Diplomacy in an age of disruption: The EU-China summit

Written by Gunnar Wiegand

While major breakthroughs are unlikely, progress on economic issues is possible and could help restore a measure of stability and predictability for companies and citizens on both sides.

Indonesia in BRICS: New chapter or familiar story?

Written by Dominique Fraser and Dr Premesha Saha

Indonesia will need to ensure that it carefully balances its commitments to BRICS alongside its responsibilities and obligations within ASEAN and its existing relationships with Western nations like the US and the EU.

China’s cautious quest to draw Afghanistan back into the fold

Written by Sarah Godek

By increasing relations at a slower pace, China’s government makes a safer long-term bet on Afghanistan that forgoes short-run gains to ensure greater security that could protect longer-term benefits in the future.

Emerging Issues9DLAugust 23, 20249DASHLINE, China’s cautious quest to draw Afghanistan back into the fold, Sarah Godek, Afghanistan, China, Taliban, United Nations, UN, interconnectivity, connectivity, Taliban-led Afghanistan, trade, 2023 Amu Darya oil basin contract, China’s Belt and Road Initiative, BRI, Chinese government, United States, US, agriculture, critical materials, copper, lithium, Taliban ambassador, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Taliban’s political commissar, 20th Party Congress, Kabul, terror, terror attacks, Zhao Xing, Hamid Karzai, Ashraf Ghani, peace, US withdrawal, US withdrawal from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Central Asia, peace through engagement, mining, Mes Aynak mine, mineral reserves, cotton, pine nut, Xi Jinping, Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon, China-Tajikistan-Afghanistan corridor, Kazakhstan, trans-Afghan railway project, cargo, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Vice Chairman of Tibet, Tibet, SCO, UNSC travel bans, Taliban officials, dialogue, sanctions, noninterference, internal affairs, China-Afghanistan ties, Wakhan Corridor, CPEC, suicide bombings, Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISKP), Al Qaeda, Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement

Counter-insurgency dynamics in Balochistan: Examining militant surrenders and resurgences

Written by Sajid Aziz

The twin threats of separatist movement and militancy by religious-ethnic groups in Pakistan and Iran, respectively, have been perennial sources of mistrust, mutual accusations, frequent border skirmishes, and the recent military strikes and counter-strikes between the two states.

Faultlines9DLFebruary 20, 20249DASHLINE, Sajid Aziz, Counter-insurgency dynamics in Balochistan: Examining militant surrenders and resurgences, Pakistan, Balochistan, Sarfaraz Bangulzai, Baloch Nationalist Army (BNA), surrender, Balochistan’s separatist movement, separatism, separatist militant organisation, independence, Baloch Republican Army (BRA), United Baloch Army (UBA), Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Pakistan’s armed forces, Gulzar Imam, military, intelligence, Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), Baloch Liberation Front (BLF), violence, Baloch, securitised, Demobilisation, Babar Yousaf, armed struggle, counter-insurgency, fighters, militants, insurgency, amnesty, decapitation strategy, infighting, terrorism, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Baloch Raaji Aajoi Sangar (BRAS), middle class, Fedayeen attacks, Majeed Brigade, security forces, Panjgur and Nushki districts, Chinese nationals, suicide attacks, human rights violations, Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP), UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances, Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), Iran-Pakistan border, Iran, Gwader, Chahbar, port, Tehran, Islamabad, human smuggling, drug trafficking, Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)

Pakistan’s election — a primer

Written by Dr Filippo Boni

Pakistan is scheduled to hold its twelfth general election on 8 February, amid a deteriorating security situation in parts of the country, allegations of an uneven playing field against the former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his party, and with China and the United States waiting to find out who will lead the next Pakistani government.

