Politics

A woman shelters from the sun with an umbrella during a hot summer day in Chennai, India, on 16 May 2023. (R. Satish Babu/AFP)

Expanding the BRICS: New challenges for the embattled world order

Voices discussing the expansion of the BRICS are getting louder, leading up to the meeting of BRICS foreign ministers to be held this week in Cape Town. While China sees possible expansion of the BRICS as a useful development in growing its influence, other members of BRICS like India may view it with mixed feelings. ISAS academic Amitendu Palit explains.
US President Joe Biden speaks during a press conference following the G7 Leaders' Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, on 21 May 2023. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP)

Is Biden's promise of a US-China thaw believable?

China and the US probably both know that they need each other, which is why over the past few months, amid the hostilities, they have been testing each other’s limits and adjusting their strategies, and maintaining the tussling without cracking.
Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (right) and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shake hands during their bilateral meeting as part of the G7 Leaders' Summit in Hiroshima on 21 May 2023. (Hiro Komae/AFP)

South Korea's unwavering determination to improve Japan-South Korea relations

There have been recent signs of thaw in Japan-South Korea relations, not least with Japanese President Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol visiting the monument dedicated to the Koreans who died in the Hiroshima atomic bombing at the sidelines of the G7 summit. What are the larger motivations for the rapprochement and how will this affect the regional dynamics?
Hou You-yi, mayor of New Taipei City (centre) during a news conference in Taipei, Taiwan, 17 May 2023. (I-Hwa Cheng/Bloomberg)

Why Hou You-yi won the KMT presidential nomination and Terry Gou did not

With about eight months to go to the next Taiwan presidential election, commentator Gu Er De explains why Hou You-yi won the nomination as KMT presidential candidate, while Terry Gou failed despite his best efforts.
Visitors look at young male panda Yuan Meng standing inside its enclosure at The Beauval Zoo in Saint-Aignan-sur-Cher, central France on 28 April 2023. - Yuan Meng, whose name means "Wish Fulfillment", was the first baby panda born in France on August 4, 2017 and will leave France for China on July 4, 2023 after a month of quarantine. His parents Huan Huan (meaning "happy") and Yuan Zi ("chubby") are the only giant pandas living in France. (Guillaume Souvant/AFP)

Not just cute: How pandas became a politicised symbol around the world

China is known for its “panda diplomacy”, where its giant pandas were first gifted and later leased overseas as a sign of important bilateral relations and goodwill. Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Wong Siew Fong looks into how the system has evolved since the 1950s, and whether panda diplomacy still works today.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kyrgyzstan's President Sadyr Japarov, Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon, Turkmenistan's President Serdar Berdymukhamedov and Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev arrive for the joint press conference of the China-Central Asia Summit in Xian, Shaanxi province, China, 19 May 2023. (Florence Lo/Reuters)

China strengthens its influence in Central Asia as Russia looks on

The China-Central Asia Summit may have ended last week, but it seems that it is just the beginning for China’s re-consolidated relations with Central Asia and also Russia, with an exchange of visits between Chinese and Russian officials coming up. Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Yu Zeyuan notes that China’s influence in Central Asia is strengthening, not least the result of Russia’s embroilment in the war in Ukraine.
(Clockwise left to right) US President Joe Biden, Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Council Charles Michel, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, France's President Emmanuel Macron and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attend a meeting during the G7 Leaders' Summit in Hiroshima on 19 May 2023. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP)

Ongoing tug of war as G7 meet and China looks on

At the G7 summit in Hiroshima from 19-21 May, the topics in focus are set to be China's impact on the world, as well as the Russia-Ukraine war. It is clear that every nation is trying to maximise its interest and chance for influence and survival in a state of global flux. Lianhe Zaobao associate editor Han Yong Hong looks at the anticipated discussions of the G7 meeting.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (centre) departs after addressing a Joint Meeting of Congress in the House Chamber of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on 27 April 2023. (Stefani Reynolds/AFP)

South Korea's 'global pivotal state' ambition is a tall order

South Korea has far-reaching geopolitical ambitions but focusing on the regions closest to it will bring more dividends in a competitive world.
People board a mini-bus as they evacuate southern Khartoum, Sudan, on 14 May 2023. (AFP)

Can China do more to protect its interests in Sudan?

While Chinese workers and infrastructure projects are at risk amid escalating conflict in Sudan, China is hard put to go beyond hedging its bets. Legislation may be needed to support Chinese private security companies (PSCs) operating in Africa, who are currently filling the security gap in safeguarding China’s BRI development in the region.