21 h. ago What Trump’s visa pause means for Southeast Asia and US regional priorities

The inclusion of four Southeast Asian nations in the United States’ 75-country visa suspension has thrown up questions over Washington’s foreign policy approach, including its interest in the region. Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and Thailand are among countries affected by the indefinite suspension, set to take effect on January 21, as the Donald Trump administration continues to roll out punitive measures to drastically restrict immigration. The list, released by the US Department of State on...

Politics

3 d. ago Why the US may find Iran’s air defence system harder to break than Venezuela’s

A bit more than a week after the United States abducted former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in a raid on Caracas, US President Donald Trump is threatening military action against Iran, which is seeing a massive wave of anti-government protests. Yet a strike aimed at taking out the Iranian leadership could prove harder, given that Iran’s more sophisticated air defence system is also reported to be integrating China’s most advanced exported technology. On Tuesday, Trump wrote on his social...

Politics

4 d. ago Profound Changes Unseen in a Century: Global media examines China's foreign policy path

Profound Changes Unseen in a Century: Global media examines China's foreign policy path  news.cgtn.com

Events

4 d. ago Malaysians joke they have ‘no oil, only palm oil’ after US Embassy shares space photo

The US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur’s attempt to show off an awe-inspiring throwback image from space instead triggered a distinctly Malaysian burst of self-deprecating humour, casting the country as strategically uninteresting amid Washington’s recent foreign policy moves. On Friday, the embassy posted a 2016 photograph taken from the International Space Station showing lightning flashing in clouds high over Malaysia. The caption says the Southeast Asian nation had “never looked more electric”,...

Politics

7 d. ago Trump declares US national emergency to protect Venezuela oil money

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order protecting US-held money derived from sales of Venezuelan oil, after the ousting of Nicolas Maduro, the White House said. In an order signed on Friday, Trump – who has made clear that tapping Venezuela’s vast oil reserves was a key goal in the US ousting of Maduro – is acting “to advance US foreign policy objectives”, the White House said in a fact sheet accompanying the order. The action follows a meeting Friday in Washington where Trump...

Politics

9 d. ago Macron slams US for ‘breaking free’ from global rules after Maduro raid, Greenland threat

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that the United States was “breaking free from international rules”, and “gradually turning away” from some of its allies. Macron delivered his annual speech to French ambassadors at the Elysee Palace as European powers are scrambling to come up with a coordinated response to US assertive foreign policy in the western hemisphere following Washington’s capture of Venezuela’s leader Nicolas Maduro and Donald Trump’s designs on Greenland. “The...

Politics

9 d. ago Nvidia’s China Chip Sales: Great Business, Even Better Foreign Policy

Nvidia’s China Chip Sales: Great Business, Even Better Foreign Policy  Forbes

Economics

9 d. ago US allies Saudi Arabia, UAE risk a split in Middle East over competing visions

Washington’s allies in the Middle East and beyond are facing the prospects of joining rival blocs in alignment with the different visions of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates following a rare clash between the two countries over war-torn Yemen. The Saudi bombing of an arms shipment reportedly provided by the UAE to separatists in southern Yemen last week has exposed the two Arab heavyweights’ divergent foreign policy approaches in the strategically important Red Sea and Horn of Africa,...

Events

1 week ago US says it will take control of Venezuela oil sales indefinitely

Expanding on the US administration’s increasingly robust view of foreign energy and security policy, a senior US official said on Wednesday that Washington expects to take control of future Venezuelan oil sales until further notice and use the proceeds to rebuild the nation’s beleaguered economy. The comments add to the conflicted messaging from US President Donald Trump’s administration on how it plans to run Venezuela following Saturday’s military strike that saw Nicolas Maduro and his wife...

