Category: East Asia

At the gathering of G7 countries in Hiroshima over the weekend, the assembled leaders of the world’s richest countries managed to put together a collective, yet veiled response to Chinese “economic coercion” and aggressive posturing…

Recent reports of Uyghur Muslims, wilting away in Thai detention facilities, bring back memories – and not good ones, as they serve as reminders of Thailand’s past mistakes of kowtowing to China. The ethnic minority, originating…

This October marks the 10th anniversary of the arrival in Okinawa of the MV-22B Osprey, a unique yet troubled tiltrotor aircraft. Based at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma on the island of Okinawa, the aircraft,…

The 12-character Chinese aphorism quoted by Deng Xiaoping – “Hide your brightness, bide your time” – is long dead. The late Chinese leader was fond of quoting the famous military strategist Sun Tzu, who advocated…

As world leaders gather in New York for the seventy-seventh United Nations (UN) General Assembly, the global body has never been more divided, challenged, or starved for leadership. Fundamental reforms promised since Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’…

Tensions in the Taiwan Strait have reached a fever pitch. US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in early August sparked China’s anger, with the PLA engaging in a number of muscle-flexing drills in…

Michelle Bachelet came to the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights with an impressive political and personal résumé. Her father, Chilean Air Force Gen. Alberto Bachelet, was arrested by the notorious dictator Augusto…

Since last month, the Yuan Wang 5, a Chinese satellite-tracking vessel, has been slowly sailing from Chinese waters to the Hambantota Port on the southern tip of Sri Lanka. Just months ago, when Sri Lanka…

A lone gunman claimed the life of former Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo on July 8, shocking a largely violence-free nation. Tributes poured in from all over the world and commentators in many countries praised…

In eulogies and memorial commentaries that followed the death of former Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated by a homemade shotgun in the city of Nara in July, scholars and statesmen have stressed…