By Seymur Mammadov In the South Caucasus today, transport corridors are no longer merely lines on the map. They have become instruments of power, influence, and long-term geopolitical positioning. Whoever controls connectivity shapes trade flows, political alignments, and ultimately the region’s future. Against this backdrop, Azerbaijan’s simultaneous engagement with both the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway and […]
Read MoreWhen Türkiye and Uzbekistan signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the mining sector at the end of January 2026, the agreement initially looked familiar: another bilateral document added to the long list of accords that usually accompany high-level presidential visits. Such memoranda are common in diplomacy, often signaling goodwill rather than immediate […]
Read MoreBy Maria Siow Russia’s call to revive a troika with China and India is unlikely to be greeted with enthusiasm by New Delhi, with critics pointing to tense border stand-offs and India’s reluctance to be seen as part of an “anti-West” grouping. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov earlier this month lauded Moscow’s bilateral ties with […]
Read MoreBy Iman Muttaqin Yusof Muhammad Syafiq, a 25-year-old banker from Kuala Lumpur, has started noticing something recently that felt like “real politics” compared with the soft sell of an election campaign poster at train stations in the Malaysian capital. “One government programme I think is pretty solid is the People’s Income Initiative, or IPR [Inisiatif […]
Read MoreBy Aidan Jones Thailand’s slump in visitors from China has become so acute that Chinese tourism workers in Phuket are learning English for the first time to attract new customers, according to a boat tour organiser. Chanchanat Boonlon said her catamaran business was once a cash cow, fully booked each day during high season by […]
Read MoreBy Maria Siow A visit by a United States warship to a Cambodian port built with major Chinese backing has underscored Phnom Penh’s superpower balancing act, but observers say American concerns will linger over the facility’s usage being dominated by Beijing. The USS Cincinnati arrived on Saturday at Ream Naval Base as part of a […]
Read MoreBy Alyssa Chen China ramped up its South China Sea patrols in 2025, maintaining an “unprecedented” nearly year-round presence at contested sites like Scarborough Shoal to assert maritime claims, according to a new US-based think tank report. An analysis published on Thursday by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) – a research programme affiliated with […]
Read MoreBy Sam Beltran As foreign ministers from Asean member states gathered in the Philippine city of Cebu this week, the bloc faced a familiar dilemma: how to keep pushing for peace in Myanmar without sliding into what critics warn could become “de facto acceptance” of its military regime. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) […]
Read MoreBy Biman Mukherji Bangladesh’s recent pull-out over perceived security concerns for the showpiece T20 World Cup cricket hosted by India and Sri Lanka next month has underscored the unprecedented way regional political tensions have spilled over into sports. Bangladesh was replaced by Scotland in the 20-team event on Saturday after the International Cricket Council rejected […]
Read MoreBy Liu Zhen The US faces critical “sustainment risks” that might lead to rapid defeat in a conflict with China, according to a Heritage Foundation report, which also found that while such a scenario could start in the Taiwan Strait, it would not be contained there. Based on the findings of an AI-based study called […]
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