Leading Vietnamese Scholar and Journalist Imprisoned for Critical Facebook Posts
A Vietnamese court yesterday sentenced a prominent independent scholar and journalist to 30 months in prison over Facebook posts that criticized the government. Truong Huy San, better known by the pen...
View ArticleIs the United States Relitigating Its Grand Strategy?
The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast hosts Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) and Katie Putz (@LadyPutz) discuss the evolving U.S. approach to alliances and much more. If you’re an iOS or Mac user, you can also...
View ArticleThai Opposition Party Files No-Confidence Motion Against PM Paetongtarn
Thailand’s opposition People’s Party has filed a motion of no-confidence against Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, on the grounds that she has failed to carry out her duties and is under the undue...
View ArticleGrowing Trans-Atlantic Rift on Russia Complicates EU Outreach to India
There has been a flurry of recent diplomatic activity between India and the West. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in France and the United States earlier this month; this week India and the...
View ArticleBig Moves and Illusions of Reform in Southeast Asia’s Scam Industry
The major breaking news out of the Mekong subregion in recent weeks is the supposed release and pending repatriation of nearly 10,000 foreign nationals from scam compounds around Myawaddy, a town in...
View ArticleHow Australia Can Reinforce Its Commitment to International Humanitarian Law
There are currently more ongoing conflicts in the world than in any time since World War II. Within these conflicts there is also a breakdown of the rule of engagement – with an erosion of...
View ArticleIs There an Axis of Autocracy?
From cautious concern to doomsday predictions, the U.S.-China Security and Review Commission (USCC) heard testimony on February 20 that broadly addressed one question: Is China a partner in an “Axis of...
View ArticleThe 2 Koreas Share Experience in Foreign Wars
North and South Korea could not be more different. North Korea (officially the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, DPRK) is a dictatorship, with one of the world’s poorest economies and largest,...
View ArticleMaking Sense of China’s Latest Naval Exercises in the Asia-Pacific
In less than a week, China has initiated a series of naval drills in the South Pacific, Gulf of Tonkin, and off Taiwan’s southwest coast. These maneuvers demonstrated the capability of the People’s...
View ArticleMisun Woo on Women’s Rights in the Asia-Pacific
In September 1995, following the United Nations’ Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing, China, a declaration was issued proclaiming, among other things, that “women’s rights are human...
View ArticleThe Future of South Korea’s Nuclear Exports: The Czech Deal in Focus
In July 2024, Czechia selected South Korea’s state-run utility company, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), as the preferred bidder to build new nuclear reactors. KHNP was chosen to lead the...
View ArticleFrom Washington to Beijing, a Nuclear Tit-for-Tat
As Donald Trump continues his second term in the White House, China will be the greatest shaper of his administration’s defense and foreign policy. Officials from Beijing to Tokyo to Brussels to Moscow...
View ArticleMyanmar: Situation Update with Paul Greening
Paul Greening works as a political analyst and a specialist consultant covering the conflict in Myanmar from his base in Mae Sot on the Thai border and is a regular guest with Beyond the Mekong,...
View ArticleCrime Wave Sweeps Post-Hasina Bangladesh
A gold jewelry businessman was brutally attacked and robbed in Dhaka’s Rampura area on the night of February 23. A group of five to six men, armed with a gun and machetes, are reported to have...
View ArticleThe Logic of India’s Warship Numbers
On a single day in January this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi commissioned into the Indian Navy three indigenously built capital warships: a destroyer, a frigate, and a submarine. Soon after,...
View ArticleIndia, EU Seek to Emerge as Poles of Stability in an Uncertain World
India and the European Union last week announced a “new era” in ties, unveiling a roadmap for deepening relations as they marked the beginning of the third decade of their strategic partnership amid a...
View ArticleChinese Buoy Placed in Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone Removed
On February 11, the Yomiuri Shimbun (Japan’s largest newspaper by circulation), citing an announcement by the Japan Coast Guard, reported that a large buoy that China had placed in Japan’s exclusive...
View ArticleWithout Reform, Bangladesh Risks Backsliding into Repression
Bangladesh is at a pivotal crossroads. The caretaker government of Muhammad Yunus has pledged to hold elections by the end of the year, but a simple return to the ballot box won’t be enough. Without...
View ArticleThe New Age of Global Trade: Aggressive Neo-Mercantilism
Learning is pattern recognition, spotting a picture before all its constituent dots are explicitly connected. What’s the pattern formed by the following “dots” – all international trade events that...
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Indonesia’s Ban on Importing Plastic Waste Met With Cautious Optimism From...
Indonesia, a major recipient of the world’s plastic scrap exports, says it has introduced a ban on all imports starting this year. The move comes as other Southeast Asian nations are tightening up...
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