Asia

India: encouraging the rainbow vote
India: encouraging the rainbow vote
As the mammoth task of elections in India continue up to a 19 May deadline, the nation’s election commission is seeking a full turnout of the population – including the often…
Myanmar: pariah status no bar to defence modernisation
Myanmar: pariah status no bar to defence modernisation
It has been more than two years since military “clearance operations” against Myanmar’s Rohingyas began in October 2016. Since then, the international community has relied on…
Strategic trends across the Indo-Pacific region
Strategic trends across the Indo-Pacific region
Much has been written in recent years about the reorientation of US policy to the Indo-Pacific region in response to China’s expanding economic and strategic footprint. What is…
Why North Korea will not return to outright provocations
Why North Korea will not return to outright provocations
Despite the hype that surrounded the April 2018 summit of leaders from South and North Korea, the first anniversary of the meeting did not attract much attention – and was ignored…
Belt and Road: colonialism with Chinese characteristics
Belt and Road: colonialism with Chinese characteristics
Although China’s top-ranking diplomat Yang Jiechi has repeatedly assured the world that his country’s supreme foreign policy project, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), “does not…
North Korea’s uranium and prospects of a stealthier bomb
North Korea’s uranium and prospects of a stealthier bomb
Verifying North Korea’s nuclear stockpile will be a critical part of any future disarmament negotiations. As past experience with other nations demonstrates, it is also a tricky…
Huawei reaches into Britain
Huawei reaches into Britain
Whatever the true situation behind the sacking of Gavin Williamson as British defence secretary over claims (which he strenuously denies) that he leaked information to the Daily…
The persistent status quo with North Korea
The persistent status quo with North Korea
It is a commonplace in media treatments of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, or North Korea) to view the previous two years as remarkable. This is often premised on…
Social media in India fans fake news
Social media in India fans fake news
India’s election campaigning is in full swing and everything about the Indian general election is gigantic. This time, about 900 million people above the age of 18 will be…
The high seas danger to workers in Taiwan’s fishing fleet
The high seas danger to workers in Taiwan’s fishing fleet
On 20 February, the Taiwan-flagged Wen Peng became the site of an alleged double murder at sea. According to Taiwan’s Fisheries Agency, a conflict broke out about 900 nautical…