South East Asia

Biden Steps Up Engagement With ASEAN Amid China Rivalry And Global Conflict

U.S. President Joe Biden offered rare praise for Cambodia’s authoritarian premier as he encouraged diplomatic support for ending the war in Ukraine and bringing peace to Myanmar at a summit with Southeast Asian leaders on Saturday. Although the control of U.S. Congress lies in the balance back in Washington, Biden …

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The Indian Army issues PSOs for five projects under Make II scheme

Approval of PSOs will further initiate the process of prototype development for each project. The Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced that the Army has approved the project sanction orders (PSOs) of five projects under the Make II procurement scheme. The five projects include high-frequency man packed software-defined radios …

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Update: Xi meets German Chancellor Olaf Scholz

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on his official visit to China at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Friday. Xi noted that Scholz is the first European leader to visit China after the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China …

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Reconstructing China’s Role In Regional Security – Analysis

Today the possibility of consolidating an inclusive regional architecture for comprehensive security in the Asia Pacific has become almost inconceivable. This is because on-going China–US tension appears to have excluded that option. The United States has been busy consolidating its old military alliances and putting together new ones in the …

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The Danger of a “Sleeping” Nuclear Deal: Stronger Russia, China, North Korea, Iran

In spite of US Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley’s recently having said that the White House is not going to “waste our time” on the nuclear deal “if nothing’s going to happen,” he nevertheless stressed that the Biden administration is still committed to employing diplomacy, presumably to revive it …

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The Real China Hands

For four years, as an increasingly belligerent China breathed down their necks, the United States’ allies in Asia quietly endured a torrent of abuse from President Donald Trump. Under President Joe Biden, they again have a winning hand in Washington. By the time he took office, Biden, a leading optimist …

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Afghan General Says Russia’s Wagner Group Recruiting His Former Troops For Ukraine War

A shadowy private Russian mercenary force with close ties to the Kremlin is attempting to boost its ranks in Ukraine by recruiting U.S.-trained Afghan commandos and other security forces who fled to Iran following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, a former Afghan general tells RFE/RL. About 15 former Afghan commandos …

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IntelBrief: The 20th Party Congress and the Continuation of China’s Increasingly Assertive Foreign Policy

During Xi’s decade-long rule, China’s foreign policy has become more assertive and aggressive, and the 20th Party Congress signaled a continuation of this trajectory. The Politburo Standing Committee is now completely made up of Xi loyalists, while those considered closer to former leader Hu Jintao have been ousted from the …

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Everybody wants to hop on the BRICS Express

Eurasia is about to get a whole lot larger as countries line up to join the Chinese and Russian-led BRICS and SCO, to the detriment of the west Let’s start with what is in fact a tale of Global South trade between two members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). …

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Could America Win a New World War?

What It Would Take to Defeat Both China and Russia When it comes to international relations, 2022 has been an exceptionally dangerous year. During the first two months, Russia massed thousands of troops along Ukraine’s borders. At the end of the second one, Moscow sent them marching into Ukraine. China, …

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