South East Asia

Chinese Incursions In The South Pacific – Analysis

In 2006, deadly riots in the capital of Tonga, Nuku’alofa devastated the government and business districts in the small-island nation. The cause of the riots that lasted almost a month was the delay by the government in initiating democratic reforms. As tensions between the pro-royalists and pro-democracy factions rose, King Tupou VI, …

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Chinese leader urges GCC nations to adopt yuan, Shanghai exchange for oil and gas trade

Xi Jinping called China and Gulf nations ‘natural partners’ and urged regional leaders to be partners in promoting unity, development, and security China’s president Xi Jinping urged Gulf nations to use the Shanghai Petroleum and National Gas Exchange as a platform to receive payments of oil and gas using the …

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The Saudi-Iran rivalry stumbles into Pakistan

Riyadh’s interest in Pakistan’s Gwadar port is of particular concern for Tehran and its vital oil trade with China. A $10 billion Saudi Aramco refinery is being built near the port city of Gwadar in Pakistan, about 169 kilometers (km) east of Iran’s Chabahar port in the western Sistan and …

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Xi Jinping’s Visit to Saudi Arabia and the overthrow of Atlanticism

The historic China-Arab Summit currently underway in Riyadh symbolizes the emerging Eurasianism in the Persian Gulf. As Atlanticists continue their commitment to a future shaped by energy scarcity, food scarcity, and war with their nuclear-capable neighbors, most states in the Persian Gulf that have long been trusted allies of the …

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Geopolitics Goes Into Orbit With The US And China’s Space Ambitions – Analysis

Space stations are the harbinger of a deepening bipolarity in the international relations of space. The United States leads the International Space Station (ISS), and will lead whatever comes after it, but it is no longer seen as the uncontested unipolar power in space. China now also has a national space station, …

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The EU Returns To Central Asia – Analysis

2022 will go down in history as a watershed moment in EU-Russia relations. The invasion of Ukraine was a primary cause, but it may well be that future historians will agree that the breakdown of bilateral ties was long in the making. With Russia intent on rebuilding its territorial empire through brutal, …

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‘Not a choice, but necessity:’ Iran, India recalibrating ties amid geopolitical shifts

Following a drop in trade brought on by US sanctions, New Delhi and Tehran – boosted by their mutual strong relations with Moscow – are set to revamp ties in a new era of Eurasian multipolarity. “Not a choice, but a necessity.” That’s how Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri …

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The Global South births a new game-changing payment system

The Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU) is speeding up its design of a common payment system, which has been closely discussed for nearly a year with the Chinese under the stewardship of Sergey Glazyev, the EAEU’s minister in charge of Integration and Macro-economy. Through its regulatory body, the Eurasian Economic Commission …

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Pakistan-Afghan Taliban relations face mounting challenges

Tensions between Islamabad and Kabul continue to rise. While Pakistan has made efforts to smooth over the growing rift, reopening a key border crossing at Spin Boldak-Chaman closed following cross-border gunfire that killed a Pakistani security guard on Nov. 13 and sending its minister of state for foreign affairs on an …

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Israel and China: The Bloom Is Off the Rose

Israel was the first country in the Middle East to recognize the People Republic of China (PRC), in 1950. Although the two states did not normalize their relations until 1992,[1] since then the bilateral relationship has developed extensively, especially in the economic sphere.[2] As Yellinek has established, “Starting in the early …

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