https://www.scmp.com/rss/323047/feed Find out about the foreign policies shaping Asia today en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Even if the United States and China reach a trade deal, the lack of “strategic trust” between the two powers could still result in a fragmented global economy, Singapore’s trade and industry minister warned on Monday. Chan Chun Sing said countries around the world would try to “de-risk their economies” by making supply chains operate in silos to hedge against any further falling-out between the economic giants. “That is the most dangerous trajectory for the world’s economy,” Chan told American... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3025411/us-china-trust-needed-more-trade-deal-stop-break-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3025411/us-china-trust-needed-more-trade-deal-stop-break-world?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Sep 2019 14:43:52 +0000 Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan last week appealed for global intervention in the country’s dispute with India over Jammu and Kashmir. Khan wrote in a piece for an international newspaper that failure to do so by major powers would open the door to “direct military confrontation” between the South Asian neighbours. The article drew a muted response from the international community. The next day Pakistan’s foreign minister sought to tone down the rhetoric, calling for talks with India because... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3025390/deft-diplomacy-and-economic-realism-help-india-sell-its-kashmir?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3025390/deft-diplomacy-and-economic-realism-help-india-sell-its-kashmir?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Sep 2019 11:30:14 +0000 The upcoming Asean-US Maritime Exercise has fuelled various interpretations, with some trying to frame it in “black and white” terms – that Asean is shifting towards the United States instead of China, especially because this drill will come after the Asean-China Maritime Exercise last August. This interpretation misses the point about Asean’s long-standing policy towards major power engagement, which is one of inclusivity, not exclusivity. And there are also nuances that may not have been... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3025156/should-china-be-worried-about-us-asean-sea-drill?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3025156/should-china-be-worried-about-us-asean-sea-drill?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Sep 2019 22:00:09 +0000 As the US-China trade war intensifies and South Korea’s spat with Japan shows no sign of abating, Seoul is doubling down on its diplomatic pivot to Southeast Asia. On September 1, President Moon Jae-in will begin a visit to Thailand, Myanmar and Laos as part of the New Southern Policy drive to reduce reliance on the United States, China, Japan and Russia. To signal its growing interest in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), South Korea will seek an intelligence-sharing pact –... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3025154/seoul-eyes-intelligence-sharing-pact-bangkok-moon-seeks-pivot?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3025154/seoul-eyes-intelligence-sharing-pact-bangkok-moon-seeks-pivot?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Sep 2019 00:30:13 +0000 When Tikendra Dewan enlisted in the famed Gurkha brigade of the British army in the early 1970s, he was not thinking much about the future, let alone a comfortable retirement. Like many Nepalis who signed up to defend colonial Hong Kong, Dewan was drawn by the promise of adventure and the chance to see the world. But after devoting more than three decades of his life in service of queen and country, the 66-year-old veteran feels betrayed. After Hong Kong was returned to Chinese rule in 1997, its... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/3025124/gurkhas-fought-britain-now-hunger-strike-veterans-say-they-are?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/3025124/gurkhas-fought-britain-now-hunger-strike-veterans-say-they-are?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 31 Aug 2019 08:30:06 +0000 The art of face-changing, or bian lian, is the most dramatic highlight of traditional Sichuan opera, in which a deft performer can change painted silk masks in quick succession with a flip of the wrist and a twist of the neck, revealing striking facial expressions. In the political theatre, US President Donald Trump deserves the title of a master face-changing artist over his latest about-faces on the US-China trade friction. On August 23, he used Twitter to attack Chinese President Xi Jinping... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3025145/trumps-face-changing-used-rattle-china-time-now-beijings-side?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3025145/trumps-face-changing-used-rattle-china-time-now-beijings-side?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 31 Aug 2019 01:30:11 +0000 Police from the Philippines and China are planning to work together to solve crimes committed by Chinese nationals against their compatriots, according to the head of the Philippine National Police Anti-Kidnapping Group (PNP-AKG). This would include sending Philippine officers to Beijing for a two-week stint in September to take an anti-kidnapping course and establish a liaison with various Chinese police officials, PNP-AKG director Colonel Jonnel Estomo told the South China Morning Post. The... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3024757/police-philippines-china-plan-collaboration-foil-casino?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3024757/police-philippines-china-plan-collaboration-foil-casino?