China  / India  / Russia
Is BRICS De-Dollarization Program a Step Too Far for India?
October 16, 2024

While at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar commented that New Delhi will not decouple from the US dollar, noting that it was not in his country’s economic interests. While noting that New Delhi was pursuing other means as well, he said: “[India has] never actively targeted the dollar. That’s not part of our economic, political, or strategic policy. Some others may have done so. What I will say is that we have a natural concern.”


Israel  / United States
As Conflict in Gaza Increases, So Do Clashes on U.S. Campuses
May 16, 2024

As protests have erupted on college campuses across the United States, the need for a civil dialogue on current events and the demands that have been made by protest organizers. Most importantly, the issue of antisemitism has been of concern as rhetoric has been more intense. For Divided We Fall, I engage with David Finkel of Jewish Voices for Peace.


China  / East Asia  / Japan
Japan’s Diplomatic Bluebook Paints China as Central Villain
May 2, 2024

The more things change the more they stay the same. In the 2024 Diplomatic Bluebook, recently released through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan assertively labeled China a global threat, while still carefully trying to balance both positive and negative terms. The new edition employs much stronger language about its regional rival, characterizing Beijing’s activity in the South China Sea as “unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion.” The not-so-subtle change in the language in the new edition is predicated on the central theme of Beijing’s progressively coercive efforts.


India
Modi’s baffling pitch to woo Muslim voters
May 2, 2024

With this year’s elections in progress, every minority vote that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) puts in its column adds to the chance for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition to move past 400 seats in the Lok Sabha elections. Therefore Modi, despite being a confessed member of the Hindu nationalist organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has made an unlikely pitch to win the hearts of India’s nearly 200 million Muslims.


China  / Laos  / Myanmar  / Southeast Asia
Low Expectations for ASEAN’s Handling of Myanmar Crisis
April 8, 2024

As Indonesia’s term as ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Chair ended, there was both reservation and alarm at the possibility of Laos serving as its successor. In late 2023, ASEAN moved ahead with a “troika” format, with the previous chair, the current chair, and the next chair (Malaysia) serving to boost Laos’ capacity to perform its duties concerning the crisis in Myanmar, now dragging past its third year. While the first few months of Laos’ term have been unsurprisingly quiet, regional expectations for 2024 have dipped past their already low predecessors. That is highly problematic.


Thailand  / United Nations
Thailand’s Bid for a Seat on the UN Human Rights Council is Poorly Timed
April 3, 2024

Thailand is currently bidding for the third time for a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), with the election for a three-year term for 2025-2027 being held at the U.N. headquarters in New York in October. Like many countries with poor records on human rights, Thailand’s bid will come with a high level of scrutiny and international criticism. In 2023, Freedom House, a democracy barometer, noted that only 30 percent of the countries serving on the Council were “free,” as classified by its Freedom in the World annual report. The vast majority of members, 70 percent, were classified as “partly free” or “not free.” Thailand, with a revised ranking, would join the latter category if elected in October.


Thailand
Thailand’s PM Misses the Forest for the Trees on the Country’s Pollution Problem
March 22, 2024

Thailand’s Chiang Mai now has airborne pollutants that are 20 times higher than the World Health Organization (WHO) standard. Last week, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin declined to designate the northern city as a disaster area in order to protect the country’s tourism sector. In an announcement on X (formerly Twitter), Srettha expressed worries that the announcement would “affect the number of foreign tourists when tourism has just recovered in the wake of COVID-19.” Some questioned the optics of the decision, suggesting that the Thai government instead focus more on the health and quality of life of its residents.


China  / East Asia  / Taiwan
Firmer, less peaceful language on Taiwan reunification
March 8, 2024

It was less than two days into 2024 when Song Tao, the director of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, called on all Taiwanese to promote “peaceful reunification” with the mainland. But down in the text, the New Year’s message posted to the office’s website had not-so-subtle wording, as Song warned “the motherland will eventually be reunified, and it will inevitably be reunified.” The message came less than two weeks before Taiwan held its presidential and parliamentary elections and coincided with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s message that reunification was an all but foregone conclusion.


Cambodia  / China  / Japan  / Southeast Asia
Japan’s Indo-Pacific Security Waiting Game in Cambodia
February 26, 2024

Amid China’s heavy investments in Cambodia, made evident by the vast sums of public and private cash flooding both the capital city of Phnom Penh and port cities like Sihanoukville, two Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) destroyers, the Suzunami and Shimakaze, each with a crew complement of about 200 sailors, made a stop at the Sihanoukville port. Currently, major upgrades to the nearby Ream Naval Base are underway, again with significant support from China.


Thailand
The Self-Defeating Nature of Thailand’s ‘Soft Power’ Push
February 19, 2024

Thailand’s new government cannot get enough of “soft power.” It has become such a buzzword in the Kingdom that a Chiang Mai man on X (formerly Twitter) gasped at the extent of its use, mockingly noting, “My [mate’s] daughter won a Thai dancing competition in [Bangkok] and her school called it a soft power competition.” It’s easy to see the appeal of the idea, given the recent appearance of pop superstar Ed Sheeran posing with famed Thai chef Jay Fai and his after-concert visit to a tattoo shop for a traditional Sak Yant tattoo.