Geo Politics

Last month, the largest prize in professional golf was won on a recently opened course outside Bangkok. Stonehill is owned by the Thai energy magnate Sarath Ratanavadi. The purse of $4 million was supplied by the national wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. The competition was one of the prominent activities preceding this week’s historic conference. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman …

During what Malacaang described as a “historic” bilateral encounter, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed a variety of topics, including the South China Sea. Marcos and Xi met on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Bangkok on November 17, late in the afternoon. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a …

A senior administration official announced on November 15 that US Vice President Kamala Harris will visit the Philippine islands of Palawan at the edge of the disputed South China Sea, a move that could be viewed as a reprimand by Beijing. Harris will be the highest-ranking American official to visit the island series adjacent to the Spratly Islands when he …

In August, when Chinese authorities detained a Taiwanese citizen in China for an alleged violation of security rules, officials in Taipei wrote signals to Beijing expressing concern and requesting specifics. According to a Taipei-based individual familiar with the Taiwanese government’s China policy, many of the SMS and faxes that Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council has delivered to Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office …

Tuesday, November 15, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy informed leaders of the world’s wealthiest nations that the time has come to end Russia’s war in his country in accordance with a peace plan he has offered. He addressed via videolink to the leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) nations assembled on the Indonesian island of Bali for a summit that …

His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, and His Excellency Joko Widodo, President of the friendly Republic of Indonesia,, were present today at the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center on the island of Bali to witness the announcement of a set of agreements and memorandums of understanding between the United Arab Emirates and the Republic …

President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has arrived in the Indonesian city of Solo today. President Joko Widodo of Indonesia greeted President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed and the accompanying group upon their arrival at the city’s airport. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidential Court, was accompanied by Sheikh Hamdan …

At the introduction of a Group of 20 (G20) pandemic fund on Sunday, Indonesian President Joko Widodo stated that the amount of money gathered thus far to increase readiness for future pandemics was insufficient. The fund announced by the G20’s chair, Indonesia, is intended for low- to middle-income nations to finance, among other initiatives, monitoring, research, and improved access to …

When Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was asked about the status of the long-awaited Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea, he paused and moaned audibly. “As far as the Code of Conduct is concerned, nothing new has transpired. We just repeated ourselves repeatedly. [We require] a Code of Conduct… After his participation at the 40th and 41st Association of …

On Friday, November 11, US President Joe Biden addressed the COP27 climate summit in Egypt, stating that the global climate issue constituted an existential threat to the Earth and committing to do his bit to tackle it. “The climate problem is about human security, economic security, environmental security, national security, and the very life of the planet,” said President Joe …