https://www.scmp.com/rss/512364/feed Initiated in 2007, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue – typically abbreviated to "the Quad" – is a strategic security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States, accompanied by military exercises. Beijing, viewing the creation of the Quad as a diplomatic move to contain it, has referred to the dialogue as an "Asian Nato". The Quad ceased in 2010, following the departure of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, but it was revived in 2017. The revival was explicitly made to... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Khushboo Razdan Khushboo Razdan A stretch of awkward diplomacy is unfolding in the Indo-Pacific. After India’s 2025 term as the Quad’s rotating chair ended without a summit, New Delhi is planning to host a foreign ministers’ meeting that could be framed as a leaders-level discussion, even if the top leaders do not attend, according to two people familiar with the matter. The move is seen as a way to smooth India’s ruffled feathers on several counts. “It’s akin to putting lipstick on a pig,” said Sourabh Gupta of the Institute... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3350230/quad-summit-plan-turns-uneasy-india-pushes-ahead-without-top-leaders-sources?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3350230/quad-summit-plan-turns-uneasy-india-pushes-ahead-without-top-leaders-sources?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Apr 2026 22:17:13 +0000 Sebastian Contin Trillo-Figueroa Sebastian Contin Trillo-Figueroa The United States attacked Iran without consulting its European allies. President Donald Trump assumed the operation would be a quick win, over before anyone had to take a position. Instead, Washington answered a question Western governments had long avoided. After years of pushing Nato towards confrontation with China, would the transatlantic alliance fight a war it had not chosen together? The answer was no. Iran and Taiwan are different cases. One sits on Europe’s wider periphery and carries... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3348047/what-iran-war-reveals-about-natos-appetite-conflict-over-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3348047/what-iran-war-reveals-about-natos-appetite-conflict-over-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Apr 2026 12:30:09 +0000 Khushboo Razdan Khushboo Razdan A bipartisan chorus of lawmakers and national security experts in Washington is calling on the administration of US President Donald Trump to convene a Quadrilateral Security Dialogue leaders’ summit ahead of Trump’s expected meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in April. The push aims to project a unified front among Indo-Pacific democracies and prevent potential misunderstandings during high-stakes negotiations with Beijing. The Quad, an informal grouping that also includes Japan and... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/politics/article/3343854/bipartisan-push-grows-quad-summit-trumps-china-trip?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/politics/article/3343854/bipartisan-push-grows-quad-summit-trumps-china-trip?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Feb 2026 22:18:25 +0000 C. Uday Bhaskar C. Uday Bhaskar For the India-China-US triangle, the new US-India trade deal, announced with Trumpian flourish on social media on Monday, has potentially significant economic, geopolitical and strategic implications. US President Donald Trump’s post, which came after a phone call with Narendra Modi, said the Indian prime minister had committed to “BUY AMERICAN”, including over US$500 billion of US products. It also said Modi had “agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3342263/why-new-us-india-trade-agreement-big-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3342263/why-new-us-india-trade-agreement-big-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Feb 2026 21:30:08 +0000 Khushboo Razdan Khushboo Razdan In a pointed display of diplomatic unity, the US ambassador to China announced that the envoys of Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) nations – the United States, Australia, India, and Japan – had met in Beijing, just as the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted live-fire exercises during its large-scale military drills around Taiwan. “The Quad is a force for good, working to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific. It is always great to meet with the Quad Ambassadors here in Beijing,” said... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3338218/us-envoy-backs-free-open-indo-pacific-quad-meeting-beijing-amid-pla-taiwan-drills?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3338218/us-envoy-backs-free-open-indo-pacific-quad-meeting-beijing-amid-pla-taiwan-drills?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Dec 2025 21:31:31 +0000 Reuters Reuters A majority of Australians, Japanese and Indians believe US President Donald Trump’s second term has been bad for their countries, and more Australians see the US as harmful than helpful in Asia, a survey of people in the four countries reported on Thursday. The United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney polled 1,000 people in each of the four Quad nations: Australia, Japan, India, and the US. It found the region has been shaken by disruptive US developments but still backs... