On March 13, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the “Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act” with a vote of 352 to 65. This legislation would prohibit the wildly popular video app TikTok from operating in the United States unless its owner, ByteDance, sells TikTok to an American company. U.S. President Joe Biden … Read more
On March 26, prosecutors with the U.S. Eastern District of New York announced that the United States was seeking forfeiture of a “former Mongolian prime minister’s luxury New York City apartments purchased with proceeds of corruption scheme.” According to the press release from the Department of Justice (DoJ), the case concerns former Mongolian Prime Minister … Read more
On March 10, South Korea’s new ambassador to Australia, Lee Jong-sup, hightailed it past airport security hours before journalists arrived. He was naturally all the more perplexed when accosted by a reporter right at the boarding gate. “Why do you have to do this?” Lee asked as the reporter trailed behind him on the walk … Read more
Mere days after breaking up an alleged assassination plot, Kyrgyz authorities finally got their hands on fugitive former deputy customs head Raimbek Matraimov, whom they’d implicated as behind the plot. On March 23, as Central Asia was reeling from news of the Crocus City Hall attack on the outskirts of Moscow, Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for … Read more
One week is a long time in Indian politics. And over just a week in March, the image of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) changed significantly. On March 14, two former bureaucrats were appointed election commissioners despite protests by the opposition, the discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) rules had just been notified and fuel prices … 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
Myanmar’s military junta is moving to enlist its first batch of civilians into the armed forces, amid reports that its recently announced conscription drive has driven thousands into hiding or into the ranks of the resistance. In a report published on Friday, Channel News Asia noted that summons letters have now been sent to “eligible … Read more
In recent weeks, India’s northeastern state of Assam has been rocked by protests against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 (CAA). On March 12, 16 opposition parties led by the Congress party declared a state-wide strike, while another grouping of 30 non-political organizations, including the All Assam Students Union (AASU), called for peaceful mass protests. … 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. Bridget Welsh – honorary research associate at the Asia Research Institute of University of Nottingham Malaysia, senior research associate of the Hu Feng Center for East Asia … Read more
For observers of Chinese politics, the most significant development in the second half of 2023 was not what occurred, but rather what failed to happen: The 20th Central Committee’s Third Plenum, which typically takes place in late October or early November the year after the National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), was notably … Read more