Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited Saudi Arabia earlier this week on his first foreign visit since being elected in February. In Mecca, the premier and his delegation met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. In addition, Sharif held a private meeting with the Crown Prince. What was discussed at the one-on-one meeting has … Read more
This could be a watershed week for New Zealand’s international relations. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, is heading to Washington, D.C., for a full week of meetings. The surprisingly lengthy trip just happens to coincide with a major trilateral summit of leaders from the United States, Japan, and the Philippines. And a media report over … Read more
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent tweet condemning the Congress Party’s decision to accept Sri Lanka’s sovereignty claims over Katchatheevu Island, situated in the Palk Strait, back in 1974, has sparked a major political controversy. He accused the opposition Congress party of weakening India’s “unity, integrity and interest” through this “callous” decision. Sharing this sentiment, … Read more
The ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute’s annual State of Southeast Asian survey dropped last week, heady times for an overstretched columnist. Not so positive, however, if you’re busy battling a barbarous military junta and are looking around for a bit of moral support from your fellow Southeast Asians. Let’s turn to page 16 of the survey report. … Read more
Earlier this week, U.S. President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their first phone call since the two leaders met face-to-face in San Francisco last November. In the Chinese readout of the call, Xi reportedly stated that “China-U.S. relations are stabilizing.” Both sides have accepted the premise that bilateral competition requires diplomatic communication. Nonetheless, … Read more
On the night of March 11, 2024, the new ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Panama, Xu Xueyuan, arrived at Tocumen International Airport in Panama City. Ambassador Xu is a career diplomat and the former deputy chief of mission in China’s embassy to the United States of America. She replaced Ambassador Wei Qiang, … Read more
Yesterday, Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute published its State of Southeast Asia survey report for 2024, the release of which has become an annual gauge of elite opinion on key issues of regional and global import. This year’s survey, based on interviews with 1,994 policymakers, journalists, businesspeople, and pundits from the 10 countries of the Association … Read more
After years of negotiations, the third iteration of the Compacts of Free Association (COFA) between the United States and the countries of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), are nearing completion. “Compact III” was signed into law in the United States on March 9, shortly after … Read more
Thailand is currently bidding for the third time for a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), with the election for a three-year term for 2025-2027 being held at the U.N. headquarters in New York in October. Like many countries with poor records on human rights, Thailand’s bid will come with a high … Read more
Indonesia’s president-elect Prabowo Subianto said today that he wants to deepen security and economic cooperation with Japan, just days after stating the same thing with regard to China. Prabowo, who currently serves as Indonesia’s defense minister, arrived in Japan last night from China, where he made his first foreign trip since winning a significant victory … Read more