeguard the nuclear deal. For Iran, the visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Tehran on an official two-day visit to hold …

“This agreement is somewhat ambiguous, and on the other hand, in some cases, Iran has had bitter experiences in dealing with other countries. It has pros and cons.” Iran is celebrating a new agreement with China. But what is inside the new 25-year plan? According to Fars News in Iran …

China would also receive a major discount on Iranian oil and become a near monopsony, as long as sanctions on Iran remain. When the details of a multibillion dollar, 25-year economic and security agreement between Iran and China leaked last summer, the headline in The Jerusalem Post was: “Proposed China-Iran …