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Aug 2019 23:45:04 +0000 Hongkongers are “more than welcome” to move to Malaysia through the country’s My Second Home programme but must not be “running away from something”, officials said on Wednesday amid reports of a spike in interest since the city’s anti-government protests took off. Tourism, arts and culture ministry secretary general Isham Ishak warned that residents of the city must be genuine applicants and pass a stringent vetting process. “We will do background checks,” he told Malaysian state media amid... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3024774/hongkongers-eyeing-move-malaysia-amid-unrest-must-not-be?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3024774/hongkongers-eyeing-move-malaysia-amid-unrest-must-not-be?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Aug 2019 13:30:13 +0000 Australia on Wednesday launched a task force to clamp down on foreign interference at universities amid growing concerns about Chinese influence on college campuses. Education Minister Dan Tehan said the task force, which will be equally comprised of university staff and government officials, would tackle the “intersection of national security, research, collaboration and a university’s autonomy”. “Universities also understand the risk to their operations and to the national interest from... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3024742/australia-investigates-foreign-interference-universities?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3024742/australia-investigates-foreign-interference-universities?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Aug 2019 10:00:37 +0000 Universities in Australia are taking a “multibillion-dollar gamble” by relying on Chinese students for revenue, a report has said, amid growing concerns that Australian research has been used by Beijing to violate human rights. Many of the country’s top-ranked universities have “extraordinary levels” of exposure to the Chinese market, putting the taxpayer at risk in the event student numbers declined, according to the report by the Centre for Independent Studies, a right-leaning think tank in... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3024419/over-reliance-chinese-students-multibillion-dollar-gamble?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3024419/over-reliance-chinese-students-multibillion-dollar-gamble?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Aug 2019 23:00:10 +0000 A senior Indonesian minister in charge of ties with China was forced to clarify over the weekend that Jakarta had not struck any deal with Ping An, China’s biggest insurer by market value, to improve the national health insurance agency’s information technology systems. Coordinating minister for maritime affairs Luhut Binsar Panjaitan, a trusted adviser to President Joko Widodo, released a statement after Indonesian social media users asked why a Chinese company had to be involved with the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3024417/indonesian-minister-clarifies-no-bpjs-deal-has-been-struck?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3024417/indonesian-minister-clarifies-no-bpjs-deal-has-been-struck?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Aug 2019 12:28:34 +0000 Indonesia’s restive province of West Papua was gripped by violence this week as protesters clashed with police, leading Jakarta to cut internet access and send almost 1,000 additional officers to quell the unrest. The latest demonstrations were against racist abuse suffered by West Papuan students, but a separatist movement in the region has also been simmering since 1969. In recent years, Jakarta’s Pacific Island neighbours have become bolder in their disapproval of the government’s handling of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3024136/chinese-support-pacific-nations-shaping-their-stance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3024136/chinese-support-pacific-nations-shaping-their-stance?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 24 Aug 2019 03:45:14 +0000 “Almost the single worst abuser of everybody.” This was how US President Donald Trump described Vietnam’s approach to trade in an interview in June. His damning verdict was followed a few days later by an announcement from the US Department of Commerce that it would be imposing duties of up to 456 per cent on Vietnamese steel imports. Hanoi has been seen as the biggest winner from Trump’s trade war with China, but is now also on the receiving end of a hardening approach from Washington. The... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3024068/vietnam-and-america-foes-paper-friends-out-necessity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3024068/vietnam-and-america-foes-paper-friends-out-necessity?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Aug 2019 11:00:07 +0000 Perfecto Yasay, Jnr, 72, President Rodrigo Duterte’s former college room mate whom he appointed as his first foreign secretary, was arrested in the Philippines on Wednesday in connection with a long-running bank fraud case. He was appointed by Duterte despite being implicated in criminal charges filed before the Department of Justice by the Philippine Central Bank (BSP) in 2011. Yasay played a key role “in crafting and articulating foreign policy”, a well-placed government source who spoke on... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3024053/dutertes-former-top-diplomat-who-played-key-role-shaping-policy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3024053/dutertes-former-top-diplomat-who-played-key-role-shaping-policy?