Geo Politics

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 …

The long-awaited meeting between US Vice President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, scheduled for Monday in Indonesia, is expected to include discussions on Taiwan, human rights, Ukraine, and harmful economic practices, with the goal of “building a floor” under the strained relationship between the world’s two largest economies, according to a senior US official. The primary objective of …

Candidates for Malaysia’s 15th General Election (GE15) have utilized TikTok as one of their platforms to attract the support of voters, particularly the young. Muhyiddin Yassin, the head of Perikatan Nasional (PN), participated in a TikTok trend to the hip hop song Swipe by Singaporean artist Alyph. Despite the fact that TikTok has previously stated that political advertising is not …

Thailand is reversing a program that would have permitted affluent foreigners to acquire a limited amount of land, a government official said on Tuesday (Nov 8), following a popular uproar against the plan. Foreigners are limited to 0.16 ha of land provided they invest a minimum of 40 million baht (US$1.07 million) in securities or bonds for a minimum of …

The United States imposed sanctions on the vessel for alleged ties to Hezbollah and a branch of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. Indonesian authorities said Monday (Nov 7) it could take up to a month to rescue a crude oil ship trapped in their waters. The Indonesian navy has been attempting to release the Djibouti-flagged vessel Young Yong, which ran aground on …

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed Jaime FlorCruz, one of the world’s most respected experts on China, as the new ambassador of the Philippines to Beijing. Former CNN Beijing bureau chief FlorCruz was also an anti-Marcos activist who was exiled in China in the 1970s during the dictatorship of the President’s father and namesake Ferdinand E. Marcos. FlorCruz was appointed on …

Botir Zaripov, the governor of the Bukhara Province, stated that promoting peaceful coexistence is the most important of the UAE and Uzbekistan’s shared values and principles in order to sustain these highest human ideals in the consolidation of security, stability, and peace throughout the world. Zaripov told the Emirates News Agency (WAM) that the United Arab Emirates serves as a …

As a nation, Indonesia is inclined to relocate its capital. The trip from Batavia (Jakarta), Bandung, and Yogyakarta to Bukittinggi, back to Jakarta, and finally to Nusantara, the planned new capital of the country, has been quite exciting during the previous three centuries. President Joko Widodo announced the proposal to relocate the seat of Indonesia’s government in 2019, and the …

A senior US administration official stated on Thursday that the United States believes China and Russia have influence they may use to persuade North Korea not to conduct nuclear bomb tests. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to Reuters, said that while the United States had been claiming since May that North Korea was ready to resume …