Melody Mociulski on Taking Myanmar’s ‘Intrepid Paths’
American author Melody Mociulski spent 13 years of her retirement working in Myanmar and Afghanistan providing prosthetics, microfinance, and education for young girls, a decision that can be traced...
View ArticleThai PM Paetongtarn Meets Myanmar’s Junta Chief in Kunming
Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra met with the head of Myanmar’s military junta in China yesterday, as her government prepares to hold an “informal consultation” on the country’s...
View ArticleDebunking the Myth of Malaysia’s Economic Overdependence on China
Much ado has been made about Malaysia’s relationship with China, and nowhere is this more apparent than in trade. By now, it should be self-evident that Malaysia and China have strong economic ties: in...
View ArticleFamine Imminent in Myanmar’s Rakhine State as Economy Collapses, UN Says
Myanmar’s Rakhine State faces possible famine due to plummeting incomes and disruptions to employment and agricultural production linked to the ongoing conflict in the state, the United Nations has...
View ArticleTrump’s Victory Will Test What’s Left of ASEAN’s Resolve
Criticisms of ASEAN from within are rare, despite well-publicized splits over issues like Chinese encroachment across the South China Sea, the conflict in Myanmar, and organized crime syndicates which...
View ArticleChina Unveils $1.7 Trillion Package to Address Mounting Local Debt Woes
China’s Ministry of Finance has announced a five-year, 12 trillion yuan ($1.7 trillion) plan to address local government debt pressures through structured debt swaps, special-purpose bonds, and...
View ArticleSolar Power: A New Opportunity for India-Taiwan Ties
India and Taiwan have a unique opportunity to forge a mutually beneficial partnership in the renewable energy sector, particularly in the solar power domain. Taiwan is home to major solar wafer...
View ArticleWhy Has High Speed Rail Failed in Kazakhstan?
High-speed train travel can be a challenging prospect for any nation. To achieve speeds of 250 kilometers per hour, high-speed rail (HSR) requires wide expanses of flat, unpopulated land to barrel...
View Article‘America First’ and Threading the Needle on Tech Sovereignty
Donald Trump’s return to the White House is expected to usher in a raft of changes to the United States’ foreign policy posture. But there is at least one area in which the Republican president-elect...
View ArticleHong Kong’s Digital Battle Against State Surveillance
It is no secret that human rights have been gradually dismantled in Hong Kong since Beijing imposed the National Security Law on Hong Kong in 2020, following widespread pro-democracy protests in 2019....
View ArticleWill a New Golf Course Near Hanoi Cement Trump-Vietnam Relations?
Who knows what Donald Trump recalls of his first presidency or how much of what went on during those four years will inform the next. Thanks to lobbying by American businessmen in Vietnam and lobbyists...
View ArticleRumble in Colombo: Sri Lanka’s Election Surprise
On September 21, Anura Kumara Dissanayake was elected Sri Lanka’s president, representing a massive shift in voter sentiment since 2019, when he had garnered just 3.16 percent of the vote. As the first...
View ArticleSouth Korea’s Deepening Dilemma Over Ukraine
The past few weeks have been marked by a flurry of footage and intelligence tidbits revealing North Korea’s deployment of its forces to Russia. Initial incredulity on the South Koreans’ part gradually...
View ArticleC5+Trump: Getting the US Down to Business in Central Asia
The five Central Asian countries will not be at the top of President-elect Donald Trump’s new foreign policy agenda, but they won’t be at the bottom either. The first Trump administration was well...
View ArticleChina Declares Baselines Around Disputed South China Sea Shoal
China’s government has announced the baselines of its territorial sea adjacent to Scarborough Shoal, a contested reef in the South China Sea, in a bid to strengthen its expansive claims over the vital...
View ArticleDid Indonesia Just Capitulate to China on the South China Sea?
Indonesia has been forced to clarify that it does not recognize China’s maximalist claims over the South China Sea, after signing a maritime development deal with Beijing that appears to acknowledge...
View ArticleMyanmar’s Braveheart Journalists Persist Amid Immense Pressure
Myanmar’s military regime lost no time in cracking down on media houses and journalists after it grabbed power through a coup nearly four years ago. It viewed any documentation of its gross abuse of...
View ArticleBikini-Clad Beauty Queen Backlash Reveals Deep-rooted Conservatism in...
I recently watched a video of a confident Pakistani woman, Roma Michael, dressed in a striking metallic gold bikini with matching gold gloves, walking the ramp at Miss Grand International 2024. “What a...
View ArticleFormer Malaysian Finance Minister Daim Zainuddin Dies at Age 86
Daim Zainuddin, a former Malaysian finance minister and key ally of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, died this morning at a hospital in Petaling Jaya, Malaysian media reported. He was 86. Daim’s...
View ArticleWhy Climate Diplomacy Should Be at the Top of Prabowo Subianto’s Agenda
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto is currently making his international debut after being sworn into office on October 20. Media reports suggested that he will be visiting five countries – China,...
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