ASIA A divide is emerging between how the Asia Pacific region has responded to the Omicron wave of COVID-19, and how North American and Western European countries have responded. East Asia Forum, Jeremy Youde: Asia’s cautious approach to Omicron AUSTRALIA One of the former Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials involved with a new […]
Tag: Indo Pacific
AFGHANISTAN The Taliban is creating a “grand army” for Afghanistan that will include officers and troops who served the old regime, says the official tasked with overseeing the military’s transformation. Latifullah Hakimi, head of the Taliban’s Ranks Clearance Commission, also told a news conference on Monday that they had repaired half the 81 helicopters and planes […]
AFRICA Artificial intelligence creeps on to the African Battlefield. Nathaniel Allen, Marian “Ify” Okpali, Brookings: Even as the world’s leading militaries race to adopt artificial intelligence in anticipation of future great power war, security forces in one of the world’s most conflict-prone regions are opting for a more measured approach. In Africa, AI is gradually making its […]
After 16 years of Angela Merkel’s leadership, a tight race on election night and almost two months of coalition negotiations in Germany, the Social Democratic Party, or SPD, returned to power with Olaf Scholz the new chancellor. With the Greens and the Free Democratic Party, they’ve formed the Ampelkoalition (traffic light coalition)—the federal republic’s first ever three-party […]
Southeast Asia is no stranger to strategic competition. But its ‘new geopolitics’ is different from those that existed during the Cold War. In fighting communism, the United States extended its security umbrella to the region. This gave ASEAN members breathing space and allowed them to focus on economic growth and domestic stability. It also stimulated […]
India and Russia held their first ever 2+2 dialogue in New Delhi during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s brief visit to India on 6 December. Both countries decided to strengthen bilateral economic cooperation and boost the Vladivostok–Chennai energy corridor, a gateway for Russia into the Indo-Pacific and an alternate source of energy for India, rather than relying on the […]
Australia and China both had diplomatic wins in Southeast Asia this year, particularly through the region’s Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Both Canberra and Beijing upgraded its ties with ASEAN to ‘comprehensive strategic partnership’, showing that the association sees both Australia and China as valued partners. Australia’s Indo-Pacific fortunes are in Biden’s hands (eastasiaforum.org) […]
The United States’s top diplomat says Washington will expand its military and economic relationships with partner countries in an Indo-Pacific region that he said was increasingly concerned over China’s “aggressive actions”. During a visit to Indonesia, Antony Blinken on Tuesday described the Indo-Pacific as the world’s most dynamic region and said everyone had a stake […]
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken delivered an address on the United States’ commitment to the security and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific in Jakarta, Indonesia on December 14. The United States is a proud Indo-Pacific nation, and the speech outlined a shared vision for the Indo-Pacific and how we will work with our allies and partners to make this vision a reality. Secretary Blinken’s Remarks on a Free and Open […]
As China and Russia loom large over Myanmar’s fate, Japan’s continued engagement with the Tatmadaw would be a much-needed democratic counterweight restraining the global ascendancy of authoritarianism affecting the future of the Indo-Pacific. On Myanmar, Japan Alone Must Hold the Line | The National Interest
The trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States (AUKUS), announced on 15 September 2021, has instantly become a matter of interest, and controversy, in the Indo-Pacific, the region that is unfolding as a theatre for 21st century’s geopolitical affairs. Touted as Canberra’s biggest defence partnership in decades, the trilateral aims […]
The coronavirus pandemic has weakened China’s power in the Indo-Pacific, and the region’s deepening security uncertainties present a “significant” risk of war, the Lowy Institute said in a report on Sunday. COVID-19 curbs China’s power in Indo-Pacific, risks of war ‘significant’ – report | Reuters