There are some thorny issues facing the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, namely the sales of weapon systems by the US, the calls for independence by DPP hardliners, the tendency of Beijing to “contain” Taiwan, and the need to exercise wisdom in running Hong Kong.
Recently, Japan imposed protectionist measures as a retaliation against South Korean court rulings. Japan’s new trade protectionism measures seemed to threaten South Korea’s chip making industry and this had evoked strong reactions.
The US is proposing Operation Sentinel to promote maritime stability, ensure safe passage, and de-escalate tensions in international waters throughout the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Oman.
A proposed extradition law that is supposed to address the legal loopholes allowing fugitives to hide in Hong Kong boomeranged and triggered the worst political crisis in the city since the 1997 handover.
Being caught at the crossroad of great powers’ competition for sphere of influences, ASEAN has become a center of geo-political and geo-economic gravity of battleground. What is ASEAN’s outlook in the rising volatility and dynamism of the Indo-Pacific region?
Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu won decisively in the Taiwan Kuomintang presidential primary, with a strong possibility of claiming the presidency for KMT in the 2020 elections. His win may also be redefining Taiwan politics.
In the first six months of 2019, China moved on a number of fronts in the Belt and Road Initiative. Many of these projects aimed to create a win-win situation with the recipients of the funds. However, there were some issues that highlighted challenges of the BRI.
The visit by a senior Japanese official to Colombo, Sir Lanka marks the gradual expansion of new security cooperation in the increasingly important Indian Ocean region. This engagement is expected to gain greater momentum this year.
After the 2018 local elections, popular support for Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen was consistently the lowest among the presidential candidates. Recently, however, many polls have shown a surprising turn: Tsai’s popularity has significantly risen to the leading position.
US President Donald Trump called a truce to the US-China trade and technology war at the G-20 summit. He said that the US would not impose new tariffs on about USD 300 billion worth of Chinese imports and would allow American firms to sell products and services to Huawei.