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3335102/trumps-second-term-harmful-quad-nations-australia-japan-india-poll-finds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3335102/trumps-second-term-harmful-quad-nations-australia-japan-india-poll-finds?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Dec 2025 16:00:10 +0000 C. Uday Bhaskar C. Uday Bhaskar South Korea is set to acquire nuclear-powered attack submarines with US approval and assistance, according to a joint fact sheet last week. That approval came following a meeting at the end of October between South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and US President Donald Trump in Gyeongju. The agreement allows South Korea to build its first nuclear-powered attack submarines, which will be conventionally armed and powered by highly enriched uranium the United States will help source. It also... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3333413/south-koreas-us-nuclear-sub-deal-risks-roiling-east-asias-waters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3333413/south-koreas-us-nuclear-sub-deal-risks-roiling-east-asias-waters?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 23 Nov 2025 01:30:14 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow The Quad nations have completed a major round of naval drills, pressing ahead with their defence cooperation even as political tensions test the cohesion of the regional security bloc. The decision to continue joint exercises reflects a “growing convergence of strategic interests” among the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue’s members and defence remaining high on the agenda despite trade and other disagreements among some of the bloc’s members, according to analysts. Comprising Australia, India,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3333536/naval-drill-sign-india-other-quad-members-can-look-past-differences?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3333536/naval-drill-sign-india-other-quad-members-can-look-past-differences?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Nov 2025 08:09:17 +0000 Richard Heydarian Richard Heydarian The Asean summit in Kuala Lumpur witnessed major geopolitical developments, including a peace deal between Thailand and Cambodia presided over by US President Donald Trump. Eager to mend recently strained relations with Washington, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, chairman of the regional body this year, also signed a new trade deal with the United States. However, one of the most crucial meetings took place on the sidelines of the summit. Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, met his... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3332345/why-china-need-not-fear-us-led-squad-evolving-asian-nato?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3332345/why-china-need-not-fear-us-led-squad-evolving-asian-nato?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 Nov 2025 12:30:08 +0000 Farwa Aamer Farwa Aamer The year began with promise for US-India relations. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington reinforced both countries’ intent to sustain the partnership’s momentum. Their personal rapport, forged during US President Donald Trump’s first term, appeared to offer political capital for a results-driven agenda. India entered 2025 buoyed by a bipartisan consensus in Washington that New Delhi was central to the Indo-Pacific balance. Yet as the year closes, optimism has faded. A... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3332216/how-india-and-us-can-find-their-way-back-better-relations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3332216/how-india-and-us-can-find-their-way-back-better-relations?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Nov 2025 21:30:09 +0000 Orange Wang Orange Wang Australia and Japan could serve as “core” members of potential US-led pre-emptive sanctions to deter Beijing from launching a military attack on Taiwan if Washington considers the threat imminent, according to an influential American think tank. Researchers from the Rand Corporation said that if the United States expected war to break out across the Taiwan Strait “within an ensuing three to six months”, it was possible Washington would put in place economic restraints “pre-emptively in a... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3332235/modelling-taiwan-war-shows-us-could-recruit-australia-japan-sanctions-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3332235/modelling-taiwan-war-shows-us-could-recruit-australia-japan-sanctions-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Nov 2025 12:02:42 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The United States was working with both sides in Sudan’s war for a possible humanitarian truce, a US envoy said on Monday, while International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutors said they were trying to preserve evidence from last week’s rampage through a besieged city in the Darfur region. The latest alleged atrocities in famine-hit El-Fasher “are part of a broader pattern of violence that has afflicted the entire Darfur region” and “may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity”, the ICC... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3331393/us-seeks-humanitarian-truce-sudan-icc-investigates-possible-war-crimes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3331393/us-seeks-humanitarian-truce-sudan-icc-investigates-possible-war-crimes?