DRI | COVID-19 IN ASIA
Presented by Diplomat Risk Intelligence
September 18, 2020
In Southeast Asia, COVID-19 Slowly Tightens Its Grip
By Sebastian Strangio
After weathering the early stages of the pandemic, several Southeast Asian nations are in the midst of worrying spikes of COVID-19.
September 18, 2020
China Border City Goes Into ‘Wartime Mode’ to Combat COVID-19
By Sebastian Strangio
The arrival of coronavirus cases from Myanmar highlights the difficulty of securing the long, winding border between the two countries.
September 15, 2020
Pakistan’s Fight Against COVID-19 Has Made Imran Khan Stronger
By Syed Ali Zia Jaffery
By bringing the military in as a stakeholder as well as advocating a smart lockdown, Khan’s COVID-19 response has consolidated his hold on power.
DRI | APAC Risks, Analyzed
DRI
September 24, 2020
China’s Draft Data Security Law: A Practical Review
By Marcel Green
For the first time, the Chinese government is taking steps to protect personal and consumer data. Businesses should take note.
September 18, 2020
The Real Strategic End Game in Decoupling From China
By Valbona Zeneli and Joseph Vann
Going all-in on the transatlantic economy is the only serious option for Western democracies seeking to counter China.
September 16, 2020
What Can Asia Expect From Suga’s Japan?
By Ankit Panda
Abe's successor will represent continuity, but faces a challenging set of internal issues.
Magazine
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September 01, 2020
Inter-Korea Relations: Things Fall Apart
By Christopher Green
The diplomacy of 2018 could have changed the political landscape of the Korean peninsula permanently. Two years later, does any of that progress remain?
September 01, 2020
Australia Steps Up in Defense of the Indo-Pacific Order
By Ashley Townshend and Brendan Thomas-Noone
The Strategic Update provides a blueprint for how Australia will navigate a “poorer, more dangerous and more disorderly” future in the Indo-Pacific.
September 01, 2020
What’s Left of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan?
By Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska
While the IMU itself might no longer be an important player in the complex landscape of international jihad, it may yet be too soon to portend its total demise.
September 01, 2020
China and the EU: A Tale of Two Summits
By Theresa Fallon
COVID-19 has accelerated shifting dynamics in EU-China relations.
Blogs
China Power
A New World Order
P
September 25, 2020
Another Arrest for Joshua Wong Highlights the Growing Pressure on Young Hong Kong Activists
By Shannon Tiezzi
The divergent fates of 20-something activists Wong, Agnes Chow, and Nathan Law demonstrate the new reality for Hong Kong’s young democrats.
September 24, 2020
China’s Draft Data Security Law: A Practical Review
September 23, 2020
In Serbia, China’s Digital Silk Road Might Be in Trouble Very Soon
September 23, 2020
At UN, Xi Outlines China’s Vision for the World
Flashpoints
Diplomacy by Other Means
F
September 17, 2020
Don’t Underestimate India’s Sidelining of Huawei
By Justin Sherman
New Delhi didn’t “ban” Huawei at the behest of Washington. It sidelined the Chinese company for its own complex array of reasons.
September 24, 2020
Explainer: The TikTok Deal for Dummies
September 23, 2020
Fresh Round of India-China Military Commanders’ Talks Hint at a New Status Quo on their Border
September 23, 2020
Could Pakistan Move to Make Gilgit-Baltistan a New Province Soon?
Asia Defense
Militaries of the Asia-Pacific
D
September 24, 2020
What Are India’s Plans for Directed Energy Weapons?
By Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan
DEWs are yet to be deployed by any country's military, but are widely seen as a critical part of future warfare.
September 17, 2020
Head of US Nuclear Forces Warns of Growing, Modernizing Chinese Nuclear Threat
September 16, 2020
US and India Hold Defense Technology Cooperation Meeting Amid Diminished Expectations
September 16, 2020
Can Offensive Cyber and Information Control Capabilities Be Simultaneously Measured?
By Other Means
Geopolitics in Asia With Ankit Panda
BSeptember 16, 2020
What Can Asia Expect From Suga’s Japan?
By Ankit Panda
Abe's successor will represent continuity, but faces a challenging set of internal issues.
September 13, 2020
India and Japan’s Proactive Convergence Continues: The ACSA and Beyond
September 05, 2020
India-China Tensions Spike in the Himalayas
August 25, 2020
North Korea Comes to Terms With Internal and External Challenges
ASEAN Beat
Insights Into Half a Billion
B
September 24, 2020
Southeast Asian Leaders Air Fears Over US-China Rivalry
By Sebastian Strangio
Joko Widodo and Rodrigo Duterte both used their inaugural U.N. speeches to express alarm at accelerating superpower tensions.
September 24, 2020
Social Reformers Challenge Malaysia’s Islamic Hardliners Over Headwear
September 24, 2020
Myanmar Election Will Fail to Meet Proper Standards: UN
September 23, 2020
Facebook Shuts Down Fake China-Based Accounts Backing Duterte
The Pulse
Perspectives on South Asia
P
September 25, 2020
Violence Persists as Afghan Government and Taliban Seek Path to Peace
By Catherine Putz
As Afghan government and Taliban negotiators sort out the rules and procedures, let alone an agenda, for peace, violence persists in Afghanistan.