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Aug 2019 07:00:25 +0000 East Timor wants to cooperate with China in the oil and gas industry, but reports that Dili would borrow US$16 billion from China’s Export-Import Bank to finance one such project were a “hoax”, the country’s Foreign Minister Dionísio da Costa Babo Soares declared. Reports of the loan were “blown up by politically motivated people around the region”, Soares said, adding that East Timor actually needs much less to tap some of its last remaining oil and gas resources in the offshore Greater Sunrise... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3023973/us16-billion-hoax-reports-chinese-loan-east-timor-gas-project?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3023973/us16-billion-hoax-reports-chinese-loan-east-timor-gas-project?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Aug 2019 03:00:11 +0000 Sceptics of East Timor’s relations with China should know it is not a “new, fragile country” that can be easily swayed by others, its foreign minister said, citing how the nation handled its border dispute with larger neighbour Australia. Dionísio da Costa Babo Soares, in an exclusive interview with This Week in Asia in Dili, pointed to how East Timor last year used a United Nations law to resolve its maritime boundary with Australia, which will pave the way for both countries to jointly develop... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3023934/east-timors-china-friendship-wont-compromise-its-national?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3023934/east-timors-china-friendship-wont-compromise-its-national?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Aug 2019 01:30:05 +0000 Days after China backed Pakistan and prodded the United Nations Security Council into an informal discussion on New Delhi’s decision to strip Jammu and Kashmir of its autonomy, anger is brewing in India against the Asian dragon. A campaign is slowly gaining traction that calls for an economic boycott and heavy tariffs against Chinese goods, even as India struggles with a flailing economy and an unprecedented jobs crisis. The Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), an affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3023748/indians-told-boycott-chinese-goods-after-beijing-backs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3023748/indians-told-boycott-chinese-goods-after-beijing-backs?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Aug 2019 10:30:10 +0000 If an armed conflict broke out between Beijing and Washington, China’s hi-tech ballistic missiles would likely cripple the United States’ military bases and naval fleet across the Western Pacific region within hours, a new report by Australia-based researchers has said. With China making rapid technological advancements and sharpening its hard power, the report urged the US and regional allies such as Australia and Japan to overhaul military investment and deployment plans, or face the prospect... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3023316/chinese-missiles-likely-cripple-asia-based-us-forces-event?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3023316/chinese-missiles-likely-cripple-asia-based-us-forces-event?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Aug 2019 14:05:12 +0000 “He’s going to be a great one,” cooed US President Donald Trump in his characteristic ebullient style as he witnessed the swearing-in last month of Mark Esper, his fourth defence secretary in three years. In Asia, defence policymakers and analysts who have watched unprecedented internal turmoil unfold in the Pentagon during Trump’s tenure say they, too, hope West Point graduate and former Army Secretary Esper will bring much needed continuity to the civilian leadership of the world’s most... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3023190/military-bases-ballistic-missiles-whats-target-trumps-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3023190/military-bases-ballistic-missiles-whats-target-trumps-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Aug 2019 22:00:12 +0000 Members of Hong Kong’s Pakistani community joined their home country in observing a “black day” on Thursday, India’s Independence Day, to denounce New Delhi’s decision to strip the disputed Kashmir region of its autonomy. The group held a rally in Kowloon launching the Overseas Kashmir Association of Hong Kong, and drove a convoy of buses through the area bearing posters which read “Kashmir needs world attention”. The gathering comes as Pakistan tries to rally international condemnation of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3023010/pakistanis-hong-kong-condemn-modis-move-strip-indian-held?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3023010/pakistanis-hong-kong-condemn-modis-move-strip-indian-held?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Aug 2019 01:00:10 +0000 Indonesia made great strides in reforming its economy during the first term in office of President Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi. The country’s ranking in the World Bank’s ease of doing business study rocketed from 114 in 2014 to 73 this year, and ratings agency Standard and Poor’s in 2017 joined Moody’s and Fitch in awarding BBB investment status. But securing capital remains a big challenge. According to government figures, investment grew 11.4 per cent a year in Widodo’s first term,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3022886/indonesia-still-wants-chinese-investments-jokowi-also-wooing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3022886/indonesia-still-wants-chinese-investments-jokowi-also-wooing?