As US Withdraws From WHO, China Supercharges Its Public Health Diplomacy
Within two weeks of his inauguration, President Donald Trump announced the United States’ withdrawal from the World Health Organization and temporarily paused U.S. foreign assistance programs for...
View ArticleCould China Fill the US Aid Vacuum in Afghanistan?
The decision by the Trump administration to cut billions of dollars in aid to the world’s poorest regions will have far-reaching consequences. In Afghanistan, it may lead to increased Taliban...
View ArticleThe Paradox of Pakistan’s Dependence on China
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari’s five-day state visit to China, beginning on February 4, underscores the deepening yet fraught dynamics of the relationship. While the visit is framed around...
View ArticleWhat the Trump Administration Can Learn From Aid Reorganizations in...
There is much hand-wringing about the fate of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) since President Donald Trump returned to office. The independent agency was established in...
View ArticleTrump 2.0 in America: Geopolitical Ripples Across Asia and the World
The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast hosts Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) and Katie Putz (@LadyPutz) discuss the early days of the second Trump administration in the United States. If you’re an iOS or Mac...
View ArticleWhat to Watch as Mongolia’s Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Visits China
The 2025 Asian Winter Games will be held in Harbin, the capital of China’s Heilongjiang Province, from February 7-14. As is its custom when hosting multinational sporting events, China has invited...
View ArticleCan Kazakhstan Succeed in Its Transition Toward Clean Energy?
The development of clean energy has become a priority for much of the world due to the continued impacts of climate change. One significant consequence of climate change is the increasing intensity and...
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Hope and Fear on the Kyrgyz-Tajik Border
On January 28, the president of Kyrgyzstan, Sadyr Japarov, took questions from reporters on the evolving negotiations delimiting the border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. As a problem that has...
View ArticlePhilippines on Cusp of Major Defense Pacts with New Zealand, Canada
The Philippines is set to bolster its defense relations with Canada and New Zealand via defense pacts that will allow its forces to take part in larger and more complex military exercises. Frances...
View ArticleCampaigning Begins in Philippine Mid-term Election Amid Vice-Presidential...
The 90-day campaign period for the Philippines’ mid-term elections opened today, against the backdrop of a bitter political feud that culminated in last week’s impeachment of Vice President Sara...
View ArticleThe Continued Threat of Online Radicalization in Malaysia
In 2024, the Malaysian security services carried out more than 20 terrorism-related arrests in the country. These included two inter-state operations in June that involved the arrests of individuals in...
View ArticleLeaving Cambodia: A Conversation With Gerald Flynn
Gerald Flynn, a British journalist and staff writer for the environmental news site Mongabay, has been banned from entering Cambodia, where he has reported on environmental issues for the last five...
View ArticleThe Strange Stability of the Japan-US Relationship
The events that have transpired so far in the realm of foreign policy make it clear: nothing should be taken for granted under a second Donald Trump administration. Under Trump, the United States is no...
View ArticleWhat’s Driving China’s Controversial Mega-Dam in Tibet?
On December 25, 2024, Chinese state media Xinhua reported that the country had officially approved the construction of what will be the world largest hydro-dam with annual capacity of 60 gigawatts...
View ArticleLegacy of a Reformer: Manmohan Singh and India’s Economic Liberalization
Following the passing of Manmohan Singh, former prime minister of India and chief architect of its economic liberalization, this episode of Beyond the Indus focuses on his legacy and the wider topic of...
View ArticleThe Contradictions of Religion and Politics in Southeast Asia
A week or so ago, the Pew Research Center published a survey on “religious nationalism.” It is an unwieldy term, as the researchers admitted, but Pew did its best to simplify it. In the Philippines,...
View ArticleThailand Promises Further Measures Against Scam Operations in Myanmar
Thailand’s government says that it plans to intensify its war on online scam operations across the border in Myanmar, requesting arrest warrants for figures known to be involved with criminal...
View ArticleIs Narendra Modi Preemptively Bending the Knee to Donald Trump?
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets U.S. President Donald Trump there will be a lot of fanfare in the Indian media and one can anticipate the broad themes that will predominate. There will be...
View ArticleChina’s Challenges in 2025: Charting a Course Through a Stormy Sea
The global geopolitical landscape is shifting rapidly, marked by political upheavals, economic uncertainties, and technological rivalries. China, too, has delivered seismic shocks, upending assumptions...
View ArticleA Crime Scene Near a Bangkok Monastery
Wat Bowonniwet Vihara sits on a busy street in the heart of Bangkok’s historic district. The Buddhist temple serves as the headquarters of a monastic sect with close ties to the Thai royal family. On...
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