Concerns about a stronger Chinese engagement — following the unexpected security pact between China and the Solomon Islands in 2022 — rattled the US and its regional allies, Australia and New Zealand, into stepping up their engagements with the Pacific Island countries. Not unexpectedly, these island countries now find themselves beneficiaries of the competition for geopolitical influence even as they try to avoid being drawn into it.
Politics
Politics
Love him or hate him, Dr Kissinger played a pivotal role in history, teeing up President Richard Nixon’s visit to China and the normalisation of US-China relations. Even when he left office, he continued to advocate for productive relations with China through engagement, and sought to explain Chinese diplomacy to Western audiences. Even as his admirers mourn the passing of a bygone era, it is now up to the young to take up the mantle of improving US-China relations.
Politics
While Pakistan's prized port at Gwadar in Balochistan province is supposed to open up an energy corridor from Central Asia and the Gulf across Pakistan to western China, security is the actual key to the Beijing's grand energy security plan, which includes developing Gwadar port as an alternative to the Strait of Malacca — a narrow waterway between Indonesia and Malaysia.
Politics
A recent land and maritime exercise among China and five Southeast Asian countries highlights some emerging trends but breaks little new ground.
Politics
Academic Fan Hongda says that the Gaza-Israel war is dividing the world on the lines of whether or not they are on the side of the G7. Although there has been no large-scale military spillover yet, the political spillover of the Gaza-Israel war is obvious. For China, a stable and peaceful Middle East is what it wants most. Thus, it has a great stake in pushing for an end to the war.
Politics
Both China and the US needed a successful summit to take place for their own domestic reasons, and the San Francisco meeting achieved that, says EAI senior research fellow Lance Gore. However, the real question is whether the US is actually going for a win-win cooperation with China, or a lose-lose situation hoping that China will lose more?
Politics
Amid rising tensions in the South China Sea between the Philippines and China, Japan is looking to forge closer security relations with the Philippines. An envisaged reciprocal access agreement between the Philippines and Japan would be an important step towards that end and help to achieve maritime stability in East Asia.
Politics
While Japanese PM Kishida’s recent visit to Manila points to the upward momentum of the Japan-Philippines Strategic Partnership, it will also be a litmus test of Japan’s strategic goals in the rest of Southeast Asia.
Society
Nepal’s recent ban on TikTok was a result of both societal and political concerns, says Indian academic Rishi Gupta. In the aftermath, will there be ripple effects on Nepal's relations with China?