Geo Politics

On Thursday, December 22, Thailand convened regional consultations to discuss the situation in army-controlled Myanmar, including rare overseas appearances by junta ministers. However, despite invites, several prominent members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) did not participate. Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia’s foreign ministries, as well as Vietnam’s deputy foreign minister, participated in the meetings hosted by Thailand’s foreign …

The island’s defense ministry announced on Thursday, December 22 that Taiwan scrambled fighter planes to warn away 39 Chinese aircraft that had entered its southern air defense zone. Taiwan has complained about recurrent Chinese air force flights in the south of its air defense identification zone (ADIZ) during the past two years. The intrusion on Thursday included 21 fighters, four …

The United States joined the Philippines in urging Beijing to stay out of the West Philippine Sea and abide by international maritime law, less than a week after the defense department blew the whistle on Chinese warships loitering near the Spratly Islands. “The United States supports the Philippines’ continued calls on the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to respect the …

Malaysia has been rated tenth on a list of 82 nations that are most impacted by China, according to a new research measuring Beijing’s growing worldwide influence. The China Index, a database released on December 8 by Taiwanese research firm DoubleThink Labs, focuses on nine categories to track China’s global influence, including higher education, domestic politics, economic ties, foreign policy, …

President Xi Jinping landed in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, December 7, according to Chinese official media. Beijing praised the visit as its largest diplomatic endeavor in the Arab world, as Riyadh widens its global alliances beyond its traditional relations with the West. The meeting takes place at a time when relations between Saudi Arabia and the United States are strained …

President Xi Jinping will attend the inaugural China-Arab States Summit and the China-Gulf Cooperation Council Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from December 7-10, according to a statement issued by Hua Chunying, a foreign ministry spokesman, on December 7. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is set to greet Chinese President Xi Jinping with a grandiose welcome that, according to diplomats in …

As December approached, the planned sovereign wealth fund, or Maharlika Wealth Fund, including around P275 billion that the government would pool from pension funds and banks to invest in large-scale national projects and other assets, dominated political discourse. Everyone has contributed their two cents to the discussion. In an effort to downplay the worries of the proposal’s detractors, administration aides …

Prince William received US President Joe Biden at Boston’s waterfront on December 2, the last day of a visit by British royals attempting to draw attention to environmental issues. On their first overseas tour since assuming the titles of Prince and Princess of Wales upon Queen Elizabeth’s death in September, William and his wife, Kate, strove to keep the attention …

Muhyiddin Yassin, the leader of Perikatan Nasional (PN), has criticized Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s new Cabinet, calling it “the most disappointing in the nation’s history.” By choosing kleptocrats to the Cabinet, according to Muhyiddin, Anwar has compromised the values of good administration he advocated during the 2015 general election campaign. “His reform program rings hollow given that he could not …

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stated on December 1 that the Philippines must find a means to explore for oil and gas in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) even in the absence of a settlement with China. He emphasized his nation’s legal right to utilize energy resources in the disputed waterway. According to Marcos, “that’s a major thing for …