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Aug 2019 04:34:11 +0000 Worsening US-Iran tensions are raising fears among Asian countries of Tehran’s pivot to China and Russia, potentially sparking a second cold war, experts at a conference in Singapore said on Tuesday. Hitoshi Tanaka, Japan’s former deputy minister for foreign affairs, said Washington’s sanctions on Iran would force it to “seek alternative measures to survive”. The Trump administration has unleashed a campaign of “maximum pressure” against Iran this year, to force it to limit its nuclear and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3022654/trump-pushes-iran-chinese-arms-asia-fears-second-cold-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3022654/trump-pushes-iran-chinese-arms-asia-fears-second-cold-war?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Aug 2019 14:00:11 +0000 The Trump Organisation has not profited from its namesake’s position as leader of the free world and a decision to drop Chinese financing from an Indonesian theme park featuring a Trump hotel has absolutely nothing to do with the US-China trade war. That is according to Donald Trump Jnr, who was in Jakarta on Tuesday to attend a pre-launch event for two real estate projects marking the US developer’s first foray into Southeast Asia’s largest economy. The Trump Organisation is partnering with... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3022648/trump-linked-theme-park-indonesia-drops-chinese-cash-trade?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3022648/trump-linked-theme-park-indonesia-drops-chinese-cash-trade?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Aug 2019 12:41:00 +0000 When Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte visits China later this month, he intends to raise with Chinese President Xi Jinping the contentious topic of Beijing’s activities in the South China Sea – and the 2016 UN arbitration ruling negating its territorial claims there. This has raised speculation that Manila is ready to take a harder line on its relations with Beijing, and on the South China Sea in particular, as since becoming president, Duterte has gone out of his way to embrace Beijing and... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/diplomacy/article/3022429/when-xi-meets-duterte-china-philippines-honeymoon-over?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/diplomacy/article/3022429/when-xi-meets-duterte-china-philippines-honeymoon-over?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Aug 2019 00:00:11 +0000 The West Bank. Gaza. Xinjiang. Modern-day concentration camps. Is the 12.5-million strong, Muslim-majority Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir next? Last week it was placed under curfew, its telecommunications silenced and its mainstream political leaders detained. About 500,000 troops were already stationed in Kashmir, making it one of the most militarised areas in the world. In recent weeks, a further 35,000 Indian soldiers were deployed, as tourists and non-residents rushed to escape the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3022398/kashmir-colonised-have-become-colonisers-indias-soul-stake?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3022398/kashmir-colonised-have-become-colonisers-indias-soul-stake?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Aug 2019 05:21:11 +0000 Saad still has chubby, small hands like most children his age do. But his dark and penetrative eyes could belong to an adult. Though Saad is only 2 years old, the destruction caused by Syria’s deadly war has already left him with many invisible marks. Walter Leung Wai-yin, an intensive care nurse from Hong Kong who went on a mission with the International Committee of the Red Cross, met the little boy at a field hospital in Al Hol camp, north-eastern Syria. Saad had a fever and diarrhoea when he... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3022218/syrias-devastating-war-through-eyes-hong-kong-nurse?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3022218/syrias-devastating-war-through-eyes-hong-kong-nurse?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 Aug 2019 07:45:09 +0000 Indonesian President Joko Widodo arrived in Malaysia late on Thursday for his first official visit since being re-elected in April, looking to tackle long-running border disputes and workers’ rights concerns. But analysts said despite the full roster of issues, rosier ties between the two nations may usher in a period of “stability”. “Both leaders discussed briefly on bilateral and other issues of common interests, among others – Asean car project, cooperation in palm oil industry, community... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3022141/disputes-aside-joko-widodos-visit-malaysia-may-be-sign-rosier?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3022141/disputes-aside-joko-widodos-visit-malaysia-may-be-sign-rosier?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Aug 2019 08:02:00 +0000 Singapore on Friday staged a grander-than-usual National Day parade as the Lion City marked its 54th birthday alongside a “commemoration” of the 200th anniversary of the landing of the British colonialist Sir Stamford Raffles. Joining an estimated 250,000 spectators who flocked to the celebrations in the evening in the city state’s historic Padang area were the leaders of its three closest neighbours: Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. The Singapore government said Malaysia’s Prime Minister... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3022112/singapores-54th-birthday-mahathir-jokowi-are-welcome-raffles?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3022112/singapores-54th-birthday-mahathir-jokowi-are-welcome-raffles?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Aug 2019 05:12:58 +0000 Since New Delhi’s announcement that Kashmir’s autonomy would be revoked, critics have suggested the region’s original Muslim-majority residents could be reduced to a minority, invoking comparisons to the West Bank or the Chinese model in Xinjiang that pushed Han Chinese into the region. By scrapping Articles 370 and 35A of the constitution, the complex state will become two centrally administered Union Territories in India’s northernmost region – Jammu & Kashmir, and Ladakh. Among other changes,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3022046/indias-kashmir-move-attempt-shift-its-muslim-demographic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3022046/indias-kashmir-move-attempt-shift-its-muslim-demographic?