Society

What Happened: In 2020, Chinese and Indian troops clashed along their disputed border, resulting in a four-year standoff. On the Indian side of the border, the militarization of Ladakh had a major impact on the lives of local peoples, including semi-nomadic communities such as the Changpa. They have lost access to grazing land and pastures that were previously used by Indian nationals but are now reportedly under Chinese control. With the stakes high for their livelihoods, locals – both men and women – volunteered to assist in supplying Indian troops during the standoff.

Our Focus: The role of Changpa women in the post-2020 standoff was a far cry from their lack of involvement in past border conflicts. “Women had no role in the 1962 war. While men from the village would support the army, carrying rations and ammunition to the army base, women were scared even of the silhouettes of the army personnel,” an ex-councillor of Chusul village explained. This time around, “both men and women were actively ferrying essential commodities for the Indian Armed Forces at Black Top.” The echoes a broader social shift in the prospects for women, reflected in higher literacy and education levels and increased career ambitions.

What Comes Next: In Chusul and other small villages along the disputed Sino-Indian border, geopolitical clashes are occurring alongside rapid social changes. And that has resulted in a new trend of local women claiming a direct stake in the future of their region. One girl shared her ambition to join the Indo-Tibetan border police, a career choice that would have been unheard of for a woman just 20 years ago. “My mother is very encouraging,” the young student said with a smile.

INTERVIEW

Kevin Rudd, Australia’s prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and the author of the book “On Xi Jinping: How Xi’s Marxist Nationalism is Shaping China and the World,” on Xi’s different approach to ideology: “Xi has significantly moved the ideological needle – making China more Leninist, more Marxist, and more nationalist. In doing so, many party members who grew up and flourished professionally under previous Dengist ideological assumptions have been alienated.”

Northeast Asia

Despite the LDP losing its majority in the October 27 general elections, new party leader Ishiba Shigeru was able to hang on to the prime minister’s post. He won office in a parliamentary vote on November 11, although for the first time in three decades a runoff was required. With Ishiba overseeing a minority government, his political position is precarious and any policy agenda will be exceedingly difficult to push through. For Japan, the return to political instability comes at an unfortunate time, with geopolitical uncertainty and regional insecurity rising.

South Asia

On November 14, Sri Lankans will go to the polls to choose a new Parliament. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who dissolved Parliament soon after taking office in September, is hoping that his National People’s Power can receive a legislative mandate to match his own. Currently, the NPP holds just three seats in Parliament; it’s hoping to win an outright majority in the voting on Thursday.

Southeast Asia

President Prabowo Subianto is in the middle of his first overseas trip since being sworn into office last month. The ambitious five-nation tour will take him to China, the United States, Peru, Brazil, and the United Kingdom. During his stop in Beijing, Prabowo signed $10 billion worth of agreements, focusing on infrastructure, green energy, digital technology, and agriculture, as well as signing a controversial cooperation agreement on the South China Sea. After a stop in Washington, where he met with President Joe Biden and spoke by phone with President-elect Donald Trump, Prabowo will fly to Lima for the APEC Summit and then to Rio de Janeiro to attend the G-20 Summit. The fact that Indonesia’s new leader included both China and the U.S. on the itinerary of his first foreign tour suggests he intends to take more hands-on role in foreign policy, and reaffirms the nation’s determination to maintain a judicious balance between the two superpowers.

Central Asia

The present U.S. strategy for Central Asia was adopted under the first Trump administration and maintained during the last four years under President Joe Biden. While the incoming Trump administration's approach is unlikely to differ much from the first go-around, the context in the region in which the relationship exists have changed markedly.

Source: Central Bank of Sri Lanka

India’s lending to Africa has dropped significantly since 2014-15, despite ramped up political rhetoric.

Diplomacy

Indonesian for “free and active,” Jakarta’s foreign policy mantra since the country gained independence.