Asia
“Predatory cult”: the shadow of Unification Church over Abe’s funeral
After the assassination of Japan’s former prime minister Abe Shinzo, his life and legacy have been largely celebrated abroad but mired in controversy at home.
Internationally,…
Animal attractions: India confronts a neighbourhood dilemma
Forget Samarkand, the foreign relations story out of India that’s been getting the most attention of recent times is about animals. Cheetahs, to be specific: eight of the big cats…
Taiwan: Biden risks talking himself into a war he cannot win
The more often US President Joe Biden appears to abandon strategic ambiguity by saying quite clearly that America would go to war with China to defend Taiwan, the more difficult…
Economic diplomacy: Womenomics shifts from Tokyo to Jakarta
Labour pains
While Japan and Indonesia have radically different population pyramids, today they face the common dilemma that how they manage these differences will have a big…
Making sense of Indonesia’s fuel riots
With less than two months until the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia has gone into public security mode. The government is facing a major public backlash after President Joko Widodo…
The Rohingya issue requires a regional solution
The Myanmar–Bangladesh border is again the scene of trouble. The Bangladesh Army is on high alert after several cross-border incursions by the Myanmar military and is considering…
The war in Ukraine is pushing Central Asia away from Russia
As the Russian army pulled back the troops after a series of humiliating defeats in north-east Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin flew to Uzbekistan to attend a gathering…
What does Biden mean on Taiwan?
In the Cold War, analysts were sometimes concerned that the Kremlin might misread a rogue statement of bellicosity in Washington DC as an indication of White House intentions. If…
China’s ungainly balancing act with Russia
President Xi Jinping’s meeting with Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Uzbekistan has prompted another round of …
Concern for Sri Lankans fleeing to India amid economic crisis
Sri Lanka’s ongoing economic turmoil has given rise to concern about a new wave of people seeking to escape local strife by fleeing to India. The flight of people across the short…