There is breaking news that suggests Tuvalu’s prime minister, Kausea Natano, has lost his seat in local elections. This sets the stage for Seve Paeniu and Enele Sopoaga to make a move for the prime ministership. In Taipei, these events will be seen as the latest in a series of extremely unwelcome foreign-policy developments. While Natano was […]

The post Taiwan: Next domino looks set to fall in Tuvalu appeared first on Asia Times.

When it was originally crafted, the declared purpose of the US African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) was to “assist the economies of sub-Saharan Africa and to improve economic relations between the United States and the region.” However, there appears to have been a significant reframing of that purpose in the aftermath of the Russian […]

The post Africa-focused US law reframed around countering China, Russia appeared first on Asia Times.

In the shadow of Hamas’ attack on Israel, there is a widespread perception that the US government has been hypocritical in its support of the response by the government of Israel.  This view is especially prominent in the Arab world. In the words of Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, there is “a glaring double standard” […]

The post On Turkey’s stance on Hamas, Biden risks another double standard appeared first on Asia Times.

The president of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Xi Jinping, has a serious anti-access, area-denial problem on his hands. The US Armed Forces and the US intelligence community have the ability to impose an extremely high cost on the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in the event of an armed attack on Taiwan. A year […]

The post In Mideast visit, Biden must navigate many issues appeared first on Asia Times.

US President Joe Biden’s administration missed an important policy window in the aftermath of the Hamas attack on Israel. As news spread of the mass murder of civilians, including foreign nationals, the Biden administration had a strategic opportunity to push governments around the world to recognize the event as a terrorist attack before the military […]

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Two weeks ago, the US Ambassador to South Africa, Reuben Brigety, publicly alleged that arms or related technologies were loaded onto a Russian ship, Lady R, as it was docked at Naval Base Simon’s Town. This was a serious cause for concern as the ship was under sanctions from the United States government for “transporting […]

The post What really happened with #LadyRussiagate? appeared first on Asia Times.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has put tremendous strain on the strategic partnership between South Africa and the United States. Since the invasion, the South African government has been unwilling to demand that Russia unilaterally put an end to hostilities and withdraw its forces from the sovereign territory of its neighbor. This is despite the […]

The post US-South Africa ties explode on Russia arms claim appeared first on Asia Times.

Later this month, President Biden is scheduled to make an official visit to Papua New Guinea while en route to the Quad Leaders’ Summit from the G7 Leaders’ Summit. The visit is being hailed as the first time that a sitting American president has ever visited a Pacific island country. It also builds on three […]

The post Why Biden’s really headed to Papua New Guinea appeared first on Asia Times.

Medical teams responding to health emergencies in armed conflict face serious context-specific limitations that often undermine their core missions. A recent case in point is the 2023 earthquakes in northwestern Syria and Turkey. The Syrian regime under President Bashir al-Assad reportedly showed disrespect for international humanitarian law. This severely limited the acceptance and access of World Health Organization–classified emergency medical […]

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