Cambodia Doesn’t Owe Washington an Explanation Over China Ties
Associated Press (AP) in a May 8, 2024 article titled, “Chinese warships have been docked in Cambodia for 5 months, but government says it’s not permanent,” attempts to depict the Southeast Asian country of Cambodia as covering up growing Chinese-Cambodian military cooperation…
On Australia's "National Defence Strategy": Does the country remain in a "stretch" position between the US and the PRC?
Someone is persistently creating a situation of general insanity in the world political and information space, in which similar format “impulses” are thrown in from seemingly opposing sides, thereby deepening the line of division between them. A notable contribution to this negative process is made by propaganda, with its regular paranoia sessions by panic-stricken “experts on all issues”…
Taiwan Earthquake: Why All the Chips in One Basket?
The powerful earthquake that shook Taiwan on Wednesday, 3rd of April, was the strongest earthquake to hit the renegade Chinese province in 25 years. The 7.4+ earthquake has killed at least nine people and injured more than a thousand, and has sent a different type of shockwave throughout the world, particularly the west…
New Caledonia or when Paris tries to close the way to independence of its colony
Regarding the neocolonial policy of the French regime, mainly with regard to a number of countries on the African continent, within the framework of the system commonly called Françafrique, which is going through the most difficult times today, it is also appropriate to remember that the French metropolis is, in fact, still a colonial regime, counting to this day several so-called “overseas” territories, de-facto – colonies, among which New Caledonia deserves particular attention…
Chinese Foreign Minister visits New Zealand and Australia
Between 17 and 21 March, Wang Yi, a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party and China’s Foreign Minister, visited New Zealand and Australia (for the first time since 2017) at the invitation of his counterparts, Winston Peters and Penny Wong. And while the motivation for Wang Yi’s visit to the first of these countries contained its own intrigue, the main component of the entire tour was undoubtedly related to the second half…
Melbourne hosted the “ASEAN¬-Australia Summit”
The “ASEAN-Australia Summit” was held in Melbourne on 4-6 March this year and was dubbed “special” because it was the 50th since its inception. It should be noted that Australia was the first external partner since the founding of this association in the late 1960s of the last century, which now includes all (except Papua New Guinea) of the countries of Southeast Asia. The three days of events culminated in the adoption of the lengthy (11-page) “Melbourne Declaration – A Partnership for the Future”. In one way or another, the document touches on almost all the major issues…
Intensifying Japan's security co-operation with Asia-Pacific countries
Japan is currently facing a number of serious political and economic challenges, forcing the country’s political-military leadership to respond accordingly. On January 30, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida presented an extensive policy report on the Japanese government’s plans for 2024 at the regular session of the country’s parliament, which meets once a year. In the foreign policy section, Fumio Kishida outlined the following trunk lines…
Washington’s True Fear of China: An Obstacle to American Hegemony
A recent op-ed appearing in Foreign Affairs titled, “The Taiwan Catastrophe,” helps paint a clear picture of US motivations behind its growing confrontation with China and the increasingly unrealistic nature of Washington’s desired outcome. The premise of the op-ed is built on a now declassified top-secret memo by US General Douglas MacArthur in 1950 describing Taiwan as an “unsinkable aircraft carrier,” essential not to protect the continental United States, but to preserve US primacy over Asia-Pacific thousands of miles from US shores…
The Myanmar Crisis - three years on
At no time, at least in its modern history, has Myanmar ever been a peaceful place – and for that, the British Empire is to blame. For the sake of administrative convenience, London grouped together in one nation peoples of vastly different ethnic origins, languages and cultures who previously had no idea they were living together in a single country. Following its independence in 1948, Burma was driven by continuous localized conflicts between numerous ethnic groups and the central government…
Russia-ATR: Dividing Lines vs. ASEAN Security System. Part 2
In the previous article, you and I examined the relations between Russia and the ASEAN organisation – one of the fundamentally important “players” in the Asia-Pacific region. This is the largest and most successful association in Southeast Asia, which in geo-economic terms occupies one of the leading places in Asia and unites a region with a population of over 600 million people. Now I propose to talk about the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, a multilateral regional association with the participation of 21 economies, including Russia, which discusses…
Russia-ATR: the year is new - the tasks are the same. Part 1
“Our country is fully open to an extensive dialogue on pressing issues on the regional agenda, intends to continue to actively participate in efforts to build a system of interstate relations in the Asia-Pacific region based on equality, mutual benefit and respect for each other’s legitimate interests” – Russian President Vladimir Putin told the participants of the Eastern Economic Forum held in Vladivostok, the Primorsky Krai capital, last September, once again designating such a complex and diverse region as the Asia-Pacific as one of the priority frontiers of the country’s modern foreign policy…
Unequal Relationship between the US and its allies in Southeast Asia and Indo-Pacific
The contemporary world is rife with strategic competition and wars between the global south and the global north. The United States is at the center of all these wars and competition. The most significant and threatening competition in the world is between the United States and China. Both countries are engaged in strengthening their power by gathering allies around the world. Taiwan’s issue is considered the boiling point between Sino-US relations. This issue holds the potential to commence a war between China and the United States…