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Nov 2025 18:58:20 +0000 Bibek Raj Kandel,Christina Monroe Bibek Raj Kandel,Christina Monroe As the global order fragments, India’s foreign policy orientation has become a question of consequence far beyond South Asia. For three decades, “Look East” has been New Delhi’s mantra, positioning itself as an emerging player in the broader region. The strategy has included engaging the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, deepening India’s presence in Asia-Pacific institutions and eventually leaning into the “Indo-Pacific” frameworks shaped by the United States, Japan and Australia. It... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3327966/indias-diplomatic-weight-best-exercised-closest-its-borders?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3327966/indias-diplomatic-weight-best-exercised-closest-its-borders?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Oct 2025 01:30:08 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow The anticipated absence of US President Donald Trump from this year’s Quad summit in India is likely to “highlight cracks” in American-led alliances and raise fresh concerns over Washington’s dependability, according to analysts. While observers say the United States is unlikely to abandon the Quad altogether, they suggest its engagement may fall short of the intensity seen under the previous administration – at a time when regional anxieties over China’s assertiveness remain high. Citing... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3324371/trumps-absence-quad-summit-india-sign-fragile-us-led-alliances?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3324371/trumps-absence-quad-summit-india-sign-fragile-us-led-alliances?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Sep 2025 11:07:33 +0000 Khushboo Razdan Khushboo Razdan Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday signalled a further warming of ties with Beijing, urging the two Asian giants to collaborate in shaping a multipolar world, even as New Delhi remains wary of China’s growing military might and tries to finesse its own recent estrangement from the White House. “Stable, predictable and amicable bilateral relations between India and China, the two largest nations on Earth, can have a positive impact on regional and global peace and prosperity,” he told... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3323730/modi-says-close-ties-between-india-and-china-are-crucial-multipolar-asia-and-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3323730/modi-says-close-ties-between-india-and-china-are-crucial-multipolar-asia-and-world?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 29 Aug 2025 18:08:04 +0000 Khushboo Razdan,Igor Patrick Khushboo Razdan,Igor Patrick As Washington’s 50 per cent tariff on India took effect on Wednesday, among the highest in place against any country, New Delhi has settled on a hedging strategy – keep seeking a trade deal with Washington while actively searching for alternative trading partners. US President Donald Trump’s harsh move against Indian imports saw the Asian giant launch an urgent diplomatic push to route trade around the US – including with Brazil, China, Russia, Britain, Japan, Australia and the EU. Indian... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3323411/india-seek-new-trade-partners-us-trade-deal-face-new-trump-tariffs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3323411/india-seek-new-trade-partners-us-trade-deal-face-new-trump-tariffs?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Aug 2025 22:33:57 +0000 Nikola Mikovic Nikola Mikovic While United States President Donald Trump aims to end – or at least freeze – the Ukraine conflict and portray himself as a peacemaker, China seems to be quietly expanding its influence in Eurasia – a region that Halford Mackinder, “the father of geopolitics”, viewed as the key to global power. The coming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, scheduled to start on August 31 in Tianjin, is expected to provide another opportunity for Beijing to strengthen its political, economic and military... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3323022/beijing-expands-its-influence-eurasia-trump-triggers-geopolitical-shifts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3323022/beijing-expands-its-influence-eurasia-trump-triggers-geopolitical-shifts?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Aug 2025 22:30:07 +0000 Brian Rhoads,Raymond Ma Brian Rhoads,Raymond Ma Chinese President Xi Jinping and Brazilian leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva spoke by telephone on Tuesday, extending a flurry of calls between leaders of major Brics nations amid US President Donald Trump’s global trade war. The hour-long Xi-Lula discussion followed separate calls in the past week between both leaders and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Putin on Friday and with Lula on Monday. Modi will also meet Xi later this month during his... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3321714/trump-pushes-brics-together-drives-allies-apart?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3321714/trump-pushes-brics-together-drives-allies-apart?