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Aug 2019 00:00:17 +0000 The administration of President Rodrigo Duterte appears to have been caught flat-footed by a strongly worded statement from the Chinese government, which called on Manila to “punish” Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) as well as casinos illegally employing Chinese workers and mistreating them. Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said: “They should file formal complaints so that this particular concern will be raised in the appropriate agencies of the government so we can properly... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3022039/duterte-administration-reels-beijing-slams-manila?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3022039/duterte-administration-reels-beijing-slams-manila?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Aug 2019 13:15:14 +0000 Malaysia intends to set up a special, government-helmed channel to facilitate more investment from China, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said on Thursday. “We wish to see an increase in Chinese investment with the setting up of a system,” he said after delivering a keynote address at a Malaysia-China Belt and Road Economic Cooperation Forum hosted by the Malaysia China Business Council. Malaysia’s Mahathir backs belt and road but insists on open trade routes More details will be announced during... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3022037/malaysia-looks-woo-chinese-cash-belt-and-road-positivity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3022037/malaysia-looks-woo-chinese-cash-belt-and-road-positivity?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Aug 2019 13:00:34 +0000 Defence officials say plans by Chinese investors to develop infrastructure and tourism facilities on three Philippine islands pose a security risk and undermine Manila’s position in its dispute with Beijing over the South China Sea. Philippine naval and national defence chiefs, who say they were not consulted in advance about the plans, warn the developments would give Beijing footholds on strategically important locations at the edge of the disputed waters. The proposed development of Fuga,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3021647/dutertes-china-development-plan-south-china-sea-islands-poses?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3021647/dutertes-china-development-plan-south-china-sea-islands-poses?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Aug 2019 09:45:22 +0000 On Monday, the Indian government unilaterally reshaped its special constitutional relationship with its northernmost province of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), under which that princely state had joined the Indian union. In October 1947, with Pakistan-sponsored Pashtun militias closing in on the summer capital of Srinagar, the Hindu king of the Muslim-majority kingdom signed an Instrument of Accession, giving New Delhi full control over J&K’s defence, foreign affairs and communications, while allowing... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3021525/indias-dispute-pakistan-over-jammu-kashmir-has-loser-new-delhis?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3021525/indias-dispute-pakistan-over-jammu-kashmir-has-loser-new-delhis?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Aug 2019 14:15:14 +0000 Rudyard Kipling said in his famous ballad: “East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.” Whether we like it or not, the twain are meeting again, and creating and opening a new chapter in history. When we read about the trade war and Huawei, and we read about the anti-China – and increasingly anti-Chinese – sentiment in the United States, one recalls Kipling’s famous line. But for him the East was not China. For him East was South Asia, where he spent many years of his... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3021354/chinese-exceptionalism-law-vs-etiquette-and-chopsticks-people?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3021354/chinese-exceptionalism-law-vs-etiquette-and-chopsticks-people?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Aug 2019 05:25:23 +0000 According to Brexit supporters, Britain’s decision to leave the European Union is not about turning its back on the world. Rather, it is about staking out a new position in the global economy as a sovereign state that can make deals with like-minded partners without the constraints of being an EU member. A post-Brexit United Kingdom will therefore be eager to make trade deals with the United States and China, the world’s two largest economies and Britain’s biggest trading partners, as soon as... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3021189/golden-era-china-or-special-relationship-trump-brexit-boris-must?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3021189/golden-era-china-or-special-relationship-trump-brexit-boris-must?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Aug 2019 03:00:06 +0000 Geopolitical tremors were felt in the region when reports surfaced that East Timor’s state-owned energy company was considering a US$16 billion loan from China to develop an offshore oil and gas field. Many saw it as the latest example of China’s growing diplomatic and economic clout in the 17-year-old nation, which lies just 500km off the north coast of Australia. Timor Gap was swift in denying the reports, which had claimed the Export-Import Bank of China would help finance its US$50 billion... