When Russian assault troops landed at Hostomel Airport near Kiev in February 2022, few could have anticipated how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would alter geopolitics in Europe. Yet it has the potential to do the same in Asia. Moscow’s failure to score a quick military victory over Ukraine has made Russia increasingly reliant on China and India to not only […]

On 3 April, the Philippines officially announced the locations of the four additional sites under the Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with the United States (US). Accordingly, three of the four newly chosen bases will be positioned in the Philippines’ northern Luzon provinces of Cagayan and Isabela, while the fourth base will be located at the western tip of the […]

The top envoys for Saudi Arabia and Iran will meet in Beijing on Thursday, an Iranian official and a Saudi-owned newspaper said, as the two regional rivals work to hash out next steps of their diplomatic rapprochement amid a China-brokered deal, Reuters reported. The meeting between Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amirabdollahian, will be […]

The Foreign Minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) says that currently the embassies of neighboring countries and countries in the region have diplomatic representation in Kabul and are active in the country. In a recent interview with Dorar TV, Mawlavi Amir Khan Muttaqi said the Islamic Emirate has trade relations with neighboring countries and ambassadors of the Islamic […]

Russia and Tajikistan militaries kicked off joint drills near the border with Afghanistan that will last through April 7, Russia’s TASS news agency reported Monday. The drills are taking place at the Kharb-Maidon training ground in Tajikistan – 20 kilometers from the border with Afghanistan. “During the practical stages, the military contingents from Russia and Tajikistan will practice preparing and […]

It would be wrong to view the restoration of relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran as something that happened suddenly. Since the Iranian Revolution of 1979, ties between the two important Muslim neighbours have been strained. For the Saudi elite the Revolution was not only anti-monarchical but also a boost to the Shia sect within Islam. For the Iranian revolutionaries, […]

In another move that is deliberately raising tensions with China, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen held a series of high-level meetings in New York on Wednesday and Thursday with American politicians and representatives. The trip to the US is being held under the guise of a “transit” by Tsai as she proceeds to visit Guatemala and Belize in central America—two of […]

After more than two years since the signing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in November 2020, the Philippine Senate has finally ratified the deal on 21 February 2023. Though the Philippines was the last country to have ratified RCEP, it was still very timely in the light of the country’s approval of the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023-2028 under […]

The recent announcement of a China-brokered peace deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran initially took the world by surprise. The debate persists concerning whether this deal will last, its potential implications for the United States, what it means for the Middle East region (including Israel), and what brokering this agreement indicates about China’s rising power. However, the implications of the […]

General Michael Kurilla, head of United States Central Command (CENTCOM), has suggested that at its current trajectory, Islamic State Khorasan (ISK) would be able to conduct external operations within approximately six months. Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, counterterrorism analysts have warned about the growing threat of ISK, especially in light of the U.S. troop withdrawal and […]