https://www.scmp.com/rss/515583/feed Saher Liaqat is an MPhil Scholar of Strategic Studies at the National Defence University, Islamabad. She has been associated with the Hanns Seidel Foundation as a research fellow. She has also worked at the Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad, and the China Study Centre at COMSATS University Islamabad. Her areas of interest are the US-China competition, non-traditional security threats, and the politics of South Asia. She can be reached at saherliaqat2000@gmail.com. X: @thesaherrajput en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Saher Liaqat Saher Liaqat US President Donald Trump’s recent call for the military to immediately restart nuclear weapons testing, apparently ending a 33-year moratorium that began under president George H.W. Bush in 1992, has sent shock waves across the globe. The announcement was made via social media moments before the much-anticipated meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit, the first meeting between the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3332360/trumps-call-restart-nuclear-tests-reckless-redefining-deterrence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3332360/trumps-call-restart-nuclear-tests-reckless-redefining-deterrence?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Nov 2025 12:30:08 +0000 As Russia’s arms export capacity narrows due to its war in Ukraine, nations such as South Korea, Italy, and France have used the shifting global security dynamics to draw in international buyers and aggressively expand their defence export markets. The ascent of South Korea as a significant player in the global arms export market is fundamentally reshaping the geopolitical dynamics and strategic alignments of global defence alliances in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond. The 2024 Korea Army... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3283526/south-koreas-arms-exports-are-reshaping-global-defence-landscape?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3283526/south-koreas-arms-exports-are-reshaping-global-defence-landscape?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 Oct 2024 21:30:09 +0000 The question of Palestine is of immense significance in the Middle East – settling the issue would contribute a foundational element of peace in the region. The recent escalation, triggered by Hamas’ Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and Israel’s response, also has significant geopolitical and economic ramifications for the rest of the world. For many decades, the US has been the primary power broker in the Middle East but, recently, China has been assuming a role of mediator. In March, Beijing... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3238891/palestine-question-amid-us-failures-can-china-step-fair-mediator-israel-gaza-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3238891/palestine-question-amid-us-failures-can-china-step-fair-mediator-israel-gaza-war?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Oct 2023 21:30:10 +0000 The US-China chip war serves as a microcosm of broader geopolitical and economic tensions. In the technological rivalry between the United States and China, particularly in the semiconductor industry, the US has attempted to disrupt global supply chains with the primary aim of hindering Chinese progress. Washington has utilised legislation, export controls, executive orders and other measures to restrict Chinese access to critical technologies. However, these efforts seem to be ineffective, if... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3236924/huaweis-chip-breakthrough-china-has-won-battle-if-not-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3236924/huaweis-chip-breakthrough-china-has-won-battle-if-not-war?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Oct 2023 12:30:18 +0000 In recent years, the world has witnessed fierce US-China rivalry, the Covid-19 pandemic wreaking havoc on global systems and the fallout from the Ukraine war on supply chains, as well as an acceleration towards multipolarity, where power is more evenly distributed among several advanced economies. The transformation of China, a trusted economic partner to many countries, into a mediator of global importance is just one example of the move away from a unipolar world. This is coupled with... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3219264/multipolar-world-us-dollars-fall-prominence-looks-likely?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3219264/multipolar-world-us-dollars-fall-prominence-looks-likely?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 May 2023 04:30:10 +0000