Geo Politics

Tibet, also known as the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), is a vast and mountainous region in western China, bordering India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Myanmar. Tibet has been under China’s control since 1950, when the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) invaded and occupied the former independent kingdom. Tibet has been a source of tension and conflict between China and India, as well …

The Philippines and China have a long-standing and complicated relationship, marked by both cooperation and conflict. The two countries have maintained diplomatic and economic ties, and have worked together on various issues, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the Belt and Road Initiative, and the ASEAN-China dialogue.  However, the two countries have also clashed over the South China Sea, where they …

Taiwan, officially known as the Republic of China (ROC), is a self-governing island that split from mainland China in 1949 after a civil war. However, China, officially known as the People’s Republic of China (PRC), considers Taiwan as a renegade province that must be reunited with the mainland, by force if necessary.  China has never renounced the use of military …

Taiwan, a self-ruled island that China claims as its own, to hold its presidential and parliamentary elections on January 14, 2024, amid rising tensions and pressure from Beijing.  The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which advocates for Taiwan’s separate identity and sovereignty, won a landslide victory with its candidate, current Vice President Lai Ching-te, defeating his rivals from the opposition …

The de facto ambassador of Taiwan to the United States, Hsiao Bi-khim, met with the U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on January 9, 2024, in Washington, D.C.  The meeting, which was the first of its kind in more than four decades, marked a significant upgrade in the unofficial relations between the U.S. and Taiwan, a self-governing island that China claims …

South Korea has reaffirmed its position to China via diplomatic channels after Beijing reacted against a joint statement by South Korea, the United States and Japan on the South China Sea, a foreign ministry official said Tuesday.  The statement, issued last week after the inaugural meeting of the trilateral Indo-Pacific dialogue, criticized China’s “unlawful” claims and “recent dangerous and escalatory …

China has a lot of legal weapons to challenge Manila’s claims in the South China Sea, according to an international law expert who spoke at a webinar hosted by the Chinese University of Hong Kong on Tuesday.  The expert, Professor Bing Ling, said that China could use various legal arguments and strategies to counter the 2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated …

Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has proposed a new code of conduct (COC) for the South China Sea, which he claims would be more effective and acceptable than the long-delayed COC being negotiated by ASEAN and China.  However, his proposal has been met with skepticism and criticism by other claimants and stakeholders, who see it as a unilateral and …

China’s military accused the United States of undermining regional stability and provoking confrontation, just days after the top generals of the two countries held their first talks in more than a year. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said on Monday that it had conducted air and naval drills near Taiwan and the South China Sea, in response to what it …

Japan has decided to revise its self-defense policy and allow its military to strike enemy bases in the event of an imminent attack, as it faces growing threats from China’s military expansion and aggression. The decision, announced on December 15, 2023, marks a significant shift from Japan’s pacifist constitution, which renounces war and limits the use of force to self-defense. …