Although the motivations underlying the protests in Hong Kong and Thailand are different from those in India and the US, in all cases they indicate growing popular dissatisfaction with prevailing institutions and political leadership in each country.
The days of ‘one country two systems’ — which is supposed to allow for Hong Kong’s specific legal status — appear to be long gone. This will inevitably have repercussions for the territory’s status as an important business and legal hub.
To operate in China, firms like IBM and Goldman Sachs will have to accept a new reality: algorithms are the new face of the Chinese government and they will decide if foreign companies succeed (or fail) in China.
How was it possible that China could end up with a string of illegal military island bases in international waters on one of the world’s most pivotal trade routes without any real confrontation, without a single shot fired in anger? This reality defines the new balance of global power and China’s reach within Asia.
The Australian media has also played a role in amplifying anti-Beijing viewpoints to such an extent, it has had a deadening effect on reasonable discussion about managing the country’s China policy more effectively.
With New Delhi distracted by the COVID-19 pandemic and a wave of protests against its domestic policies, Beijing is seeking to incrementally change the status quo in Bhutan and the Himalayas.
In January we invite articles that seek to predict and analyse events across the Indo-Pacific for the year ahead. We welcome features that may focus on a specific country or issue (i.e. North Korea or multilateralism) in addition to pieces aiming to address the Indo-Pacific as a whole such as an ‘Indo-Pacific Top 10’.
Some critical observers warn that Taipei will inevitably have to deal with the unyielding demands of Chinese nationalism. But that is not the only reality that has to be faced. Beijing must also face the reality of the Taiwanese nation.
The lack of an heir apparent and the middling popularity of the rest of the NLD raises the question of whether the party can even exist without Aung San Suu Kyi at the helm. Let alone govern with continued majorities.
In recent elections, the voters have punished the KMT for appearing too close to the Chinese Communist Party. Opinion polls consistently show the Taiwanese people overwhelmingly want to remain separate from mainland China.
Australia has no ability to remake China into a completely different country. We need to live with it. This means both standing up to China and getting along — hardening our defences, while ensuring our economic prosperity. Without an economy, a country can’t pay to keep itself safe.
Upon Hun Sen’s death or incapacitation, public anger—the result of his closeness with China and failure to address corruption, a lack of jobs, and lagging development—could converge with elite discontent to topple Hun Manet, the strongman’s eldest son and successor.
US lawmakers and officials are contemplating a ‘reshoring fund’ of $25 billion to encourage critical suppliers to move out of China. Japan earmarked more than $2 billion in subsidies for companies to either bring manufacturing back home or diversify supply chains to Southeast Asia.
The demise of the ‘one country, two systems’ formula raises the question whether this descent into authoritarianism could have been prevented. Would the situation today be different if the UK had done more to institutionalise democracy prior to the 1997 handover?
The tech war between Europe and China may not get the same spotlight as the one between the US and China. Nor does it exhibit the same aggressiveness. But — don’t be fooled. This is a fight for control over the future.
From currency to navigation, the mainly American systems that have guided the world for decades are now being challenged. Right now, because all eyes are on TikTok and Huawei, the next generation of Chinese technology firms are quietly emerging unnoticed.
Billions in Chinese investment have come as the Indo-Bangla relationship has soured over the passage of India’s Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Thousands in Bangladesh protested the controversial law, perceived as anti-Muslim and harshly punitive toward Bengalis.