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3021223/east-timor-wants-tap-oil-and-gas-near-australia-so-why-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3021223/east-timor-wants-tap-oil-and-gas-near-australia-so-why-it?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 Aug 2019 05:00:15 +0000 When work began on East Timor’s US$490 million deep water port, things went with a bang – literally. The government waived its regulations on explosions so that Chinese contractors could blast their way through a quarry in Tibar Bay, 10km west of the capital city of Dili, and launch in earnest a project aimed at strengthening trade links between Southeast Asia’s youngest nation and the wider region. To some ears, those explosions in mid-July were a sign of strength, a celebration of the fact... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3021219/chinese-cash-enough-keep-east-timor-out-asean?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3021219/chinese-cash-enough-keep-east-timor-out-asean?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 Aug 2019 00:30:08 +0000 US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will begin his first visit to Thailand on Thursday as part of a week-long tour of the Indo-Pacific that will include stops in Australia and Micronesia. His visit comes as the country emerges from five years of military rule, with coup leader Prayuth Chan-ocha retaining power after being voted prime minister by his ruling coalition following March’s disputed election. His new cabinet was confirmed after being approved by Thailand’s king earlier this month. The... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3020616/mike-pompeo-set-first-visit-thailand-us-looks-renew-ties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3020616/mike-pompeo-set-first-visit-thailand-us-looks-renew-ties?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Jul 2019 23:00:10 +0000 The University of Queensland, which was the site of clashes between Hong Kong and pro-China demonstrators last week, is bracing for a protest set for Wednesday by students accusing it of bowing to Beijing’s influence and not protecting free speech. A group calling themselves Transparency 4 UQ say administrators have not been up front about an agreement signed by the university to host a Confucius Institute – a Beijing-funded school that provides language and cultural education but steers clear... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3020547/university-queensland-braces-protest-over-chinas-confucius?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3020547/university-queensland-braces-protest-over-chinas-confucius?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Jul 2019 23:15:07 +0000 Behrouz Boochani is not an angry man. He tells me this on the phone from Manus Island in Papua New Guinea, where he has been detained by the Australian government for the past six years. “I should be angry, but in my personal life, I am a peaceful person,” he says, laughter in his voice. Boochani is a Kurdish refugee from Iran who twice attempted to make it from Indonesia to Australia by boat in 2013. The first time the wooden vessel sank, and Boochani and other passengers were lucky to survive.... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/3020309/using-whatsapp-and-sms-refugee-behrouz-boochani-writes-book-manus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/3020309/using-whatsapp-and-sms-refugee-behrouz-boochani-writes-book-manus?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Jul 2019 23:00:11 +0000 Since their debut in 1996, Taiwan’s presidential elections have been a showdown between the self-ruled island’s independence-leaning camp and those favouring unification with China. There will be no exception this time as incumbent president Tsai Ing-wen faces off with Han Kuo-yu, the popular mayor of Kaohsiung, in January 2020, when legislative elections will also take place. The presidential races offer choices that divide the electorate along multiple lines – idealism or reality,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3020313/taiwans-2020-election-candidates-its-us-vs-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3020313/taiwans-2020-election-candidates-its-us-vs-china?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Jul 2019 03:00:18 +0000 Cambodian officials who struggled this week to swat away claims that the Southeast Asian country had signed a secret deal to allow the Chinese military to use one of its naval bases are likely to find sympathisers thousands of kilometres away, in Sri Lanka. Authorities in the Indian Ocean island for months have found themselves pushing back – with little effect – against claims that they are making discreet plans to allow a permanent foreign presence on domestic shores. But unlike the case of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3020308/us-naval-base-rumours-sri-lanka-spark-alarm-washington-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3020308/us-naval-base-rumours-sri-lanka-spark-alarm-washington-and?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Jul 2019 05:00:06 +0000 In May last year, President Xi Jinping unexpectedly called his American counterpart Donald Trump to plead with him to ease up on crippling sanctions against ZTE Corporation, one of China’s largest telecoms equipment makers, which is accused of selling goods containing US parts to Iran and North Korea. At the time, Chinese officials did not anticipate the phone call would produce significant complications for the subsequent trade talks with the United States. In the preceding month, the Trump... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3020305/xi-jinpings-zte-concession-donald-trump-still-haunts-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3020305/xi-jinpings-zte-concession-donald-trump-still-haunts-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Jul 2019 01:30:06 +0000 An Australian university that was the scene of clashes between pro-Hong Kong and pro-Beijing students this week is under fire from several academics over its appointment of a serving Chinese diplomat as a faculty member. The controversy comes amid heightened scrutiny of Chinese influence at Australian universities, with the government on Thursday announcing an investigation into whether agreements between tertiary education institutions and Beijing-backed Confucius Institutes could violate... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3020168/university-queensland-faces-heat-naming-chinese-diplomat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3020168/university-queensland-faces-heat-naming-chinese-diplomat?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Jul 2019 04:18:26 +0000 Following his emphatic re-election in May, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a renewed mandate to explore the opportunities presented by India ’s seesawing relationship with China. However, both countries must devise new approaches to tackle long-standing problems. India and China have been seeking common ground on a number of issues where they see eye to eye, such as standing together against rising trade protectionism. At the same time, legacy issues that remain unresolved, from the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3020095/can-china-and-india-agree-new-ways-solve-old-problems?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3020095/can-china-and-india-agree-new-ways-solve-old-problems?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Jul 2019 10:45:13 +0000 During his Oval Office meeting with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday, United States President Donald Trump characteristically abandoned the script and hailed the Pakistani leader as “great” and “tough”, even promising to help get the former cricketer re-elected. Clearly, the tortured, roller coaster US-Pakistan relationship is back on. The new bilateral bargain seems to be this: if Islamabad can deliver Washington an honourable exit from Afghanistan that addresses its main... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3019948/why-warmer-us-pakistan-relationship-win-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3019948/why-warmer-us-pakistan-relationship-win-china?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Jul 2019 12:00:15 +0000 The United States Coast Guard will intensify its activities in the Pacific in response to China’s growing influence across the region, according to the force’s commandant Admiral Karl Schultz, who said there were “clear indicators” of Beijing’s increased presence even in the US’ Pacific territories. Schultz on Tuesday said China had beefed up its maritime presence beyond the “strategic second island chain” – part of which is formed by US-administered Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3019774/us-steps-its-activities-pacific-counter-chinas-growing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3019774/us-steps-its-activities-pacific-counter-chinas-growing?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Jul 2019 09:32:53 +0000 Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday insisted the West Philippine Sea belonged to his country, but defended his agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping to allow Chinese fishermen to operate in the area, saying it was not a constitutional violation. In Monday’s State of the Nation address, which he delivered more than an hour late, Duterte said this agreement would ensure there would be no war in the disputed South China Sea, where Manila and Beijing have overlapping claims. If you... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3019648/duterte-says-he-allows-chinese-vessels-fish-philippine-waters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3019648/duterte-says-he-allows-chinese-vessels-fish-philippine-waters?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Jul 2019 13:36:45 +0000 A militant group of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar is actively fundraising in Malaysia – to the tune of RM80,000 (US$19,500) – from Rohingya refugees working and sheltering in Malaysia, according to police. The arrest of four Rohingyas by counterterrorism police in recent months uncovered an extortion racket to fund the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (Arsa), which operates in seven states in Peninsular Malaysia. One of the detained Rohingyas is believed to have links with a pro-Islamic State... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3019396/militant-rohingya-group-raises-funds-malaysia-extorting-money?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3019396/militant-rohingya-group-raises-funds-malaysia-extorting-money?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Jul 2019 04:00:11 +0000 Japan’s carmakers are not resting easy, despite recent suggestions that US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe could announce some sort of quid pro quo agreement, where Japan gives American farmers new access to its market in exchange for reduced tariffs on certain Japanese auto parts, in September. Given the unpredictability of the US administration on trade issues, concerns remain that crippling tariffs could be imposed on the auto sector, Japan’s biggest manufacturing... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3019382/japanese-carmakers-cant-shake-fears-trumps-tariff-threats?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3019382/japanese-carmakers-cant-shake-fears-trumps-tariff-threats?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Jul 2019 04:30:06 +0000