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Aug 2025 09:00:35 +0000 Orange Wang,Alyssa Chen Orange Wang,Alyssa Chen Beijing should remain alert to the continued solidarity between the US and its regional partners in countering China, despite their trade tensions with Washington, Chinese observers have warned. They cited this week’s meeting of Indo-Pacific Quad partners as the latest example of such unified signalling. The top diplomats of the United States, Japan, Australia and India, meeting in Washington on Tuesday, agreed to deepen cooperation on Indo-Pacific maritime security and introduce a critical... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3316702/china-urged-keep-close-eye-us-led-quad-trade-tensions-fail-dent-solidarity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3316702/china-urged-keep-close-eye-us-led-quad-trade-tensions-fail-dent-solidarity?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Jul 2025 15:00:08 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will welcome counterparts from the “Quad” to Washington on Tuesday, in an at least brief refocus on Asia, the State Department said. Rubio first welcomed foreign ministers from the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue – an informal strategic forum comprising the United States, India, Australia and Japan aimed at upholding a free and open Indo-Pacific – on January 21, his first meeting after US President Donald Trump’s inauguration. The summit had been seen as a sign... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3316003/marco-rubio-welcome-asian-quad-counterparts-back-washington?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3316003/marco-rubio-welcome-asian-quad-counterparts-back-washington?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Jun 2025 20:37:50 +0000 Khushboo Razdan Khushboo Razdan Senior Indian officials on Tuesday dismissed US President Donald Trump’s claim that his administration single-handedly brokered a ceasefire between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan, which of late have engaged in armed conflict across their shared border. The officials further suggested India had briefed all key partners, including its fellow Quad members, about its military actions against “terror bases” in Pakistan. Beijing has long opposed the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue – an... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3310229/senior-indian-officials-dismiss-trumps-claim-he-alone-brokered-ceasefire-pakistan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3310229/senior-indian-officials-dismiss-trumps-claim-he-alone-brokered-ceasefire-pakistan?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 May 2025 22:09:18 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji India is seeking to deepen defence cooperation with Japan as both nations pursue military modernisation and aim to reduce dependence on traditional arms suppliers – a strategic alignment analysts say reflects shared regional concerns and a growing appetite for co-developing advanced technologies. Earlier this month, both countries agreed to set up a new bilateral defence consultation framework, with Japanese media reporting that Tokyo had offered to help India develop fighter jets and tanks,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3310180/india-seeks-deeper-defence-ties-japan-amid-push-strategic-self-reliance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3310180/india-seeks-deeper-defence-ties-japan-amid-push-strategic-self-reliance?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 May 2025 10:30:13 +0000 The global military-industrial complex is tightening its grip on geopolitics. China is feeling this shift as its leaders and geopolitical rivals pursue economic security to strengthen defence-critical industries while amassing forces to challenge old rules of engagement and long-established spheres of influence. These realities reflect a world engulfed in warfare. More than 110 armed conflicts are under way. Varying widely in scale, some are recent events while others began some 50 years ago,... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3305797/how-chinas-military-industrial-complex-reshaping-geopolitics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3305797/how-chinas-military-industrial-complex-reshaping-geopolitics?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Apr 2025 21:30:08 +0000 Despite the Donald Trump administration’s unconventional foreign policy in his second term, Sun Yun – the director of the Stimson Centre’s China programme – recently argued that it is unlikely to have any ramifications for the United States’ military presence in the Indo-Pacific. Given that Trump is eager to boost US power projection capabilities with the desired acquisition of Greenland, it is unfathomable that it would seek to change its current position in the Indo-Pacific. However, the Trump... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3303737/how-trump-may-inadvertently-calm-waters-indo-pacific?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3303737/how-trump-may-inadvertently-calm-waters-indo-pacific?