Latin America

Why Beijing can’t repeat America’s Maduro raid in Taiwan

America’s 2026 raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro relied on months of intelligence, air dominance and regional deployment. China’s PLA lacks the operational conditions needed to attempt a similar decapitation strike against Taiwan, says Japanese academic Sugiura Yasuyuki.

Sugiura Yasuyuki

Middle East turmoil: A surprising boost for China-US stability?

The current turmoil in the Middle East may not disrupt China-US relations, but instead stabilise it, as China will not underestimate US strength, and the US will continue to seek reciprocal gains in dealing with China. Lianhe Zaobao associate China news editor Sim Tze Wei finds out from academics the impact of the Iran strike on China-US relations.

Sim Tze Wei

From Guangdong to Caracas: Why Enping Cantonese still choose Venezuela

For hundreds of thousands of Chinese people, particularly those from Enping in Guangdong, Venezuela represents more than just a troubled South American nation — it is a place of opportunity and unexpected safety. Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Lim Zhan Ting speaks with these overseas Chinese to find out more.

Lim Zhan Ting

[Big read] The world recarved under the Donroe Doctrine

US President Donald Trump’s revival of hemispheric dominance and the dramatic Venezuela intervention signal a rupture in global norms, as global powers weigh their next moves and NATO faces uncertainty. Lianhe Zaobao journalist Zhou Yifei reports.

Zhou Yifei

From Caracas to Cambodia: How far will Washington go?

The capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has sent shockwaves throughout the world, not least in terms of global rules and what is accepted behaviour. So what can Southeast Asia learn from the US’s recent actions in Venezuela? ISEAS researchers Hoang Thi Ha and Aries A Arugay ponder the question.

Hoang Thi Ha

Don’t turn to China in every crisis

From Iran to Venezuela, everyone expects China to act. But Beijing moves with a single aim: safeguard its own long-term plans, stepping in overseas only when stakes hit home, says academic Hao Nan.

Hao Nan

How resource nationalism is redrawing the global mineral playbook

In global politics, resource-rich countries are seeking to convert mineral wealth into security guarantees, diplomatic leverage and strategic influence — a symptom of a resurgent wave of resource nationalism.

Caixin Global

Japanese expert: China won’t replicate US Maduro raid

Japanese professor Shin Kawashima notes that the US raid in Venezuela is no precedent for Taiwan, and Beijing is unlikely to replicate such military actions despite regional tensions.

Shin Kawashima

No one has a plan for Iran

With protests engulfing Iran, the US considers its next move, China holds back and the population has no clear path forward. Could this unrest quietly reshape the regime? Academic Alessandro Arduino analyses the issue.

Alessandro Arduino

Could Iran be the next Venezuela?

With mass protests and US threats mounting — after Washington’s dramatic overthrow of Venezuela’s Maduro — Chinese academic Fan Hongda asks if Iran’s unrest will end its regime or reshape ties with China and global power balances.

Fan Hongda

Are we entering the age of conditional sovereignty?

As necessity and security are invoked to override borders, sovereignty is quietly recast as optional. The real question is no longer policy choice, but who decides when law no longer applies. Chinese academic Jie Guo discusses the implications.

Jie Guo

Maduro fell fast — could your state be next?

Venezuelan President Maduro collapsed not to armies, but to internal decay. Weak states beware: legitimacy and cohesion are the true shields — external forces need only a touch, observes Chinese academic Chu Zhaogen.

Chu Zhaogen