Geo Politics

Taiwan has not observed any Chinese surveillance balloons in its area, according to the island’s defense ministry on Tuesday, as a disagreement between China and the United States over spy balloons raises fears of escalating military confrontations. The United States military shot down a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina on February 4. China claimed that the …

On February 14, the Philippine government filed a diplomatic protest against China after a Chinese coast guard vessel pointed a military-grade laser at the Philippine Navy ship BRP Malapascua in the West Philippine Sea. The incident occurred earlier that day. The protest was delivered to the Chinese embassy on Tuesday, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Spokesperson Teresita …

After concluding his official tour to Japan, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said that he and his Cabinet will analyze all foreign investment promises made during his nine travels abroad as Philippine president. Marcos stated that the goal of the meeting would be to prioritize the signed agreements and establish the required next steps to make the commitments a reality. “The …

Emirates is creating an airbridge with the International Humanitarian City (IHC) to deliver critical relief supplies, medical items, and equipment to help on-the-ground humanitarian activities and search-and-rescue operations in Turkey and Syria in the wake of recent natural disasters. In coordination with the IHC in Dubai, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will be sending the first shipments of …

Midway through September, French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (widely known as MBZ), the crown prince and de facto ruler of the United Arab Emirates, at the old Chateau de Fontainbleu near Paris, which was recently renovated with UAE financing. Despite occasional hiccups, Paris and Abu Dhabi have created a multifaceted strategic cooperation that covers political, …

Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen and Vice President William Lai will each donate a month’s salary to earthquake relief efforts in Turkey, the island’s presidential office announced on Thursday, February 9. Tsai and Lai, who is widely anticipated to run for president in next year’s elections, “want to do their part to assist Turkey reconstruct its motherland as quickly as possible,” …

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a trip to China that had been scheduled to begin on Friday (Feb. 3), following the tracking of a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon flying across the United States in what Washington termed a “clear infringement” of US sovereignty. Officials said that military officers debated firing down the high-altitude surveillance balloon on Wednesday, but …

Next week, when US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets his Chinese counterpart in Beijing, there will be numerous points of contention, including Taiwan, chips, and trade. How can the world’s two largest economies avoid a resurgence of the Cold War? In August of last year, when then-US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, China conducted unprecedented military …

Nearly nine years after both nations signed the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, the Philippines and the United States have agreed on four new local bases in the Philippines where American forces will be permitted to construct facilities and deploy defense hardware (EDCA). The statement was made on Thursday, February 2, as US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited the Philippines for …

Hours after intercepting a rocket fired from Gaza and in response to U.S. calls for a cessation of the rising violence in Israel and the occupied West Bank, the Israeli military claimed to have attacked Gaza in the early hours of Thursday, February 2. No initial reports of significant casualties were received. In reaction to Wednesday’s missile launch, the military …