September 25, 2020
Afghan Officials: Taliban Attack Checkpoints, Kill 28 Police
September 24, 2020
Could the Islamic State – Khorasan Province Be the Next Chapter of Global Terrorism?
September 23, 2020
Is Bangladesh Growing Closer to China at the Expense of Its Relations With India?
The Koreas
Divided Peninsula
K
September 24, 2020
Seoul Says North Korea Killed South Korean Official, Burned His Body
By Associated Press
The official disappeared from a government boat near the disputed inter-Korean maritime boundary. How he wound up in North Korean waters is a mystery.
September 23, 2020
South Korea President Stresses Peace, Inclusiveness, and Multilateralism at UN
September 16, 2020
How to Read Kim Jong Un’s Letters to President Trump
September 12, 2020
Sherlock Holmes in Seoul? South Korea Opens the Door for ‘Private Detectives’
Tokyo Report
News From Japan
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September 25, 2020
Can Japan’s New Suga Administration Steer the Battered Economy Toward Growth?
By Thisanka Siripala
All eyes are on the Suga administration’s policy agenda after committing to advancing his predecessor’s Abenomics growth strategy.
September 22, 2020
After Abe, Opportunities Loom for Japan-Indonesia Relations
September 18, 2020
Japan’s Defense Ministry Launches Protocol for UFO Sightings
September 17, 2020
In Japan’s Post-Abe Era, Addressing Political Gender Inequality is Essential
The Debate
Comment and Opinion
D
September 24, 2020
Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit on the Struggle for a Free Thailand
By Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit
Young Thais are becoming increasingly fed up with the stifling consensus and repeated military interventions in the country's politics.
September 24, 2020
The India-China Ladakh Crisis: Why So Silent, World?
September 22, 2020
Seeking a Viable Alternative to Indonesia’s Blasphemy Laws
September 18, 2020
Japan: Dealing with North Korea’s Growing Missile Threat
Crossroads Asia
The New Silk Road
A
September 25, 2020
Uzbekistan’s COVID-19 Response Exposes Tashkent’s Reform Successes and Failures
By Benjamin Godwin
What does the coronavirus response say about the government’s ability to deliver on its ambitious reform program?
September 24, 2020
What Did Central Asia’s Leaders Have to Say to the UN General Assembly?
September 23, 2020
The FinCEN Files Show Suspicious Activities of Kazakhstan’s Former Oligarchs
September 23, 2020
Sino-Russian Economic Cooperation in Central Asia is Not What It Seems to Be
Trans-Pacific View
U.S. Policy on Asia
V
September 22, 2020
New York City Police Officer of Tibetan Origin Charged With Acting as ‘Illegal Agent’ of China
By Abhijnan Rej
The arrest of Baimadajie Angwang demonstrates the breadth of China’s United Front toolkit.
September 18, 2020
What the US Thinks It Learned About Kim Jong Un
September 18, 2020
US Envoy to United Nations Meets With Taiwan Official in New York
September 17, 2020
From the Deal to Decoupling: Trump’s Evolution on China
Pacific Money
Economy And Business
M
September 23, 2020
Turkey’s Turn to the Asia-Pacific
By Temmuz Yigit Bezmez and Selma Bardakci
Turkey's economic outreach to the Asia-Pacific is a crucial part of its foreign policy diversification.
September 23, 2020
China’s New Carbon Neutrality Commitment Will Affect Global Energy Security
September 22, 2020
Will Trade Lead the Way in Southeast Asia’s COVID-19 Recovery?
September 18, 2020
The Real Strategic End Game in Decoupling From China
Asia Life
The Other Asia-Pacific
L
September 21, 2020
Beyond Data Privacy: Trump’s Proposed Ban of WeChat
By Layne Vandenberg
The broader success factors behind Tencent and WeChat indicate alternative motivations for Trump’s proposed ban.
September 18, 2020
‘Mulan’ Wanted Chinese Money. Taiwan’s Rising Filmmakers Don’t.
September 16, 2020
Divers in Southeast Asia May Have Found US Submarine Lost in WWII
September 11, 2020
Has Taiwanese Public Opinion on Same-Sex Marriage Changed?
Oceania
The South Pacific
O
September 24, 2020
The Case of Cheng Lei: China Blurring the Lines of Ethnicity and Citizenship
By Grant Wyeth
China has effectively created a Schrödinger’s Chinese Australian, where a person’s nationality is simultaneously Australian and Chinese depending on which serves the CCP’s purposes.
September 22, 2020
New Zealand’s Defense Ministry Sizes Up the International Security Environment
September 14, 2020
Australia Enters First Recession Since 1991
September 09, 2020
How China and Taiwan Became ‘Pawns’ in Solomon Islands’ Internal Dispute
Podcasts
Asia Geopolitics
P
September 21, 2020
Cambodia’s Microfinance Industry in Troubled Waters
By Luke Hunt
A conversation with economist Ron Bevacqua about the crisis facing Cambodia's microfinance sector.
September 09, 2020
Assessing Abe Shinzo’s Geopolitical Legacy
September 03, 2020
Space Security and Geopolitical Competition in the Asia-Pacific
August 26, 2020
Stalemate in the Himalayas: India-China Relations in 2020
Photo Essays
Asia in Pictures
E
September 21, 2020
Scenes From Thailand’s Massive Protests Demanding Reform
By Cory Wright
For months, protesters in Thailand have called for reforms. This weekend as many as 100,000 protesters descended on Bangkok.