Julian Ryall, South China Morning Post – 8 June 2021 A fatal collision between a Japanese trawler and a Russian ship has caused a diplomatic dispute between the two countries as Japan arrests a Russian sailor charged with the deaths of the three fishermen. Russia responded by seizing a Japanese boat. James Brown, a professor…
Muzaffar Rizvi, Khaleej Times – 5 June 2021 Experts analysing the recent visit of Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, to Islamabad say that there is strong potential for Russia and Pakistan to develop a closer political and economic relationship if they can overcome their long-standing rivalry. Read the full article here.
Dimitri Simes Jr., Nikkei Asia – 27 May 2021 Andrei Serenko, head of the Center for the Study of Modern Afghanistan, talked with Nikkei Asia about Russia’s military interests in Central Asia since the announcement of the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. According to Serenko, “Russia is primarily interested in strengthening its military and…
Eileen Ng, The Straits Times – 26 May 2021 Tommy Koh, Singapore’s ‘ambassador-at-large’, said in a recent webinar that what makes Asean countries the coordinator of regional operations is their neutrality and efforts to unite in the face of China-U.S. tensions. Professor Koh stated “Our strategy is to be a friend of both the US…
Tobin Harshaw, Bloomberg – 22 May 2021 Tobin Harshaw, Bloomberg Opinion, talks with Tanvi Madan, director of the India Project at the Brookings Institution in Washington, about whether or not India can really help the U.S. to balance China in Asia. Madan states, “questions about India’s trajectory as a pluralistic democracy could affect the pace…
Duncan Bartlett, Japan Forward – 7 May 2021 “The joyless faces and grim accounts of the meeting are not very encouraging. Fortunately, there was one important common ground: North Korea”. In this article on Japan Forward, Duncan Bartlett analyses the subdued discussion between Japan and South Korea’s foreign ministers on the sidelines of the recent…
Gennaro Gervasio and Enrico De Angelis, openDemocracy – 22 March 2021 “Everyday life has become a constant gamble. A taxi driver once told us that ‘they turned the country into a huge casino’”. In this interview Farvardin and Talebi, both Iranian academic researchers at Berlin’s Humboldt University, specialising in Middle Eastern politics, nationalism, migration and gender…
Soutik Biswas, BBC News – 16 March 2021 According to Freedom House and The Economist Intelligence Unit data, democracy around the world is in decline and one country where this is most apparent is the world’s largest democracy, India. This article in BBC News explains why Modi’s government are being blamed for these new rankings…
Thomas Gibbons-Neff, Taimoor Shah and Fahim Abed, The New York Times – 8 March 2021 During the day in Panjwai, Afghanistan, you’d be forgiven for thinking the war had ended. An unofficial ceasefire, this is an example of how small communities, exhausted from violence, can govern the fighting without foreign intervention or reliance on government. This article in…