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Mar 2025 21:30:08 +0000 India has “absolutely no interest” in undermining the US dollar, and its fellow members of the Brics grouping of emerging economies have not formed a unified position on a proposed alternative payment system, according to New Delhi’s foreign minister. Speaking at the London-based think tank Chatham House last week during a six-day visit to Britain and Ireland, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar described the dollar as a “source of international economic stability”. His comments followed repeated warnings... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3301924/brics-nations-divide-us-dollar-replacement-india-declaring-no-interest?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3301924/brics-nations-divide-us-dollar-replacement-india-declaring-no-interest?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Mar 2025 13:30:08 +0000 China’s recent live-fire naval drills in the Tasman Sea off southeastern Australia highlighted continued tensions between the major Indo-Pacific powers, particularly in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait. China’s vast territorial claims over most of the South China Sea are contested by several Southeast Asian neighbours, including the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei. The Taiwan Strait represents an even more critical issue for Beijing, which sees Taiwan as part of China to be... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3300439/how-chinese-plas-latest-forays-australia-cap-years-maritime-tensions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3300439/how-chinese-plas-latest-forays-australia-cap-years-maritime-tensions?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Feb 2025 14:45:19 +0000 US President Donald Trump is expected to take a far more aggressive approach in the Indo-Pacific than the Biden administration as America strengthens ties with Australia and Japan. Australia is deepening its security ties with the United States through the Aukus alliance (which includes Britain) and critical minerals agreements, while balancing its economic reliance on China. The US remains Australia’s largest investor and demand for Australian rare earths is growing parallel to China’s market... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3299049/aukus-quad-will-have-step-under-trumps-indo-pacific-stance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3299049/aukus-quad-will-have-step-under-trumps-indo-pacific-stance?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Feb 2025 21:30:09 +0000 Starkly divergent views of the US under Donald Trump and Xi Jinping’s China came into focus in Washington on Tuesday, when a lawmaker said Beijing was part of an “axis of evil” and a Chinese academic suggested Trump was trying to carve up the world to the detriment of America’s allies. Delivering a keynote address at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, US congressman Rob Wittman, vice-chair of the influential House Armed Services Committee, said the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3298296/china-axis-evil-us-lawmaker-reveals-stark-vision-countries-under-trump-and-xi?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3298296/china-axis-evil-us-lawmaker-reveals-stark-vision-countries-under-trump-and-xi?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Feb 2025 23:24:22 +0000 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to Washington this week will focus on a potential trade deal that includes increased US energy purchases by New Delhi, reductions in Indian tariffs on certain American imports, and discussions about India acquiring US-made fighter jets and drones. Sources familiar with the agenda say that the meetings, which start on Wednesday, are also anticipated to address AI security – particularly in the wake of China’s DeepSeek introduction – the... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3298295/indian-pm-modis-washington-trip-hopes-exploit-strained-us-china-relationship?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3298295/indian-pm-modis-washington-trip-hopes-exploit-strained-us-china-relationship?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Feb 2025 22:16:18 +0000 America and Japan projected unity in their efforts to counter China on economic and security fronts and reaffirmed their commitment to a “free and open” Indo-Pacific, as US President Donald Trump met with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Friday. In a joint press conference at the White House with the Japanese leader, Trump noted the approval of nearly US$1 billion in foreign military sales to Tokyo this week and vowed to bolster US military might. When asked about American military... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3297868/donald-trump-and-japan-pm-project-unity-countering-china-economic-security-fronts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3297868/donald-trump-and-japan-pm-project-unity-countering-china-economic-security-fronts?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Feb 2025 22:58:12 +0000 The India-US bilateral relationship is likely to be reviewed at summit level after US President Donald Trump invites Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the White House for a visit next week. Trade tariffs and immigration will be on the top of the list, and the first batch of deported immigrants have returned to India. Soon after Trump assumed office, the two leaders had a telephone conversation which was described as “productive”. Trump sought a move towards a “fair bilateral trading relationship”... