Ten years ago, an American, an Australian, an Indian, and a Japanese walked into a room in Manila. This was no joke. They were representing their governments at a quadrilateral meeting also known as “the Quad.” The initiative, meant to facilitate conversation and cooperation between the four maritime democracies in the context of the rise of China […]
The relationship between the two countries—historically strategically distant—has grown increasingly robust under the stewardship of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Abe, with regular high-level summitry (Abe traveled to Delhi to visit Modi last month) combined with increasingly frequent and deepening exchanges at the diplomatic, defense, and business levels. Read Here – Foreign Affairs
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump wrapped up their talks as Trump’s first presidential visit to China drew to a close. In a joint press conference after their talks, Trump again congratulated Xi on his enhanced political status after last month’s Communist Party national congress. Read More – South China Morning Post
In most Asian capitals, as in Washington, Trump’s arrival in the region for an 11-day trip has prompted acute anxiety about what he might say or do. This is especially true regarding trade issues and North Korea, the two focal points of the U.S. administration’s still-nascent Asia policy. But in Beijing, Xi and the rest of the […]
The election success means Abe is stronger than ever. Post-election polls showed parties in favour of amending the US-drafted charter carried nearly 80 per cent of the seats in the lower house election. Never before have Japanese politicians been so vocally in favour of military reform. Read Here – South China Morning Post
China is working on an incredibly ambitious water diversion project involving the Brahmaputra, one of India’s largest rivers, which may become another point of tension between the two Asian neighbours. Chinese engineers are testing techniques that could be used to build a 1,000-kilometre (km) tunnel—the world’s longest—to carry water from Tibet to Xinjiang, a barren […]
For millennia, China and Japan have been locked in a relationship even more mutually dependent, competitive and influential than the much more recent one between Washington and Beijing. Each has sought to dominate, or at least be the most influential in, Asia, and the relations of each with their neighbours has at various points been […]
Farmers in oxcarts, Buddhist monks, businesspeople launching startups—they all now have the world at their thumbs. But what is it like to endure, in just a few short years, the transition Western countries have had a quarter century to work through? Tech is powerful anywhere, but it’s particularly powerful when it’s brand-new and easy to […]
The systematic persecution of Palestinians has long occupied a place in the consciousness of the ummah, the global community of Muslims. Muslims worldwide have watched for decades as Palestinians have been repeatedly displaced, subjected to disproportionate collective punishment, and denied statehood. While the Israeli occupation continues to stir up feelings of anger and powerlessness, another ethnic […]
When Ri Yong Ho, the foreign minister of North Korea, called U.S. President Donald Trump’s fiery speech at the United Nations a “declaration of war”, the phrase ricocheted across Twitter…As it turns out, though, North Korean officials refer to actions as a declarations of war roughly as often as Trump claims that CNN is fake […]
looking beyond borders 