Top Stories
TOP
December 02, 2021
Omicron Variant Threatens to Upend Southeast Asia’s COVID-19 Recovery
By Sebastian Strangio
After a challenging year, the region's governments have ample reason to take the emergence of the new strain seriously.
December 01, 2021
Which Asia-Pacific Countries Were (and Weren’t) Invited to the US Summit for Democracy?
By Shannon Tiezzi
The guest list underscores the region’s ambivalent relationship with democracy and political freedom.
November 30, 2021
Social Media Misinformation and the 2022 Philippine Elections
By Japhet Quitzon
Next year's presidential contest is set to produce a dramatic sequel to the “social media election" of 2016.
November 26, 2021
Sri Lanka Bows to Chinese Pressure Again
By Sudha Ramachandran
Colombo has agreed to pay millions of dollars to a Chinese company that has reportedly supplied it with contaminated organic fertilizer.
Diplomat Risk Intelligence Analyses That Help You Act Today – For Tomorrow
Report
Afghanistan and Taliban 2.0
August 2021
A DRI report on Afghanistan following the return of the Taliban regime to Kabul looks at the international security and geopolitical implications of the development.
Access the Report
Trendlines
Here Be Dragons?
October 2021
A data-driven deep dive into the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, situating it within the overall context of Pakistan’s economy.
Access Trendlines
Asia Review
Unrest in the Solomon Islands
December 3, 2021
Probing the causes of the Solomon Islands violence—and where geopolitics fits in the story.
Read Newsletter
Majlis
Australia and an Indo-Pacific in Flux
October 2021
Australia is making headlines. Let three leading experts from the country tell you about the forces shaping how Canberra is looking at world.
Watch Webinar
Future Tense
Chinese Nuclear Weapons: A View From Beijing
November 25, 2021
Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy's Tong Zhao discusses drivers behind China's nuclear weapons expansion, how Beijing perceives the international strategic environment, and much more.
Listen to Podcast
Magazine
M
December 01, 2021
‘Patriots Only’: Hong Kong’s New Election System in Action
By Jessie Lau and Shui-yin Sharon Yam
Changes to Hong Kong’s election system, as well as the overarching national security law, have all but killed any formal political opposition.
December 01, 2021
Kazakhstan: What Happened in Zhanaozen?
By Zholdas Orisbayev
Ten years after the Zhanaozen massacre, has justice been served?
December 01, 2021
Bangladesh’s Evolving Relations With India and Pakistan
By Delwar Hossain
Bangladesh’s relations with India and Pakistan have gone through inverse cycles of friendship and hostility.
December 01, 2021
Asia After the Soviet Union
Five experts explore the legacy of the USSR and the impact of its collapse on China, India, Japan, the Koreas, and Vietnam.
Blogs
China Power
A New World Order
P
December 07, 2021
White House Makes It Official: No US Delegation to Attend Beijing 2022 Olympics
By Shannon Tiezzi
China vowed “countermeasures” to the diplomatic boycott as the Biden administration renewed pressure over China's abuses in Xinjiang.
December 07, 2021
Under Pressure From China’s Authorities, Didi Is Delisting From the New York Stock Exchange
December 04, 2021
Amid Tensions With Turkey, China Is Putting the Kurdish Issue in Play
December 04, 2021
Behind Legislators’ Push to Make PRC National Day a New York State Holiday
Flashpoints
Diplomacy by Other Means
F
December 03, 2021
Afghanistan’s Taliban, Myanmar’s Tatmadaw Denied UN Seats, For Now
By Catherine Putz
The Taliban and the junta in Myanmar will remain outside the halls of the United Nations for now.
December 02, 2021
Is China Stacking the Technology Deck by Setting International Standards?
December 01, 2021
Even Duterte Can’t Get Around the Thorn in China-Philippine Relations
November 26, 2021
Nuclear Proliferation Concerns in East Asia: Beyond North Korea
Asia Defense
Militaries of the Asia-Pacific
D
December 03, 2021
Can Technology Predict War?
By Jacob Parakilas
Political scientists and analytical units in governments have tried to create more accurate, more rational, and more systemic ways to assess the risk of war for decades
December 03, 2021
How to Jumpstart a Dialogue With China on Arms Control
December 02, 2021
US Global Posture Review Calls for Stationing More Units in South Korea
November 29, 2021
Time to Revise the Japan Coast Guard Act?
ASEAN Beat
Insights Into Half a Billion
B
December 07, 2021
Rohingya Sue Facebook for $150 Billion, Alleging Role in Violence
By Kelvin Chan
Lawyers filed a class-action lawsuit in California saying Facebook's arrival in Myanmar helped spread hate speech, misinformation, and incitement to violence.
December 07, 2021
New ASEAN Chair Cambodia to Push Engagement With Myanmar Junta
December 06, 2021
Myanmar Court Sentences Ousted Leader Aung San Suu Kyi to 4 Years
December 06, 2021
Myanmar Army Truck Runs Down Protesters Ahead of Suu Kyi Verdict
The Pulse
Perspectives on South Asia
P
December 08, 2021
The Unsung Indian Heroes of Bangladesh’s Liberation War
By Rajeev Bhattacharya
Several police officers from Assam trained the Mukti Bahini in guerrilla warfare in the run-up to the war.