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3297407/how-modis-us-visit-could-add-chinas-growing-list-worries?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3297407/how-modis-us-visit-could-add-chinas-growing-list-worries?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Feb 2025 21:30:07 +0000 As Donald Trump settles back into the White House for a second term and the rest of the world readies itself for a reprisal of US threats and transactionalism, Southeast Asia has been put on notice where it stands with Washington. A day after he was sworn in on January 21, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to his counterparts in the Philippines and Indonesia – a promising indication that at least some countries in the region matter. Rubio’s first meeting, however, was with the foreign... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3296470/trump-tech-titans-geopolitical-traps-await-southeast-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3296470/trump-tech-titans-geopolitical-traps-await-southeast-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Jan 2025 21:30:08 +0000 India is expected to reject Russia’s offer to join the “Afghan Quad”, a coalition that also includes Pakistan and China – in a decision that reflects its unwillingness to engage with rivals on Kabul’s future. The four-nation bloc – Iran is the fourth member – was formed with the stated aim of stabilising Afghanistan, a goal aligned with its members’ shared regional interests. Yet for India, joining a coalition that includes its long-standing adversary, Pakistan, would clash with its strategic... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3296245/russias-afghan-quad-overtures-india-hit-china-pakistan-stumbling-block?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3296245/russias-afghan-quad-overtures-india-hit-china-pakistan-stumbling-block?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Jan 2025 00:00:23 +0000 The new US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s assurance of an “ironclad commitment” to its oldest military ally in Asia, the Philippines, was welcomed on Thursday by analysts, but they suggested this would all depend on US President Donald Trump, who appeared to have softened his stance on China. In one of his first acts as the country’s chief implementer of Trump’s foreign policy, Rubio phoned Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo on Wednesday to “underscore” Washington’s “ironclad... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3296014/how-ironclad-us-commitment-philippines-analysts-say-it-all-depends-trump?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3296014/how-ironclad-us-commitment-philippines-analysts-say-it-all-depends-trump?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Jan 2025 12:06:28 +0000 Just hours after being sworn in as US secretary of state on Tuesday, Marco Rubio brought his attention to strengthening strategic alliances in the Indo-Pacific. On his first day in the job, he convened a meeting of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue – a security dialogue formed to counter China’s influence in the region – involving the bloc’s foreign ministers in Washington, followed by bilateral talks with those envoys from India, Japan and Australia. Rubio’s meeting with Indian Foreign... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3295713/marco-rubio-holds-talks-quad-leaders-first-day-us-secretary-state?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3295713/marco-rubio-holds-talks-quad-leaders-first-day-us-secretary-state?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Jan 2025 18:48:46 +0000 China continues to be the target of US security and strategic concerns. An abiding policy focus since Donald Trump’s first presidential term in 2017-2021, the anxiety about Beijing has been reiterated in Joe Biden’s current tenure with all the early signals suggesting the policy will continue when Trump assumes office again on January 20. With his many senior appointments announced being well-known China hawks, the concern about China is clearly recurring. This was more than evident when Trump... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3294324/beyond-us-china-tussles-geopolitics-will-be-shaped-india-russia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3294324/beyond-us-china-tussles-geopolitics-will-be-shaped-india-russia?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Jan 2025 12:30:09 +0000 A senior White House official expressed concern on Friday that the incoming administration of US president-elect Donald Trump will push some Indo-Pacific countries into China’s embrace if it diverges from the policies that President Joe Biden pursued in the region. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan made the comment as part of a media round table held to sum up the Biden administration’s “enduring commitment” to the region, just 10 days before Mike Waltz – Trump’s pick to fill Sullivan’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3294340/us-national-security-adviser-fears-trump-might-push-some-indo-pacific-nations-toward-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3294340/us-national-security-adviser-fears-trump-might-push-some-indo-pacific-nations-toward-china?