Campaigning in the Maldives’ fourth multi-party parliamentary elections has entered the final stretch. Voting will take place on April 21. The fracturing of the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) and the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), and the fraying of old loyalties, have thrown traditional voter allegiances into question, injecting unpredictability into the contest. In … Read more
Resistance forces in Myanmar have launched audacious drone attacks on the capital Naypyidaw, the nerve-center of the military junta, though opposition and military sources offered differing accounts of the attack. Reuters cited a report from the military-run Myawaddy TV station claiming that an attempt by “terrorists” to destroy “important locations” in Naypyidaw had been foiled. … Read more
A Singaporean court has announced eight new charges in the corruption case involving former Transport Minister S. Iswaran, alleging that he received valuable items, including golf clubs and whiskey, from Lum Kok Seng, a contractor who had dealings with the government. In a hearing at the State Courts of Singapore on Monday, S. Iswaran pleaded … Read more
The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), Russian Federation Navy, and Iranian naval forces (the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy and Navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) conducted the fifth iteration of the Sea Security Belt exercise from March 11-15. The five-day trilateral exercise focused on coordinated maritime security training. This year’s at-sea phase included … Read more
The Diplomat author Mercy Kuo regularly engages subject-matter experts, policy practitioners, and strategic thinkers across the globe for their diverse insights into U.S. Asia policy. This conversation with Dr. Timothy Heath – senior international defense researcher at the RAND Corporation and former senior analyst for the USPACOM China Strategic Focus Group – is the 405th … Read more
On January 6, an article in Bloomberg made sensational claims about China’s nuclear force. Per U.S. intelligence, the article said that China’s recent removals of several high-ranking military figures, including People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force Commander Li Yuchao, Political Commissar Xu Zhongbo, and Defense Minister Li Shangfu, happened after the discovery of significant problems with … Read more
Politics often drives a shift in naval fleet operations. As the late naval strategist Captain Wayne Hughes wrote: “Variables at the operational level of war stem not from technology but from social and political change.” China’s Eastern Theater Navy (ETN) patrols in the southern East China Sea and around Taiwan likely follow this logic. The … Read more
January 9 marked the second and final round of voting in Bhutan’s National Assembly election. The People’s Democratic Party came out on top, securing 30 out of 47 seats, with the new Bhutan Tendrel Party winning the other 17. What were the main issues in the voting, and what can we expect from Bhutan’s next … Read more
On January 9, Bhutan will vote in the final round of its fourth parliamentary election. The contest is between the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the Bhutan Tendrel Party (BTP), which emerged with the largest percent of the votes in the primary round of voting on November 30. Five parties had contested in the primary … Read more
A widening political rift between former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom and President Mohamed Muizzu, who assumed office on November 17, is casting new uncertainties over the Maldives’ political direction. This rift intensified on November 24 when Yameen exited the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), a party historically linked to him that is presently in … Read more