How and Why is Japan Expanding its Influence in the Indian Ocean?
Many political scientists could not but notice and weigh in on a trend on the global arena – Japan is not particularly quickly yet steadfastly gaining a foothold in the Indian Ocean (and not only in the regions of the Middle East and North Africa). This process appears to be shaping, in a gradual manner, the nation’s comprehensive...
COVID-2019 and Its Effect on the Indo-Pacific Region
For now, many countries worldwide are still under siege from the Coronavirus, threatening millions of lives. However, it is leaving a much different mark, for instance, in the Indo-Pacific Region. Even before the pandemic hit, it had been far from smooth sailing in the area due to a number of disputes and conflicting interests between regional players, for whom...
What does the Future Hold for China’s Belt and Road Initiative?
The world has become all jumbled under the eruption of the coronavirus pandemic. Borders are being closed. National currencies are crashing. Airline flights are being cancelled between countries and regions, as well as domestic auto and rail connections. By and large, people have “fled” to quarantine and self-isolation. It’s too early to speak...
How Realistic are French Ambitions in the Indo-Pacific?
On September 9, 2019, the first Russian-French Security Cooperation Council since 2012 took place in Moscow, resuming the bilateral dialog, albeit in a different “2 + 2” format between the French and Russian Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense. The talks were a new move within...
What Is the UK After In the Waters of the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean?
The series of events in the “a tanker for a tanker war” between Iran and the West in the Strait of Hormuz, the most important strategic part of the Persian Gulf, has been watched by the world’s leading politicians, political scientists and media for several weeks now. Analyses...
Chagos Islands: Will the Resettled Population See an End to Their Tragedy?
A Chinese delegation headed by Wang Chen, a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and the deputy Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, visited Mauritius from June 8-11, 2019 for a meeting with the country’s Prime Minister, Pravind...
OBOR Initiative: Critics and New Members
The second BRF-2019 Summit in Beijing became a landmark event that marked achievements of this infrastructure project, which, in 2016, changed its former name One Belt, One Road (OBOR to Belt Road Initiative (BRI. The word 'Belt' refers to land routes, while 'Road' to maritime routes, the words "one, one" were removed from...
What direction is China’s OBOR Initiative Moving in and How is it Progressing?
Discussions, meetings and banquets at the 2019 Belt and Road Forum in Beijing have finally come to an end. More than 150 delegates attended this event. What can we discern about this project at this stage? Have any new sceptics, opponents or proponents of China’s global initiative, which celebrated...
Why is the US-Japan-Australia-India Format being Revived?
One clearly evident trend in the last year has been a revival of the QUAD Security Dialogue, consisting of four democratic nations: the USA, Japan, Australia and India. There have been a lot of comments on this process, from politicians, political observers and the media, and...
OBOR Five Years Later: Some Results and New Alternatives
Five years have passed since October 2013, when China unveiled its large scale and comprehensive OBOR project, which held the promise of quite a few benefits to its numerous participants for mutual trade and economic ties, financial hubs, infrastructure (port construction, high speed auto and railways, pipelines, tourist...
How Feasible is Beijing’s Ambition to Create a Global Base Network?
After opening its first official fully fledged foreign base in Djibouti in July 2017, Beijing has continued developing it. According to the information provided by Jane’s Defence Weekly, the Chinese are quickly building large quays and moorings for battleships and secret...
How Does Djibouti Resemble the Small Tower from the Russian Folk Tale?
On the territory of a dwarfish (23,000 sq. km East African country, Djibouti, located on the shores of the Red Sea, which connects the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean, the bases of the former overlords - France (essentially...