Chinese backing for Arakan Army: Do Sino-Myanmar relations face turbulence?

Written by Jelvin Jose

Beijing's support for disparate rebel groups is part of a tacit strategy to reduce dependence on Myanmar’s military leadership. The Tatmadaw is unable to control the whole of Myanmar’s territory. Given this security context, indifference to or outright material support for the Arakan Army is crucial for Beijing.

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Resounding win for Ardern, but uncertainty about progressive change remains

Written by Lucas Knotter

For the rest of the world, similarly, this means that they can expect much the same from New Zealand’s foreign policy, which continues to balance its relationship with China and its Pacific connections. In many respects, New Zealand will continue to be considered, and consider itself, as a force of progress and innocent whimsy in world politics.

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India and France: From strategic partners to a strategic alliance

Written by John Pollock

After conducting the largest ever Varuna exercise off Goa in May 2019, the Chief of France’s navy Admiral Christophe Prazcuk announced that the French and Indian navies would undertake joint maritime security patrols in the Indian Ocean. The first such patrol took place in March 2020 utilising P-8 Poseidon anti-submarine aircraft.

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Japan's F-35 woes continue as the nation looks to the future

Written by Joseph Hammond

This summer the State Department approved a $23 billion plan for Japan to acquire 105 F-35 stealth fighters of both the conventional take-off (the F-35A), and the short take-off and vertical landing variant (the F-35B). As a result of this deal, Japan is now home to one of only two F-35 production final assembly and check-out facilities outside of Fort Worth, Texas.

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US-China decoupling: Interdependence limits economic delinking

Written by Stephen Nagy and Hanh Nguyen

Surveys conducted by American and European Union Chambers of Commerce showed that more than 80 per cent of businesses do not have relocation plans. Despite rising labour costs and geopolitical tensions, China still holds several critical advantages — high-skilled labour, a giant market, adequate infrastructure, and complex supply chains for business.

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Narrating violence: Is Hindutva responsible for violence against India's Christians?

Written by M. Sudhir Selvaraj

Most scholarship on communal violence in India focuses on Hindu-Muslim contentions, it is essential to note that Christians in India, who constitute 2.3 per cent of the population, are also targets of violence. Academics and activists share the consensus that violence against Christians is primarily caused by those who subscribe to the Hindutva ideology.

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Faultlines9DLIndia, Modi, BJP, Hindutva
South Korea’s Green New Deal shows the world what a smart economic recovery looks like

Written by Sung-Young Kim, Elizabeth Thurbon, Hao Tan and John Mathews

South Korea’s economy has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, its export industries dropped by 24 per cent in May as demand for the nation’s mainstay products fell away. In response, Korean President Moon Jae-in launched the Korean New Deal or “K-New Deal”.

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