Vaccine Diplomacy in Asia

If everything is political, as the saying goes, then the reverse is also true: Politics touches everything.

If vaccine diplomacy is the new great game, it is being played wrong by all sides, with the risk that no one will be left a winner.

In an election where both candidates are fighting scandals and a lack of public trust, South Koreans face a difficult choice.

What led to Sri Lanka’s “Delta peak” in 2021, after a promising start to pandemic containment?

Singapore’s search for a new prime minister uncovers deeper problems with the country’s political system.

In a new book, Togzhan Kassenova tells the complex story of Kazakhstan’s nuclear era and the decisions that brought it to an end.

The private discussions had during Nixon’s historic 1972 visit to Beijing shed light on the modern-day situation – for better or for worse.

The U.S. multinational company is a case study in how major firms look the other way on the CCP’s human rights abuses.

Xi is promoting a new vision to tackle long-standing problems like the rural-urban divide, food security, and poverty.

China’s approach to security issues is meant to be in line with African frameworks, in accordance with the principle of non-intervention.

By jailing citizens for their speech, Beijing keeps both other Chinese and the world in the dark about the many differing opinions and perspectives within Chinese society.

A look at the factors that will shape the next president’s climate policies.

In 2014, Japan choose to remain neutral on Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Eight years later, Tokyo is making a different choice.

One lesson from South Korea’s battle against runaway inflation in the 1980s: The importance of public communication.

Breaking with neoliberalism will require a resolve to confront capital and political opponents. Does Kishida have what it takes?

Pyongyang continues to defy miscalculated expectations regarding its cyber capabilities.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the Narendra Modi government to pay more attention to domestic economic problems. What does that mean for the foreign policy budget?

Its calls are likely to fall on deaf ears, but the attempt is still noteworthy.

Years after an explosion of accusations centered on the media industry, the movement has not had any lasting effects in Sri Lanka.

The Taliban claim to have defeated the self-declared Islamic State’s Afghan chapter, but exclusive information obtained by The Diplomat indicates that its success is not what it seems.

Not only is Bangladesh an important conduit for fake Indian currency, but counterfeit notes are also being printed there, a recent investigation reveals.

High-profile convictions of Vietnamese dissidents attract international media attention, but opponents of the VCP party-state face a host of more mundane daily restrictions.

Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos is leading in the presidential polls. Once thought to be unthinkable, a Marcos family revival now feels very real.

The U.S.-educated Health Ministry official has shot to prominence as the public face of Cambodia’s COVID-19 response.

Despite being expelled from the Phalang Pracharat Party, the former deputy agriculture minister is creating headaches for Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

The intensifying conflict between the military junta and its opponents shows few signs of resolution in 2022.

Over the course of 2021, a full tenth of Central Asia’s total population was working in Russia.

Fears of continued instability and uncertainty over the government’s course of action may cause more people to decide to leave Kazakhstan.

A document signed in 2009 is now at the center of a scandal that has the Kyrgyz government crying treason.

President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov did not explicitly state he would step down, but the implication seemed clear when he called for early elections and said it was time to open the way for “young leaders.”

Polygyny is not legal in Uzbekistan, yet some men seek out second wives anyway.

The writing is on the wall for coal.

After a year of deadlock, Micronesian leaders signaled they will hold off on making their departure official.

China drew Washington’s attention back to the Pacific, but regional states hope the U.S. engages beyond geopolitical competition.

The Compacts of Free Association (COFA) between the U.S. and the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and Palau touch on nearly every U.S. national priority. So why are renegotiations stuck in limbo?

When it comes to China’s rise, the United States is completely rethinking its approach. It’s time to apply a similar mindset to the North Korean nuclear problem.

The U.S. can’t afford to limit its outreach to those nations with which it has the most in common.

Without directly commenting, CENTOM told The Diplomat that “plans for shared military environments involving our partners in Kazakhstan are currently underway.”

The threat of authoritarian regimes attempting to influence elections abroad has been subsumed into the narrative of great power competition.

Indonesia’s about-face from a deal with Russia to new purchase agreements with the U.S. and France highlights the potency of U.S. sanctions.

A study from 2003 – now available in exclusive English translation – contains important insights on China’s fifth-generation (and beyond) fighter development.

The U.S. and its allies and partners must rethink countermeasures if they want to compete in the gray zone.

Recently departed singer Mangeshkar’s career was representative of Indian culture in four ways.

South Asian female influencers bring to light issues faced by the region’s women in their families and society amid a general, feminist discourse.

Chinese athletes must navigate not only their chosen sports but also CCP redlines, online nationalism, and corporate demands.