Sajjad Ashraf, Former Adjunct Professor, National University of Singapore
Jul 11, 2025
The United States has launched a review of the AUKUS pact—a trilateral security arrangement between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, signed in 2021. Established behind closed doors and announced with little warning, the agreement abruptly terminated a multi-billion-dollar submarine deal between Australia and France, provoking fury in Paris. France branded the move a “stab in the back,” accusing its allies of deceit.
He Wenping, Senior Research Fellow, Charhar Institute and West Asia and Africa Studies Institute of the China Academy of Social Sciences
Jul 04, 2025
Was the so-called 12-day war a triple victory or a triple defeat? Will Americans tolerate a policy of “Israel first” over “America first”? The answers to these and other key questions will determine whether, and how deeply, the United States could be drawn into the fray again.
Adnan Aamir, Journalist and Researcher, Islamabad, Pakistan
Jul 04, 2025
The May conflict between India and Pakistan brought Chinese weaponry, particularly the J-10C fighter jet, into the global spotlight, as Pakistan used Chinese arms to shoot down Indian aircraft in a rare, real-world test of their battlefield effectiveness. This unexpected validation has boosted Chinese arms sales, strengthened China's defense ties with countries like Pakistan and Indonesia, and expanded Beijing’s geopolitical influence in South Asia at the expense of declining Western engagement.
Xiao Bin, Deputy Secretary-general, Center for Shanghai Cooperation Organization Studies, Chinese Association of Social Sciences
Jun 18, 2025
Many in the West think Sino-Russian ties are the key to a resolution of the conflict. But this is a significant strategic misjudgment. Any durable peace in Ukraine must be found through negotiations between the parties directly involved.
Zhang Yun, Professor, School of International Relations, Nanjing University
Jun 18, 2025
South Korean diplomacy needs to strike a balance between two sets of trilateral relationships — ROK-U.S.-Japan and ROK-China-Japan. It all boils down to pragmatism in domestic and international affairs.
Zhang Gaosheng, Researcher at Department of World Peace and Security, China Institute of International Studies
Jun 12, 2025
The future of the Trump administration’s Indo-Pacific Strategy remains fluid. However, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s two visits to the region, including his recent attendance and speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue, shed a little light.
Sebastian Contin Trillo-Figueroa, Geopolitics Analyst in EU-Asia Relations and AsiaGlobal Fellow, The University of Hong Kong
Franz Jessen, Former EU Ambassador to the Philippines and Vietnam; EU Deputy Head (Beijing); Economist and Diplomat in EU-Asia Relations
Jun 05, 2025
By drawing a parallel between U.S. interest in Greenland and its stance on Taiwan, China has mounted a carefully calibrated rhetorical response that highlights perceived inconsistencies in American positions on sovereignty, positions itself as a defender of international norms, and gently tests the cohesion of Western alliances.
Richard Javad Heydarian, Professorial Chairholder in Geopolitics, Polytechnic University of the Philippines
Jun 05, 2025
2025 has brought swift changes across the Indo-Pacific, and the Philippines’ growing involvement with Trump’s policies and the Taiwan question could prove to be one of the most pivotal factors in the future of the region.
Zhou Yiqi, Associate Fellow, Center for West Asian & African Studies, Shanghai Institutes for International Studies
May 23, 2025
The U.S. president’s mid-may trip Middle East found a region unlike the one he tamed in his first term. His encore performance, though bold, reveals a region slipping from the grasp of his once-potent diplomatic playbook. GCC states are increasingly asserting themselves as they look for harmony.
Richard Weitz, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute
May 14, 2025
With U.S. encouragement, Northeast Asia has seen unprecedented cooperation between Japan and South Korea in recent years. But rising economic frictions, domestic political changes in Japan and especially South Korea, and evolving U.S. global priorities could impede or even reverse recent gains.