2023/03/22 |
Xi Ends Trip to Russia as China Grows More Emboldened
Despite Xi’s efforts to present China as a peacemaker in Russia’s war in Ukraine, some observers said Beijing’s priority is not for the war to come to an end. Instead, the main importance for China is to ensure the Russian regime remains in power.
2023/03/10 |
China Hands Xi Jinping Historic Third Term as President
Xi was unanimously voted to serve a third term as the president and commander of the 2 million-member People’s Liberation Army.
2023/02/24 |
China Urges Russia-Ukraine Cease-fire and Peace Talks
China’s 12-point position paper on the war in Ukraine comes amid Western accusations Beijing is considering supplying arms to Russia. Western leaders have questioned Beijing’s willingness to mediate and its credibility as a mediator.
2023/02/21 |
Can a Transnational Legislative Alliance Challenge China?
The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China aims to coordinate democratic countries’ responses to China. Political analysts, however, say there are limitations to the group’s ability to formulate concrete measures.
2023/02/17 |
Can ASEAN Benefit From the EU’s Green Agriculture Push?
The EU wants to champion “green agriculture” in Southeast Asia. But limited trade relations, regulatory nightmares, and distrust could stymie it.
2023/02/15 |
Cambodia’s Ties With West Threatened by Media Clampdown
One of Cambodia’s last independent news outlets, VOD, was forcibly closed. This was allegedly due to VOD naming the prime minister’s son, and not the prime minister himself, as the signatory of an aid to Turkey after its recent earthquakes.
2023/02/07 |
Philippines: Ending Clan Wars Crucial To Sustaining Peace
In the Philippines, clan wars are driving intergenerational conflict and preventing girls from going to school.
2023/01/31 |
How China’s Yuan Props up Putin’s Anemic Budget
Russia has started selling its growing reserves of the Chinese currency to fill a budget deficit caused by falling oil and gas revenues and the costs of war.
2023/01/19 |
Is China Pivoting Away From ‘Wolf-warrior’ Diplomacy?
Political analysts say the appointment of a new Chinese foreign minister may reflect Beijing’s attempt to soften its foreign policy approach and warm up to Western diplomats — or fortify itself against U.S. rivalry.
2023/01/13 |
Japan: Ex-PM Shinzo Abe Assassin Suspect Formally Indicted
Formal charges have been made against the suspected killer of ex-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The suspect was declared fit for trial after a six-month psychiatric evaluation.
2023/01/06 |
China: Zhang Zhan’s Prison Letter Offers Hope and Fear
The rare insight into prison life comes over two years after the citizen journalist was handed a four-year sentence. She was imprisoned after covering the Covid-19 lockdown in the Chinese city of Wuhan in early 2020.
2022/12/28 |
What’s in Store for Emerging Asian Economies in 2023?
Many economies in the region could be in for a bumpy ride next year, but some may also be set to benefit as companies diversify investments from the Chinese market.
2022/12/26 |
China Sends 71 Warplanes to Taiwan’s Air Defense Zone
More than 1,700 such incursions have occurred so far this year, compared to 969 in 2021.
2022/12/21 |
China’s Soaring Covid Numbers Raise Global Fears
Investors have welcomed China’s shift away from the zero-Covid strategy as good news for the world economy in the longer run. However, there are more immediate worries about the near-term impact of surging case numbers on trade and industry.
2022/12/08 |
Thailand’s Cycle of Police Brutality Concerns Activists
Riot police in Thailand regularly meet peaceful demonstrations with heavy force, leading to serious injuries or even death. Activists are calling for reforms and more accountability.
2022/12/05 |
How North Korea Is Trying To Keep Citizens From Defecting
Pyongyang claims extensive new fortifications on its border with China and a “shoot-to-kill” policy for anyone suspected of attempting to flee are measures to keep Covid-19 s at bay.
2022/11/28 |
Nationwide Protests in China Call For Easing Covid Curbs
Protesters are demanding the easing of Covid-19 restrictions in Beijing and Shanghai. People also took to the streets in the northwestern Xinjiang region after deaths in an apartment fire were blamed on lockdowns.