South Asia9DLFebruary 5, 20249dashline, A primer on Pakistan’s elections, Filippo Boni, Pakistan, elections, Nawaz Sharif, Hafizabad, disqualification, general election, deteriorating security situation, uneven electoral playing field, Imran Khan, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, PTI, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, state secrets leak, imprisonment, military, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, PML-N, cricket bat logo, electoral candidates, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan Peoples Party, PPP, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, climate change, policy position, electoral campaign, media freedom, Coalition for Free Media, Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, PFUJ, Council of Pakistan Newspapers Editors, CPNE, Tehreek Taliban Pakistan, TTP, militant groups, Islamic State Khorasan Province, ISKP, Balochistan, separatist militant groups, bilateral crisis, Iran, missile strike, Islamabad, Iran-Pakistan, Iran-Pakistan tensions, borders, US, China, Sino-Pakistani bilateral ties, BRI, CPEC, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, socio-economic development, military leadership, Afghanistan, President Biden, Shahbaz Sharif, UNGA, US-Pakistan relations, domestic security, regional security

BRICS Plus: India’s perspective on the group’s expansion

Written by Rishma Banerjee

Given the broader context of India’s rivalry with China, and its tightrope act of balancing ties between Russia and the West, New Delhi’s support for the six new BRICS members reflects its broader strategic and geopolitical interests.

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Strategic competition in the South Pacific and its implications for New Zealand

Written by Dr Reuben Steff

While China’s activities are concerning, it should be made clear to Beijing that NZ’s and others’ responses in the security sphere are dependent on China’s approach to the region.

China’s uncertain future as a global security provider

Written by Lukas Fiala

The key question is whether Xi’s growing assertiveness and inadequacy of existing means to ensure the security of Chinese entities abroad will lead to a more pronounced security footprint over the coming decade, featuring new military base arrangements and, potentially, institutionalised security guarantees.

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A law to rein in tech firms: the US is restricting China by emulating it

Written by Wendy Chang and Antonia Hmaidi

By expanding the definition of national security to address the newly antagonistic world that China and the US perceive themselves in, both countries seem ready to accept the fragmentation of their ever-more digital economies and societies as inevitable.

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Khan versus the rest: What lies ahead for Pakistan

Written by Syed Ali Zia Jaffery

The crisis can only end if the government realises that preventing people from exercising their right to vote will be counterproductive going forward.

Elephant in the room: Indonesia hesitates to strike India-Russia missile deal

Written by Andi Raihanah Ashar

Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia are unlikely to pursue a missile deal involving an India-Russian joint venture as long as they have to put their relationship with the US at risk.

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In Conversation with Agathe Demarais

9DASHLINE recently had the pleasure of speaking with Agathe Demarais to discuss her timely and important book Backfire: How Sanctions Reshape the World Against U.S. Interests.

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The Taliban continues to struggle for international recognition

Written by Dante Schulz

The Taliban’s inability to address the security and economic concerns of its partners will only exacerbate the glaring issues plaguing Afghanistan.

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Putin’s war and a world in crisis: Beyond democracies and autocracies

Written by Eva Seiwert

The EU and allies should scrap the framing of ‘democracies vs autocracies’ not just with regard to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, but also when speaking about China’s increase in power.

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Western Indian Ocean: The missing piece in the US Indo-Pacific Strategy

Written by Rushali Saha

The Biden administration’s expansion of the geographic definition of the Indo-Pacific to include the entire Indian Ocean, while a positive first step, is merely a symbolic move unless complemented with concrete policy action.

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Samarkand 2022 — the ‘China Dream’ of SCO Summits

Written by Giulia Sciorati

As the SCO opens to other Asian sub-regions and even the African continent, Central Asia risks losing its centrality and becoming a minor geographical area compared to the Gulf or Southeast Asia, where the national interests of SCO member states (and China, above all) are prominent.

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2022: The US and its European allies

The Biden administration’s decision to withdraw from Afghanistan and the handling of the AUKUS announcement has strained relations with European allies and served as a stark reminder that the United States will always privilege its interests over those of its friends and partners.

In Conversation: Kerry Brown on “China’s World”

On one hand, there is a China that is complex, runs on different drivers depending on the issue one is talking about and is often poor at communicating, or resentful that it needs to communicate and do things that it sees everyone else doing without the need to explain themselves.

In Conversation9DLNovember 23, 20219DASHLINE, Kerry Brown, Xi Jinping, Trump, China, Asia, Japan, Korea, North Korea, Belt and Road Initiative, South China Sea, East China Sea, Russia, UN General Assembly, COP26, Iran, Afghanistan, Soviet Union, Peoples Liberation Army, PLA, Kabul, UK, Britain, Xinjiang, Australia, AUKUS, Vietnam, THAAD, Soft Power, Taiwan, Washington