The major Indo-Pacific powers of Australia, India, Japan and the United States concluded on Friday the first-ever summit of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, better known as “Quad.” The 90-minute event, conducted virtually due to Covid-19 restrictions, paves the way for a de facto “Asian NATO” amid growing concern over China’s increasingly assertive behaviour in recent […]
Only a decade ago, the phrase Indo-Pacific would have left most foreign policy experts scratching their heads. Today, it is not just stock language in Washington but a widely accepted reconceptualisation of Asia that is rearranging U.S. foreign policy. Read Here | Foreign Affairs
New Delhi and Islamabad’s sudden agreement to halt skirmishes along the Line of Control comes soon after India-China deal to end Ladakh stand-off. Ceasefire also coincides with establishment of China-India hotline and analysts believe US administration of Joe Biden may have been in the loop. Read Here | South China Morning Post
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga intends to continue Japan’s sweeping upgrades of its defense capabilities amid a major buildup of China’s military forces, increasing pressure from North Korea’s growing missile arsenal, and continued activities by Russia’s military in East Asia. Read Here | cfr.org
Given that the banks of the Pangong Lake mark only two of several areas of friction in the current standoff … both China and India’s state-sanctioned media offensives could very well scuttle future progress on comprehensively ending the standoff, either by letting public opinion get in its way or by inadvertently signalling to the other […]
When the National League for Democracy closed its first term in government last year, peacebuilding in Myanmar was already at a crossroads. Now, following the military coup, observers are asking what approach the generals might take to secure the “eternal peace” prescribed in the declaration justifying the emergency state. Read Here | The Diplomat
In contrast to its populist predecessor’s faux pas, the new Democratic administration will primarily rely on veteran policy-makers and tried-and-tested experts to project American leadership in strategic regions such as Asia. The familiar background of his top appointees will likely facilitate their quick bipartisan approval in the Democratic-majority Congress. Read Here | Asia Times
The Brahmaputra River is a source of life for more than 130 million people in China, India, and Bangladesh, but also a persistent irritant. The three riparian states, unlike those in other regional river basins, have never concluded a water-sharing agreement, and upstream dam construction by China and India is often viewed as a threat […]
Even after Asia’s economies climb out of the COVID-19 recession, China’s strategy of frenetically building dams and reservoirs on transnational rivers will confront them with a more permanent barrier to long-term economic prosperity: water scarcity. Read Here | Project Syndicate
Joe Biden should follow the course set by Donald Trump; there should be no U-turn based on naive hopes that goodwill can temper President Xi Jinping’s growing and increasingly impatient desire to pressure Taiwan into capitulation. Read Here | The National Interest
looking beyond borders 