DIPLOMACY

What Happened: Australia-China relationship have reached their lowest ebb in four decades, with China instituting de facto bans on Australian imports while Canberra continues to criticize China over political interference and rights issues. But behind the headlines, quiet cooperation continues at the subnational level.

Our Focus: The Australia China Chamber of Commerce “has operated in the China market for more than 25 years and many of our members have been here longer than that,” Bede Payne, the executive director of AustCham Shanghai, told The Diplomat. “Our people-to-people relationships are strong and won’t disappear overnight.”

What Comes Next: Australia’s positioning on China will inevitably be impacted by the policy choices of the incoming Biden administration in the United States. Will U.S. backing help Australia weather the frictions with China, or will Biden seek a China thaw that leaves Canberra out in the cold?

Interview

Duncan McCargo, co-author of the new book “Future Forward: The Rise and Fall of a Thai Political Party,” on Thailand’s changing politics: “Simply put, the new generation of Thais does not feel bound by older notions of deference or hierarchy, and are bold enough to say whatever is on their minds.”

Northeast Asia

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi is paying his first visits to Japan and South Korea since the pandemic began, seeking cooperation on COVID-19 and reassurance that the two neighbors aren’t seeking to join the U.S. in an anti-China bloc. The Japan visit has special resonance as Wang is the first Chinese official to meet new Prime Minister Suga.

Southeast Asia

On November 25, Malaysia’s parliament is expected to vote on its expansive national budget for 2021, which is full to the brim with infrastructure spending and aid for businesses hit hard by COVID-19. The otherwise routine vote looms as a crucial political test for Malaysia’s besieged Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who faces a raft of internal and external challenges. If the budget fails to pass, expect another frenzy of political horse-trading.

South Asia

Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla is scheduled to visit Nepal on November 26 and 27. Coming on the heels of the Kathmandu visits of India's external intelligence service and army chiefs, Shringla’s trip is yet another modest milestone when it comes to bringing nosediving India-Nepal relations back on track. That said, no visible progress on resolving the border dispute between the two countries has been made so far.

Central Asia

Last week, a delegation led by Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov popped around Washington for Uzbekistan's Annual Bilateral Consultations. Buried in the joint statement was this hopeful nugget: Plans are in the works for the U.S. Peace Corps to return to Uzbekistan, more than 15 years after it was kicked out.

SOCIETY

A collapsed home caused by a landslide in Tay Giang. Consecutive storms and typhoons have affected at least 1.5 million people in central Vietnam since October.

POLITICS

“Love jihad”: A pejorative term used in India to describe inter-faith marriages involving Muslim men and Hindu women. Some state governments are controversially suggesting legislation is needed to prevent religious conversion upon marriage.