Author: Taahir Sakeen

When the U.S. and Philippine militaries concluded their largest-ever joint military exercises on May 8, they cemented a surprisingly robust security alliance that is crucial to containing China—both in the South China Sea and beyond. Under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the Philippines has re-embraced its historic security ties with the United States. Washington has been happy to increase arms transfers and make new infrastructure promises that bring the Philippine government in Manila closer to Washington and its regional allies, including Tokyo. It’s a stark contrast with Marcos Jr.’s predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, who favored closer ties with Beijing and in 2020…

Dubai (27/2) Tajikistan’s existential project to build the colossal 335-meter-high Roghun hydropower dam is proceeding apace, but costs are spiralling, and to a level that is making it hard to see where the government is going to find the funds needed to finish the work. To complicate matters for Dushanbe, this is happening against the backdrop of calls from environmental watchdogs for international development lenders to pause the allocation of any future funds to Tajikistan pending a fresh assessment of the project. The extent of the budget overshoot is striking. In a press conference on February 16, Finance Minister Faiziddin…

Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh resigned on February 26 in anticipation of postwar governance challenges. “I see that the next stage and its challenges will require new governmental and political arrangements,” Shtayyeh said, emphasizing “the emerging reality in the Gaza Strip, the national unity talks, and the urgent need for an inter-Palestinian consensus.” American and Palestinian officials expect that Abbas will nominate Mohammed Mustafa, the chairman of the Palestine Investment Fund, as Shtayyeh’s successor. Expert Analysis “Bringing in Palestine Investment Fund chief Mohammed Mustafa and pushing out the current prime minister Mohammed Shtayyeh is the rearranging of the…

The Indonesian defence minister, Prabowo Subianto, a former general dogged by allegations of human rights abuses, has promised to be a leader for all Indonesians after unofficial figures showed he was on course to win the country’s presidential race. More than 200 million people were eligible to vote on Wednesday in the world’s largest single-day election, a race to decide who should succeed the popular outgoing president, Joko Widodo, known as Jokowi, as well as future executive and legislative representatives at all administrative levels across the country. Addressing supporters in the evening, Prabowo said: “This win shall be a win for…

KUCHING (Dec 8): The Sarawak Ministry Of Tourism, Creative Industry dan Performing Arts will be hosting Asiacraft 2024 Expo, a first home-grown international craft and creative industry exhibition in Malaysia, which will be held at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) here from Dec 6 to 8 next year. State Deputy Minister Of Tourism, Creative Industry dan Performing Arts Datuk Snowdan Lawan said the exhibition themed “Transformation of the Craft and Creative Industry in the Digital Economy” is expected to attract 200 exhibitors, as well as 10,000 visitors from 15 countries. “My ministry foresees the future will be digital for…

On December 7, 2023, when presiding over the 8th Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Beijing, Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister, said that since the 7th Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, all parties have adhered to the principle of “development first, consultation on an equal footing” The Lancang-Mekong spirit of “being pragmatic, efficient, open and inclusive” has solidly promoted cooperation in various fields, achieved a series of new results, and created many new highlights: First, senior leaders lead cooperation to improve quality and upgrade. President Xi Jinping interacted closely with leaders of the…

AS MANY as 14 Chinese militia ships entered Sabina Shoal at the weekend after months of waning presence, a US think tank said on Sunday, citing satellite images. The ships were “working illegally” at the shoal, the Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation said on its website, based on sattelite images from Nov. 18. “As recently as Nov. 12, there were only three ships visible there, but imagery from Planet Labs now clearly shows 12 ships, with suggestions that at least two more may be present but were partially covered by a cloud,” Gordon Knot said. The Chinese Embassy…

TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan reported renewed Chinese military activity around the island on Sunday, with nine aircraft crossing the sensitive median line of the Taiwan Strait and warships carrying out “combat readiness patrols”. Democratically-governed Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has complained for the past four years of regular Chinese military patrols and drills near the island, as Beijing seeks to pressure Taipei over its sovereignty claims. With Chinese President Xi Jinping in San Francisco last week for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, where he met U.S. President Joe Biden, the scale of that military activity around…

Brussel, Frankfurt (16/11 – 23) A levying of embargoes and export bans, the imposition of sanctions, erection of fearsome “license” (= restriction) protocol: there’s nothing new about this back-and-forth in world trade, in the eternal jousting for advantage among markets and nations. The clever Chinese imagined they had the world tea market all locked up until an earnest Scottish botanist carrying the telling name of “Robert Fortune” snuck into the Middle Kingdom to observe their agriculture, steal tea plants, and pick up tricks of tea processing. The Chinese global tea monopoly was busted wide open. The fortunate Mr. Fortune was…

The Chinese Communist Party-controlled GlobalTimes is already forecasting “more serious collisions.” China is again making mischief in the South China Sea, although this time while wars rage in Gaza and the Ukraine. The precise timing of its actions in the South China Sea undoubtedly reflects China’s short-term imperatives and long-term plans, but the overall trend is worrying. There may be something to US President Joe Biden’s warning last week that “conflict and chaos could spread [to]…the Indo-Pacific”. China’s latest actions involve two ship bumpings on the same day in the Ayungin Shoal (aka Second Thomas Shoal), and both well within the Philippines exclusive economic zone. A Chinese…