Politics

1 week ago US says it will take control of Venezuela oil sales indefinitely after seizing tankers

Expanding on the US administration’s increasingly robust view of foreign energy and security policy, a senior US official said on Wednesday that Washington expects to take control of future Venezuelan oil sales until further notice and use the proceeds to rebuild the nation’s beleaguered economy. The comments add to the conflicted messaging from US President Donald Trump’s administration on how it plans to run Venezuela following Saturday’s military strike that saw Nicolas Maduro and his wife...

Events

1 week ago US seizes oil tankers as it moves to take control of Venezuela’s oil sales indefinitely

The US captured two oil tankers on the high seas as a senior US official said on Wednesday that Washington expects to take control of future Venezuelan oil sales indefinitely and use the proceeds to help America and rebuild the nation’s beleaguered economy. The seizure of the vessels, including one after a two-week chase, comes as US President Donald Trump’s administration takes an increasingly aggressive approach to foreign energy and security policy. Since Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia...

Events

1 week ago Ukraine’s allies agree to ‘robust’ security guarantees in push to end war

Ukraine’s Western allies on Tuesday agreed to key security guarantees for Kyiv including a US-led monitoring mechanism and a European multinational force that would be deployed after a ceasefire in Russia’s war against its neighbour. Following the largest yet meeting of the so-called Coalition of the Willing in Paris, both European leaders and US envoys hailed progress that hid tensions in recent days over assertive US foreign policy in the western hemisphere under US President Donald Trump. But...

Events

1 week ago Venezuela attack seen as reminder for China to boost air defence, counter

The US operation to abduct Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro serves as a reminder for China to bolster its air defences and counter-intelligence protections, observers say. Analysts in China described Venezuela’s air defences – which rely largely on Russian technology – as “full of flaws and slow to react” amid the modern surveillance, cyber, and electronic warfare displayed by US forces in Saturday’s operation in Caracas. The operation could serve as a further case study for China, which has...

Events

1 week ago Venezuela attack seen as reminder for China to boost air defence, intelligence

Venezuela attack seen as reminder for China to boost air defence, intelligence  South China Morning Post

Events

1 week ago Beijing Systems Put To The Test: How US Forces Crushed Venezuela’s Chinese Air Defences

Beijing Systems Put To The Test: How US Forces Crushed Venezuela’s Chinese Air Defences  Zee News

Politics

1 week ago Geopolitics: China’s foreign policy priorities in the new year

Geopolitics: China’s foreign policy priorities in the new year  Table.Briefings

Politics

1 week ago China pursues foreign policy of forming partnerships not alliances, FM refutes question of whether China provides security guarantees for ‘global allies’

China pursues foreign policy of forming partnerships not alliances, FM refutes question of whether China provides security guarantees for ‘global allies’  Global Times

Events

2 w. ago Taiwan arms, missing Chinese boy, Trump’s Jimmy Lai appeal: 7 US

We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering US-China relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. As Trump upends US foreign policy, analysts see fresh openings for China Trump was expected to continue applying a wrecking ball to long-standing US national security architecture, threatening global stability and jolting long-time allies, with China a major beneficiary, analysts and former...

Politics

2 w. ago Was PLA’s Taiwan drill testing ‘inexpensive’ ways to wear down island’s air defence?

The latest People’s Liberation Army drills around Taiwan may have been testing how to wear down the island’s air defences using rockets that are “cheap enough to be used in large quantities”, military observers said. On Tuesday, the PLA’s Eastern Theatre Command wrapped up a two-day live-fire exercise named Justice Mission 2025. The exercise surrounded large parts of the island and came less than a fortnight after the United States approved a US$11.1 billion weapons package for Taiwan – the...

Politics

2 w. ago Denmark to buy US$1.8 billion in US patrol planes despite rift over Greenland

The United States said on Monday it had approved a US$1.8 billion sale of patrol aircraft to Denmark, despite renewed tension after an envoy of US President Donald Trump called again for seizing Greenland. The State Department said it approved a request from Denmark to buy the P-8A patrol and reconnaissance system from Boeing, which will include up to three aircraft. The sale will “support the foreign policy goals and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of...

Economics