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Jan 2025 21:43:41 +0000 Donald Trump’s return to the White House is expected to cast a cloud over the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), but Washington’s bipartisan consensus on countering China will ensure the grouping’s continuing importance, observers said. The framework – between the US, Australia, Japan and India – which flourished during Joe Biden’s presidency, could be overshadowed by Trump’s policy focus in his second term but the Quad allies would remain close to Washington, one expert noted. The Quad... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3293247/us-consensus-countering-china-will-keep-quad-relevant-under-trump-experts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3293247/us-consensus-countering-china-will-keep-quad-relevant-under-trump-experts?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Jan 2025 08:00:09 +0000 On December 14, South Korea’s National Assembly successfully impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol on its second attempt. The impeachment has headed to the Constitutional Court, which has up to six months to review it. On Friday, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo who had assumed the role of acting president was also impeached. If Yoon’s impeachment is upheld, opposition leader Lee Jae-myung could become the new president and recalibrate Yoon’s domestic and foreign policy directions with the backing of a... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3292041/south-korea-crisis-what-black-swans-lurk-east-asia-2025?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3292041/south-korea-crisis-what-black-swans-lurk-east-asia-2025?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:30:08 +0000 India and China took another step towards healthy and stable relations last week as India’s national security adviser Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held border talks in Beijing. It was the 23rd meeting between the countries’ special representatives under the established mechanism for border discussions – and the first to be held in five years. Relations cooled after the deadly Galwan Valley clash in 2020, with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar frequently critical... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3291770/besides-border-4-issues-obstruct-warmer-china-india-ties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3291770/besides-border-4-issues-obstruct-warmer-china-india-ties?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Dec 2024 21:30:08 +0000 US President Joe Biden has reportedly approved a new national security memorandum intended to serve as a “road map” for the Trump national security team on dealing with China, Iran, North Korea and Russia. The memorandum, which reportedly provides recommendations on such things as “improving US government inter-agency cooperation” and “speeding up the sharing of information with allies”, are really critiques on the Biden team’s performance. The question needs to be asked: if these were such... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3291240/how-bidens-memos-can-ensure-continuity-us-foreign-policy-under-trump?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3291240/how-bidens-memos-can-ensure-continuity-us-foreign-policy-under-trump?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Dec 2024 12:30:09 +0000 The members of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (the Quad) plan to hold a joint coastguard training and launch a range of new initiatives to strengthen Indo-Pacific maritime security next year, a strategy experts say reflects a shift towards grey-zone tactics to uphold regional norms and counter China’s assertive interpretation of maritime rules. The group consisting of India, Australia, Japan and the United States will conduct their first-ever joint coastguard drill at the Port of Yokohama... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3291505/quad-plans-hold-joint-coastguard-training-counter-china-indo-pacific-experts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3291505/quad-plans-hold-joint-coastguard-training-counter-china-indo-pacific-experts?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Dec 2024 09:00:09 +0000 India has bolstered its naval fleet with the commissioning of an advanced frigate built in Russia, underscoring New Delhi’s strategic focus on enhancing maritime security amid rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific and growing naval competition with China and Pakistan, analysts say. The formal commissioning of the INS Tushil occurred on December 9 at the Yantar shipyard in Kaliningrad. Senior officials from India and Russia, including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, attended. Commodore C. Uday... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3290538/india-adds-russian-built-ins-tushil-navy-fleet-amid-rising-indo-pacific-security-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3290538/india-adds-russian-built-ins-tushil-navy-fleet-amid-rising-indo-pacific-security-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Dec 2024 12:00:16 +0000 Donald Trump’s second term as president will not just reshape US policy, it will fundamentally transform geopolitics. Embracing protectionism, isolationism and nationalism, he intends to freeze multilateralism and redirect American resources to domestic priorities. If his first term is any guide, the fallout will be predictable. Protectionism will be the cornerstone of Trump’s strategy. With higher tariffs, sanctions and export controls, trade wars are inevitable. The US-China technological... