Category
Features
Will Asian Diplomacy Stump ChatGPT?
By Pete Hunt
As chatbots are integrated into search results and begin to provide users with answers to politically sensitive questions, they could become subject to manipulation by state actors.
Japan’s Difficult Exit From Easy Money
By Anthony Fensom
Japan gets an unconventional new central bank governor at a pivotal time.
Old Faces Dominate China’s ‘New Era’
By Jarek Grzywacz
With no space for a successor to Xi Jinping, China’s leadership is getting older as generational change slows down.
How China Is Attempting to Control the ‘Information Pipes’
By Joshua Kurlantzick
In addition to beaming out its perspectives via Chinese state media, Beijing is aspiring to control both the structure and norms of global information networks.
The Real Cause of Sri Lanka’s Debt Trap
By Bram Nicholas and Shiran Illanperuma
Sri Lanka’s default highlights the dangers of relying on international sovereign bonds – with high interest rates – to fund development.
Cautious Contact on the China-Russia Border
By Ed Pulford
Amid great power competition, life in the China-Russia borderlands reveals the paradoxes underpinning the Beijing-Moscow friendship.
China’s Transnational Repression and Modern Slavery in Italy
By Leonardo Delfanti and Hugh Bohane
An eye-witness report by two investigative journalists on the ground in Prato, Italy.
Who Is Li Shangfu, China’s Next Defense Minister?
By Marcus Clay
Gen. Li Shangfu, with deep ties to China’s military space enterprises, is widely expected to become China’s next minister of defense. What do we know about him?
The Politics of Apology in the Pacific
By Patricia O’Brien
Besides being the right thing to do, apologies bring diplomatic and political gains in a region haunted by colonial and imperial atrocities.
As Russia’s Military Stumbles in Ukraine, Chinese Strategists Are Taking Notes
By Lyle Goldstein and Nathan Waechter
China is drawing lessons from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Chinese military sources can tell us exactly what the PLA is learning.
Nepal’s New Government Faces a Stiff Test
By Marcus Andreopoulos
Dahal’s return to power could reset Nepal’s foreign policy – but first he'll have to survive an unstable coalition and disgruntled electorate.
The Ukraine War Echoes in Ancient Samarkand
By Dan Storyev
An unusual diaspora -- Indian medical students evacuated from Ukraine last year -- has found community in a small Catholic church in Samarkand.
China’s Debt Relief Position Is Actually Reasonable
By Etsehiwot Kebret and Hannah Ryder
China is right to say that the World Bank and IMF need to engage in debt relief. Many African debtor countries think the same thing.
‘No Safe Space in Pakistan for Women’: Rape Case Roils Islamabad
By Somaiyah Hafeez
Another year, another horrifying rape case – and still no action to protect Pakistani women.
South Korea’s Enduring Restraint Toward China
By James Park
Despite much bluster on the campaign trail, President Yoon Suk-yeol's promise to get “tougher on China” has been rhetorical at best.
How the Sino-Vietnamese War Was Purposefully Forgotten
By Christelle Nguyen
In both China and Vietnam, the governments have deliberately tried to bury memories of their 1979 war.
The Geopolitics of Sri Lanka’s Energy Crisis
By Lasanda Kurukulasuriya
Recent visits to Colombo by top officials from India and the U.S. illustrate how Sri Lanka’s power sector is becoming a theater of big power rivalry.
South Korea’s First Attempt at Going Nuclear
By Gabriela Bernal
Seoul attempted to attain nuclear weapons back in the 1970s, only to be stopped by heavy pressure from Washington.
Disillusioned, Ladakh Turns to Protests
By Sajid Raina and Attaul Munim Zahid
Ladakh once celebrated its shift to union territory status. Now its people are protesting against broken promises.
Checking Back in on China’s Nuclear Icebreaker
By Trym Eiterjord
Over four years after the project was announced, updates remain scarce on China's first nuclear icebreaker.
The US Indo-Pacific Strategy’s Weakest Link
By Guy C. Charlton and Xiang Gao
U.S. involvement in the region needs a larger economic component – an area where U.S. policy used to be strong.
Frankenstein’s Monster: The Growing TTP Threat in Pakistan
By Muhammad Akbar Notezai
The latest wave of terrorism in Pakistan represents decades of policy choices coming home to roost.
Japan’s Kishida Fails to Learn Abe’s Political Lessons
By Carlos Ramirez
Abe Shinzo learned the hard way: Voters don’t care about foreign policy achievements if the economy is struggling.
Indonesia Confronts the Past, While Sidestepping the Present
By Rory James
What motivated President Joko Widodo's recent acknowledgement of gross past human rights abuses?