Asia Watch Archive

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol met in Seoul on Monday for long-awaited talks on trade, people-to-people exchanges, science and technology, and more. The three countries’ last leaders’ summit took place in 2019.

On Monday, the head of the UN’s refugee agency lamented that Myanmar’s civil war was “dramatically worsening,” largely due to the “brutal crackdown” by the ruling junta. He urged neighbouring Bangladesh — which, since 2017, has accepted more than one million Rohingya from Myanmar — to once again protect those fleeing violence.

On May 20, Taiwan instated its new president, Lai Ching-te, who said in his inauguration speech that in the face of the “many threats” from China, “we must demonstrate our resolution to defend our nation.”

On Tuesday, the Indian and Australian navies concluded bilateral talks and agreed to boost collaboration, “marking a significant milestone” in the relationship, according to India.

On Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden quadrupled tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles in a move to “protect” American workers and shore up votes as the U.S. presidential election — now just 173 days away — draws ever closer, and candidates tout ‘tough-on-China' trade policies.

Three Indian nationals appeared in a B.C. court on Tuesday on first-degree murder charges linked to the death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was shot in Surrey, B.C., last June. Police arrested the suspects last week in Edmonton.

In September 2023, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged the Indian government may be linked to Nijjar’s murder, rocking diplomatic relations. The RCMP confirmed that it is investigating these supposed links.

The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of the Philippines, Enrique Manalo, is on a cross-Canada tour this week, as the two countries celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations.

An extreme heat wave has swept across South and Southeast Asia, exacerbated by an El Nino weather pattern that has created drier weather conditions and pushed temperatures to dangerous highs. In addition to the immediate public health threat, schools were closed in many countries and demand for water and electricity strained utilities.

Starting Sunday, Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit France, Hungary, and Serbia, his first trip to Europe in nearly five years.

Prabowo Subianto seems to have cleared the final obstacle to becoming Indonesia’s next president.

After four years on the job, China’s ambassador to Canada, Cong Peiwu, is leaving Ottawa.

April elections and exits could alter the Indo-Pacific's political makeup from South Korea to Singapore, with further votes across India and Solomon Islands scheduled for later this month.

As headlines this week warn of further fighting between Iran and Israel, the list of potential and ongoing global ‘flashpoints’ grows larger, creating challenges for some governments — and opportunities for others.

The Russia-Ukraine war, a civil war in Myanmar, hostilities in the South China Sea, tensions over Taiwan, and now, a potential Middle East conflict all command the increasingly divided attention of diplomats around the world.
 

Leaders of Japan, the Philippines, and the U.S. convene in Washington, D.C., today for a historic trilateral summit. The meeting comes as China and the Philippines feud in the South China Sea and the U.S. works to fortify ties with states that can offset Beijing’s influence in the region.

Last Sunday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled an ambitious C$2.4-billion investment to “secure Canada’s AI advantage,” with the bulk of the funding to enhance computing capabilities and build technological infrastructure for researchers.

Washington and London applied sanctions on a hacker group reportedly tied to the Chinese Ministry of State Security last week, alleging that Beijing sponsored a co-ordinated cyberespionage campaign that targeted

The Sierra Madre, a rusting World War II-era vessel, is again at the heart of renewed tensions between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea.

From March 18-20, South Korea hosted the third Summit for Democracy, a U.S.-initiated gathering of experts and leaders focused on addressing ‘democratic backsliding’ worldwide.

South Korea’s increasingly active role in global democracy promotion underscores its emerging status as a ‘Global Pivotal State’ — a concept that South Korean President Yoon Seok Yeol advanced after he rose to power in 2022.

The abrupt resignation of Vietnam’s president, Vo Van Thuong, on March 20 — the second such resignation in two years — has rattled some foreign investors and raised questions about the country’s political stability. Although the presidency is largely a ceremonial role, Thuong was nonetheless the second-most powerful leader in the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV).

Thousands of people are fleeing Myanmar to avoid a military draft that will force them to fight against an armed opposition that has recently made inroads against the country’s ruling military junta.

On February 10, the junta — which overthrew Myanmar’s democratically elected government in 2021, sparking a civil war — revived a decade-old conscription law. All men aged 18–35 will be conscripted for a minimum of two years; women are exempted for the time being. The first group of 5,000 conscripts will be drafted by mid-April.