Category: South East Asia

China & Taiwan Update, May 15, 2026

Toplines CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping met with US President Donald Trump from May 13 to 15. The two discussed global flashpoints, including Taiwan and the Middle East, but did not reach major agreements on these issues. PRC readouts downplayed the issue of Iran, consistent with previous ISW-CDOT analysis. Other top US officials, including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary […]

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Trump’s China Trip: Implications for the Middle East and Beyond

The first presidential visit to China in nearly a decade will cover trade, technology, and a range of other bilateral topics, including frank conversations on Middle East subjects such as Beijing’s support to Iran and the wider global repercussions of the Strait of Hormuz crisis. The Elephant in the Room: China’s Support to Iran As this week’s summit unfolds in […]

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Le duel des empires

Finalement, Trump ne nous aura pas déçus : comme ses prédécesseurs à la Maison-Blanche, il s’est proclamé le héraut de la liberté, il a distribué les châtiments et les récompenses, et il veut faire croire qu’il sauve le monde à chaque déploiement d’une puissance matérielle aussi impressionnante qu’inefficace. C’est un invariant historique : armé de la bonne conscience indécrottable des […]

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Guns, Gangs and the Diaspora: The Punjabi Devils Story

The conviction of Jashanpreet Singh, founder of California’s “Punjabi Devils Motorcycle Club”, on May 12, 2026, has drawn renewed attention to the growing involvement of Punjabi-origin gangs in organised crime in North America. Singh, based in Stockton, was sentenced to more than five years in federal prison after pleading guilty to unlawful firearms dealing and possession of a machine gun. […]

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Gaming Terror

On May 14, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) searched 14 locations across Delhi, Gujarat, Indore, and Srinagar in a FEMA case involving alleged overseas routing of funds collected through online gaming platforms. A day earlier, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) raided over 40 locations across nine districts, questioning 53 youths over suspected links to Pakistan-based gangster Shahzad Bhatti and radicalisation networks […]

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‘Mediator’ Pakistan Hosted Iranian Military Aircraft To Insulate Them From US Attacks, Graham Fumes At Islamabad

Pakistan Hosted Iranian Military Planes To Insulate Them From US Attacks There’s been some outrage in D.C. and among the pundit class over a late in the day Monday CBS News report alleging that US-ally Pakistan allowed Iran to park military aircraft at its airfields, and thus outside the US-Israeli strike zone during Operation Epic Fury: President Trump and admin […]

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Trump Talk, Taiwan, & ‘Thucydides Trap’ Threat Triggers Market Mayhem Overnight

Traders are waking this morning in the US to some relative market mayhem and questioning what came first – the oil spike or the geopolitical angst – to trigger these moves as it appears the market finally remembered there’s more going on in the world than trading ‘short compute’ demand to the moon… Oil prices are up significantly (WTI >$100)… […]

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Xi and Trump Scheduled to Meet with Several High-Profile Issues on the Docket

U.S. President Donald Trump and President of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Xi Jinping are scheduled to meet in Beijing on Thursday and Friday for what experts are calling a “high-stakes” summit. The conflict in the Middle East is likely to hang over the Trump-Xi summit, with Trump arriving in Beijing with fewer cards to play in the negotiations. […]

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Pakistan says Bannu attack coordinated from Afghanistan

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday that recent militant attacks inside the country, including the attack in Bannu that killed 15, had been organized from Afghanistan’s territory. “Our assessment indicates that this attack was conducted by terrorists based in Afghanistan,” Pakistan foreign ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi told reporters. He added that Pakistan had formally raised the matter with the Taliban and […]

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Kabul residents report second night of drone activity, gunfire

Residents of Kabul reported a second consecutive night of drone activity and gunfire across parts of the capital city, amid continued tensions between Pakistan and Taliban. Three local sources told Amu TV that drones were heard flying over areas including Qasaba, Gard, Darulaman and neighborhoods surrounding Kabul airport late Thursday night and early Friday morning. The sources said anti-aircraft fire […]

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