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3286441/how-trumps-isolationist-us-will-open-doors-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3286441/how-trumps-isolationist-us-will-open-doors-china?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 17 Nov 2024 21:30:07 +0000 As events unfold this week at what are likely to be the last multilateral events on US President Joe Biden’s calendar before he leaves office, it is evident how much his power is waning on the international stage. While happy to honour the veteran public servant – who turns 82 on Wednesday – world leaders know that the US political winds have shifted dramatically after his party’s resounding defeat on November 5 at the hands of president-elect Donald Trump. “This is not going to be a swan song... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/us-elections/article/3286624/lame-duck-joe-biden-anticlimactic-exit-world-stage?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/us-elections/article/3286624/lame-duck-joe-biden-anticlimactic-exit-world-stage?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Nov 2024 15:56:46 +0000 Enoch Wong,Seong Hyeon Choi Enoch Wong,Seong Hyeon Choi Donald Trump’s return to the White House could spell uncertainty for US-led regional security arrangements aimed at containing China, including Aukus and the Quad, experts said, pointing to his unpredictability and history of putting pressure on allies. Washington’s efforts to contain China’s growing influence weare re likely to continue in Trump’s second term but with a strong “America First” approach, they said. Charles Hunt, international relations professor at RMIT University in Melbourne,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3285763/aukus-quad-allies-could-face-pressure-china-next-trump-administration?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3285763/aukus-quad-allies-could-face-pressure-china-next-trump-administration?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Nov 2024 14:00:09 +0000 Goldman Sachs economist Jim O’Neill could not have foreseen that his acronym Bric (Brazil, Russia, India and China), used in his November 2001 paper “Building Better Global Economic BRICs”, would inspire those four emerging economies to form an organisation with the same name, holding their first summit in 2009. In 2011, South Africa was admitted to the bloc, thus changing its name to Brics. This year, more countries – Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates – have joined. Expansion... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3282232/6-questions-brics-must-answer-if-it-wants-stay-relevant?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3282232/6-questions-brics-must-answer-if-it-wants-stay-relevant?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Oct 2024 12:30:07 +0000 India does not share the vision for an “Asian Nato” called for by Japan’s new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Tuesday. Jaishakar told an event at Washington’s Carnegie Endowment for International Peace that unlike Japan, India had never been a treaty ally of another country. “We don’t have that kind of strategic architecture in mind,” he said when asked about Ishiba’s call. India and Japan, along with the United States and Australia, are... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3280727/india-rejects-japans-call-asian-nato-despite-growing-tensions-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3280727/india-rejects-japans-call-asian-nato-despite-growing-tensions-china?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Oct 2024 16:00:31 +0000 “China continues to behave aggressively, testing us all across the region, and it’s true in the South China Sea, the East China Sea, South China, South Asia and the Taiwan [Strait],” outgoing US President Joe Biden was recorded on a hot mic telling Quad leaders during a farewell summit in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware. His guests from Japan, Australia and India, however, were careful not to portray the gathering as a China-bashing forum but instead as a constructive avenue for global... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3280219/why-quad-faces-uncertain-future?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3280219/why-quad-faces-uncertain-future?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 Sep 2024 12:30:08 +0000 In an address at the United Nations General Assembly, New Delhi’s top diplomat on Saturday took the opportunity to criticise Pakistan and China for undermining the territorial integrity of their neighbours and made an urgent call for a “more representative” UN to solve the world’s myriad problems. “Unviable projects raise debt levels. Any connectivity that clouds sovereignty and territorial integrity acquires strategic connotations, especially when it is not a shared endeavour,” Indian External... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3280391/indias-subrahmanyam-jaishankar-criticises-pakistan-china-un-cites-karma?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3280391/indias-subrahmanyam-jaishankar-criticises-pakistan-china-un-cites-karma?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Sep 2024 19:08:39 +0000