Europe

This pool image distributed by Sputnik agency shows Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) and North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un shaking hands during their meeting at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia on 13 September 2023. (Vladimir Smirnov/Pool/AFP)

US's 'axis of evil' narrative could escalate tensions on Korean peninsula

With North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s visit to Russia recently, observers worry that North Korea and Russia, together with China, are drawing closer, forming a greater “axis” of nuclear threat. But academic Jin Kai sees the sense of a greater “alliance” forming as all part of the US and its allies’ “geopolitical imagination”, which could see them taking steps that escalate the situation in the Korean peninsula.
Containers are loaded from the railway at the seaport terminal DIT Duisburg Intermodal Terminal at the Duisburg harbour, Germany, on 13 July 2023. With the expansion of rail-bound freight traffic along the "new Silk Road", the port continues to expand its role as a hub or end point of the Silk Road, which connects China and numerous other Asian countries with the Port of Duisburg. (Ina Fassbender/AFP)

Can the US-backed ‘modern spice route’ challenge China’s new Silk Road?

While the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor launched at the recent G20 summit has been touted as a game changer, challenges lie in the way of implementing the plan while China’s ten-year-old BRI continues to be entrenched in global infrastructure networks. EAI senior research fellow Yu Hong shares his views.
People crossing the street in front of the Paramount Global headquarters in Times Square, New York City, 8 August 2023. (Michael M. Santiago/AFP)

The global south and global north: Where does Singapore belong?

Former journalist Goh Choon Kang notes the gap between the global north and global south, with more affluent countries not delivering on promises and commitments made to less developed countries. Is there hope of reconciling the strong and the weak?
A train leaving Russia and entering China at Manzhouli. (Photo: Jack No1/Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0)

Russia 'looks East': Surging logistics and trade flows across China-Russia border

With China-Russia trade leaping many-fold since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, both sides have forged stronger cross-border transport and freight links, says US academic Chen Xiangming. However, this comes with challenges, due to Russia’s historical orientation toward Europe and severely underdeveloped Far Eastern regional and local economies.
Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa's president, left, and Xi Jinping, China's president on the closing day of the BRICS summit at the Sandton Convention Center in the Sandton district of Johannesburg, South Africa, on 24 August 2023.  (Leon Sadiki/Bloomberg)

China puts spotlight on global south with BRICS expansion

The diplomatic focus on third world countries during Mao Zedong’s era has taken a renewed form in Xi Jinping’s era with the focus on the global south, notes EAI academic Chen Gang. International circumstances could propel the Chinese to further elevate the importance of the global south, not least with the recent expansion of BRICS to include several global south countries.
Cars waiting to be loaded onto a ship at Lianyungang port, in Jiangsu province, China, on 13 July 2023. (AFP)

China’s auto exports belie roadblocks to conquering Europe and US

Chinese automakers have performed well in their push to go global, especially as Europe is now its biggest overseas market. But with Europe and the US ramping up policies to promote their own EV industries, the road ahead for Chinese automakers is not without hurdles.
Russia's Pacific Fleet warships parade off the port city of Vladivostok during the Navy Day celebrations on 30 July 2023. (Pavel Korolyov/AFP)

India, Russia and the Northern Sea Route: Navigating a shifting strategic environment

With China intensifying its interest in the Arctic’s Northern Sea Route, India also looks to subtly increase its cooperation with Russia in the shipping route which can significantly reduce sailing time between Europe and Asia. But India has strategic reasons of its own to do so.
People walk past a neighbourhood decorated with Singapore flags in Singapore. (SPH Media)

Chan Heng Chee: Small state in a turbulent world

Chan Heng Chee, ambassador-at-large and professor at the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities, Singapore University of Technology and Design, delivered a speech at the Reinventing Destiny conference on 14 August, held in commemoration of the 100th birth year anniversary of Mr Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s founding prime minister. She spoke about how strengthening Singapore as a nation and being part of an inclusive regional grouping like ASEAN could help the city state better survive these divisive and conflictual times. Here is the edited transcript of her speech.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz gestures as he addresses a summer press conference on domestic policy and diplomacy in Berlin, Germany, on 14 July 2023. (Tobias Schwarz/AFP)

Germany’s new China strategy: A drastic change

Germany’s newly unveiled “Strategy on China” echoed much of EU language in highlighting risks concerning competitiveness, supply chain resilience, national security and values in its recalibrated approach to China. While a de-risking strategy carries difficult trade-offs, there seems to be a broad consensus on the goals Germany wants to achieve.