With its infrastructure projects and business investments, China’s Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) initiative has the potential to transform Central Asia. But Chinese plans will face rising terrorism and extremism risks in the region. In order to address these security concerns, China will have to work closely with Central Asian republics. If successful, in the […]
Canada is expected to bridge international efforts to upgrade the ‘maximum pressure’ campaign against Kim Jung Un ’s deceitful brinkmanship into a more principled pacifying denuclearization discourse. On Jan. 16th, the U.S. and his ‘true north’ brother will co-host a foreign-minister-level meeting for the 16 United Nations command sending states plus South Korea, Japan, India, […]
Rough seas are seen underneath a maritime platform in Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago. Photo: Tuoi Tre The new year rang in a series of devastating winter storms ranging from the “bomb cyclone” hitting the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S. to the deadly storm Eleanor battering Western Europe – examples of extreme weather which many scientists […]
With the demise of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and the fall of Marawi in the Philippines, how will Malaysia handle the prospect of returning fighters? Malaysia’s Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed recently expressed concerns over the threat of returning militants from the Middle East and the Philippines. The fall of Marawi, following the deaths of […]
Chinese embassy Minister Li Kexin (Central News Agency) Chinese diplomat Li Kexin has warned Washington that Beijing could soon activate its Anti-Secession Law if the United States sent its navy ships to Taiwan. The comments by Li, made in Washington on December 8 at a Chinese embassy event, were in reference to the passage of […]
Continued U.S. military threats against the DPRK waste precious time which could be better spent in earnest negotiations recognizing each party’s interests.
A man paints over the logo of the Cambodia National Rescue Party at its headquarters in Phnom Penh. Photo: Getty Images. In the days following the dissolution of the Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP), I headed to Phnom Penh to witness the changes on the ground since my last visit over two years ago. On […]
New United States Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink arriving at Noi Bai International Airport in Ha Noi on November 4, 2017. Photo: Tuoi Tre Here in Da Nang, economic leaders from around the Asia-Pacific region are gathering for this week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ summit hosted by the Vietnamese. Established in 1989, APEC […]
A passerby helps an old man hit by a car, in Beijing September 9, 2014 (Photo/IC) Joseph Nye of Harvard University first coined the term “soft power” in his 1990 book, Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power. He explored further the notion of soft power in his 2004 book, Soft Power: The […]
The Kyrgyz presidential elections are a positive sign for democracy in the Central Asian region. However, a recent quarrel between Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan tarnishes the picture and threatens regional integration efforts. President-elect Zheenbekov is confronted with crucial decisions concerning the formation of a government. The presidential elections in Kyrgyzstan held on 15 October were remarkable in many […]
As part of the 69th anniversary of the Armed Forces Day in South Korea, special army soldiers staged a skills demonstration performance at the 2nd Fleet Parade Ground in Pyeongtaek. (The National/UAE) On October 1, China kicked off its celebration of the 68th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic with a […]
Japan Coast Guard security team members display tracking and capture drills in October 2016 (Kazuhiro Nogi/Pool Photo via AP, File) The sovereignty of the South China Sea has been hotly debated in recent years among China and the littoral nations (especially the Philippines and Vietnam). Beijing lays claim to some 90 percent of the […]
It is easy to brush off North Korea’s behavior as irrational, but the fact that the Kim regime consolidated and has maintained power since 1948 says otherwise. If North Korea was truly an irrational actor, it would not have been able to survive this long. And to have maintained a three generation dictatorship while being […]
Japan’s reputation for quality infrastructure is well-known in Asia, where Tokyo is hitting back at Beijing’s efforts at economic hegemony.
With bullish predictions and rhetoric of Asia’s rise we should be careful of buying into years of high economic growth. Asia faces serious challenges.
