Afghanistan is giving away its mineral wealth. Through a pattern of deals that export value at the point of extraction, the country is surrendering control over what could – and should – be its ...

Last week, Beijing deployed a new tactic for diplomatically isolating Taiwan. On 21 April, President Lai Ching-te postponed a trip to Eswatini, Taiwan’s last remaining diplomatic partner in Africa, ...

After nearly a decade of relative pause, China has resumed large-scale island-building in the South China Sea. Satellite images of Antelope Reef show a once-submerged feature rapidly transformed into ...

Almost a year since South Korean President Lee Jae-myung assumed office, South Korea has not found a formula to bring North Korea back to the negotiating table. Lee has been disappointed in his ...

In February 2024, New Zealand’s national government explored an interest in joining AUKUS Pillar II, the strand of the Australia–UK–US security partnership responsible for the… Trump’s trade policy: ...

A few days ago, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin hosted his counterparts from three allied nations – Japan, Australia and, crucially, the Philippines – in Hawaii, also home to the headquarters of the ...

The decades-old dispute between Russia and Japan over the status of the Kuril Islands is far from over. Tokyo, which refers to the islands as the Northern Territories, still insists on a peace treaty ...

The global resurgence of religion among young people (especially young men) stands as one of the great puzzles of our era, defying two long-held sociological iron laws: faith is for the old, and for ...

Environmental damage and gendered violence are flashpoints on the tiny island dominated by US troops. Japanese governments have allowed US bases in Okinawa in exchange for a US commitment to defend ...

Those who retain ties with Taiwan view Beijing’s interference and investment in the Pacific with suspicion and are concerned over aid with strings attached. Palau is an important strategic island in ...

With Western countries consumed by domestic problems, will it be China and Russia that now define the rules of global politics? In a disorderly world, each has become increasingly assertive, and their ...

On 25 January, China’s People’s Liberation Army announced that Central Military Commission Vice-Chair Zhang Youxia and Chief of the Joint Staff Department General Liu Zhenli were under investigation ...