Politics

The spate of missile launches by North Korea over the past month has shown Kim Jong-un’s unrelenting strategic thinking to hold nuclear weapons and keep growing nuclear power at all costs. With spillover effects on the US, South Korea and Japan, the security situation in the Korean peninsula is spiralling downward amid mutual aggravation. How will the region respond to the increasing nuclear threat?

Some Japanese believe that despite being the longest-serving Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe is not deserving of a state funeral considering his shortfall in political contribution. Others believe that incumbent Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has a political agenda behind the decision, including uniting the Liberal Democratic Party. Academic Toh Lam Seng examines Kishida's considerations and what it shows about the current and future Japanese political environment.

While some consider Xi Jinping’s departure from the two-term presidential limit a sign of a descent into dictatorship, many fail to see that for China’s particular juncture in history, a deep centralisation of power is necessary, and Xi Jinping is very possibly the resolute leader needed to do it. However, this also means that China’s political future could go either way, either morphing into a new integration of democracy, rule of law and good governance, or being locked in a system that makes absolute power possible. This is the last in a series of four articles on President Xi Jinping and the road ahead.

With the 20th Party Congress approaching, Zaobao correspondent Yu Zeyuan takes us through the processes and meetings of Beijing's top leadership and an understanding of how decisions are made in a “meeting-based” governance model of the CCP.

As the 20th Party Congress approaches, Zaobao correspondent Yu Zeyuan looks at the power game in China. He examines evolving rhetorics and terms used by Chinese leaders since Mao, and reflects on the way President Xi Jinping has consolidated and enshrined power in the past decade.

With the CCP’s 20th Party Congress just days away, CCP journal Qiushi released an article under Xi Jinping’s name, signalling his beliefs and intentions for a “great struggle” to realise a “great dream” — the revitalisation of the Chinese people. How effective will this revitalisation be, and how will the upcoming congress contribute?

Among the candidates running for Indonesia’s next president, Ganjar Pranowo has emerged as a strong contender. ISEAS academic Leo Suryadinata gives a profile of Ganjar, and examines the factors that would make or break his campaign, including his previous political affiliations and current political efforts.

China is crafting “wonderful stories” about its upstream dams in the Mekong. But the overall thrust of the narrative glosses over the more controversial aspects of dam building. The cure to the dying Mekong must begin with clinical analysis and honest exchange among riparian states. ISEAS researcher Hoang Thi Ha says China’s unilaterally imposed narratives are part of the problem, not the remedy.

China has tried to create a stable diplomatic environment ahead of the 20th Party Congress, not least with Foreign Minister Wang Yi's talks with various leaders at the sidelines of the recent UNGA in New York. While it has tried to deflect attention by highlighting divisions in the West while rebuilding bridges in light of economic considerations, it will be a tall order to convince the international community that it practises 'moderate' diplomacy.