December 07, 2021
India Hosts Putin as it Balances Ties With Russia, US
December 07, 2021
The Dilemma Over the Blasphemy Law in Pakistan
December 07, 2021
Afghan Museum Reopens with Taliban Security – and Visitors
The Koreas
Divided Peninsula
K
December 07, 2021
North Korea Plans to Dig Deep Into Renewable Energy Alternatives
By Jason Bartlett
The success of North Korean renewable energy projects will depend on the willingness of key allies, such as China, to facilitate.
December 06, 2021
The Long Shadow of the Asian Financial Crisis in South Korea
December 06, 2021
Kim Jong Un and the ‘Supreme Leader System’
December 01, 2021
Why South Korea Fell Behind Japan in Southeast Asia
Tokyo Report
News From Japan
R
December 02, 2021
Can Kishida Become Japan’s First Human Rights Prime Minister?
By Mieczysław P. Boduszyński and Christopher K. Lamont
Japan has rarely been keen to promote human rights and democracy overseas. That may change under Kishida and his new special adviser on human rights.
December 02, 2021
China Lashes Out at Japan’s Former PM Abe Over Taiwan Warning
November 25, 2021
Japan’s New Pandemic Border Restrictions Disappoint Residents Stranded Abroad
November 25, 2021
Will Japan-South Korea Relations Ever Get Back on Track?
The Debate
Comment and Opinion
D
December 07, 2021
Europe’s Global Gateway: Complementing or Competing With BRI?
By Frederick Kliem
The EU’s enhanced infrastructure connectivity strategy is often framed as being in competition with China, unnecessarily making Global Gateway an instrument of geopolitical rivalry.
December 06, 2021
What China Learned From the Collapse of the USSR
December 03, 2021
Could Taiwan’s Political Left Reconsider Nuclear Power?
December 01, 2021
AI Strategic Competition, Norms, and the Ethics of Global Empire
Crossroads Asia
The New Silk Road
A
December 07, 2021
Is It Time for the US to Press Uzbekistan on Human Rights?
By Catherine Putz
A group of U.S. Senators have asked the Biden administration to center human rights in the upcoming Strategic Partnership Dialogue with Uzbekistan.
December 07, 2021
As the Dust Settles from Kyrgyzstan’s Election, What Next?
December 03, 2021
Mongolia-Russia Diplomatic Relations at 100
December 02, 2021
Mob Accosts Kyrgyz Opposition Politician Tekebayev
Trans-Pacific View
U.S. Policy on Asia
V
December 08, 2021
A New Direction for the China-US Phase One Deal?
By Bashar Malkawi
Enforcing the deal could ironically prove to be its undoing. What options does Washington have?
December 07, 2021
US Secretary of State Blinken Set for Maiden Southeast Asia Trip
December 02, 2021
Democracy Promotion in the Indo-Pacific: Prelude to a ‘Biden Doctrine’?
December 02, 2021
Taiwan’s Pragmatic Approach to Biden’s Democracy Summit
Pacific Money
Economy And Business
M
December 07, 2021
Making Sense of Mitratel’s $1.3 Billion Dollar IPO on the Indonesia Stock Exchange
By James Guild
The listing sends the message that the government is willing to make room for the safe investment of private capital in Indonesia.
December 03, 2021
How Indonesia and Singapore Can Deepen Their Renewable Energy Cooperation
November 30, 2021
Thai Telcos Dtac and True Are Planning a Merger
November 25, 2021
The Idiosyncrasies of China’s Bond Market
Oceania
The South Pacific
O
December 08, 2021
Taiwan Must Avoid Pouring Fuel on Solomon Islands Fire
By James Baron
The Solomons is a tinderbox of complex ethnic tensions, corruption, and competing local interests, meaning interference from Beijing or Taipei can have disastrous consequences.
November 30, 2021
Strong Showing for the Pacific at Biden’s Summit for Democracy
November 26, 2021
Violent Protests Unsettle Solomon Islands
November 26, 2021
Is China to Blame for Solomon Islands Unrest?
Videos
Asia on Video
V
November 24, 2021
AUKUS’ Reception in the Indo-Pacific
Shihoko Goto, Manjari Chatterjee Miller, and Susannah Patton discuss the implications of AUKUS for countries in the region.
October 29, 2021
Can China and the US Cooperate on Climate Change?
September 08, 2021
Where Does the China-India Border Dispute Stand?
August 10, 2021
Myanmar, Six Months After the Coup
Podcasts
Asia Geopolitics
P
November 20, 2021
Biden, Xi, and the Importance of Guardrails in the US-China Relationship
By Ankit Panda, Catherine Putz, and Ankit Panda and Catherine Putz
The United States and China aren’t satisfied with their relationship, but both sides appear to be interested in managing their differences.
November 13, 2021
Afghanistan, Then and Now
November 04, 2021
Continuity and Flux in Central Asia: Elections in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan
November 01, 2021
The Shifting Nature of India-China Relations
Photo Essays
Asia in Pictures
E
November 01, 2021
On the Eve of Reopening, Thai Protesters Take to the Streets Again
By Cory Wright
Protesters’ demands remain the same: a constitutional overhaul, new elections and a reform of the monarchy.