Written by Zachary Haver
Beijing’s relentless pattern of assertiveness in the South China Sea is reinforcing existing perceptions of China as an irresponsible power. Beijing could have seized on COVID-19 as a chance to earn goodwill in Southeast Asia. Instead, China adopted the opposite approach.
Read MoreWritten by Dharish David and Lajjeetaa Manokaran
The World Bank estimates that at least 11 million people will slip back into poverty in East Asia and the Pacific, and another 16 million in South Asia due to the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read MoreWritten by Ambika Vishwanath
The Mekong River has been stressed with a number of water related events in the last two decades, some natural, many man-made. Beijing is committed to developing the Mekong basin and promises upstream activity will not hamper downstream flow, though that is not always the case.
Read MoreWritten by Pranay Shome
As India prepares to take over the chair of the World Health Assembly, New Delhi is faced with a diplomatic dilemma: support the entry of Taiwan and risk antagonizing China or honour Beijing’s ‘One China’ principal.
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Written by Niranjan Marjani
16,000 African citizens live in Guangzhou in the Chinese province of Guangdong. After the COVID-19 outbreak, Africans living in China, especially Guangzhou, accused the Chinese authorities of undertaking acts of discrimination.
Read MoreWritten by Gulraiz Iqbal
For a long time a partner of the United States, Pakistan’s space program suffered due to its nuclear rivalry with India leading to sanctions from Washington. Now with the help of Beijing, Pakistan’s ambitions are once again growing, with the launch of two new satellites in 2018, aboard China’s Long March rockets.
Read MoreWritten by Charmaine Misalucha-Willoughby
ASEAN’s role has never been to resolve the South China Sea dispute, only to serve as a platform on which claimant states can negotiate a solution. The challenge remains for ASEAN to agree on a collective response to China’s recent moves.
Read MoreWritten by Gokul Sahni
Will the Indo-Pacific ever see a NATO-like organisation? What would ‘IPTO’ look like? Who would be its member states? Will it even be needed? The answers lie in how events unfurl in the future, with a lot to be decided by Beijing.
Read MoreWritten by Hunter Marston
China presents itself as a good neighbor intent to help along Myanmar’s ceasefire negotiations, but it has refused to distance itself from its more nefarious connections to armed groups operating in the country.
Read MoreWritten by Sana Hashmi
Whilst Taiwan has been proactive in engaging India, supplying medical supplies in the fight against COVID-19, India has been less ready to engage. Tsai’s re-election provides India with an opportunity to strengthen ties amid rising tensions with China.
Read MoreWritten by Prashant Kandpal
On December 11, 2019, the Indian Parliament passed Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) which then became a law. This was for the first time in India that a religious criterion was added to the nation's naturalization process.
Read MoreWritten by Nichole Ballawar
In 1979, the United States ended formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan to strengthen ties with Beijing during the Cold War. But now the expansion of Chinese power in the Indo-Pacific has led the US to support Taiwan more openly.
Read MoreWritten by Vignesh Ram
A common ASEAN position (if it can be enforceable) with a Code of Conduct, will be important to avoid any future close confrontations such as the one between Malaysia and China. Time however is running out as Beijing continues to assert its power in the South China Sea.
Read MoreWritten by Lokman Karadag
China has not turned down the new diplomatic opportunities presented by COVID-19. Beijing has joined the struggle against the virus by sending millions of test kits, tons of masks, and medical experts to the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Africa.
Read MoreWritten by Khushnam P N
India is not a party to the disputes with China in the South China Sea and therefore will not seek any approach that may be percieved as ‘meddling’ by Beijing. The priority for India is to preserve the “Wuhan Consensus”.
Read MoreWritten by Akash Sahu
In the face of a COVID-19 inspired economic crisis, China is looking to boost ties with Indonesia. President Xi Jinping, has offered to maintain ‘close contact’ under the framework of the BRI, whilst also testing Indonesia’s sovereignty in the Natuna Sea.
Read MoreWritten by Santosh Ghimire
The opening by India of a Himalayan road to the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China, through Lipu Lekh has Nepali political elites, civil society, and ordinary people up arms. Despite close cultural ties, India and Nepal are increasingly at odds over the border.
Read MoreWritten by Yatharth Kachiar
In the last 18 years, India has nurtured a constituency of pro-democratic forces across age, gender, and ethnic groups in Afghanistan. It is time for New Delhi to rally behind these groups assertively, as NATO and the U.S. look set to withdraw.
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