Viewpoint by Kalinga Seneviratne BANGKOK | 7 October 2024 (IDN) — At the height of Sri Lanka’s debt crisis two years ago, India’s External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar gave a talk at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University on India’s ‘Look East’ policy. I asked him during Q and A session whether India and China could cooperate […]
Latin America: The Tug of War Between Global Gateway and Belt-and-Road
By Javier Lewkowicz* BUENOS AIRES, Argentina | 6 October 2023 (IDN) — Last year, the European Union renewed its economic and strategic interest in Latin America by announcing investments of EUR 45 billion (USD 48.7 billion), seen by many as a way to regain influence in the face of China’s growing presence in the region. […]
Brazil and China Could Lead the Way on South-South Climate Cooperation
By Leo Horn-Phathanothai and Rogerio Studart* BANGKOK | NEW YORK | 30 September 2024 (IDN) — This August marked the fiftieth anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Brazil—two of the most consequential countries for global efforts to avert climate chaos. Their celebrations came against the backdrop of improved relations and strengthening climate cooperation. As […]
Chinese Financing for African Renewables Rebounds After Two-Year Lull
By Anika Patel* BEIJING | 13 September 2024 (IDN) — New data reveals a rebound in Chinese financing of renewable energy projects in Africa in 2023, following a lull over the past few years. Climate cooperation between China and Africa was a key focus of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which concluded on 6 […]
New Policing Agreement May Not Address Main Security Issue of the Pacific
By Kalinga Seneviratne SYDNEY | 8 September 2024 (IDN) — At the recent Pacific Island Forum (PIF) meeting in Tonga, the regional leaders adopted a controversial agreement known as the ‘Pacific Policing Initiative’ (PPI), which seems focused on blocking China from participating in any security arrangements in the vast South Pacific Ocean region. Typhoons and […]
Kazakhstan Proposes a Digital Solutions Centre for Sustainable Development
By Aar Jay BERLIN | ASTANA | 6 September 2024 (IDN) — The Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan has proposed the establishment of a Digital Solutions Centre for Sustainable Development at a high-level conference organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Government of Kazakhstan. The […]
UN Chief Assures Support as Timor-Leste Marks 25 Years of Self-Determination
By Michele Zaccheo* DILILI, Timor-Leste | 2 September 2024 (IDN) — UN Secretary-General António Guterres told parliamentarians in Timor-Leste on 30 September the world has much to learn from their inspirational struggle for self-rule, 25 years to the day since the historic referendum which paved the way for independence in 2002. In a surprise move, […]
Reading The Tea Leaves in Hong Kong
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 27 August 2024 (IDN) — In 1995 in a little remembered event Li Ruthuan, a member of the Chinese Politburo (containing the top seven in the government), made a speech likening the Chinese take-over of Hong Kong to the case of a lady who had agreed to sell a […]
The Challenge of Storing Mekong Rain
By Richard Friend, Jutamas Kaewsuk and Pakamas Thinphanga* This article was originally published under Creative Commons by 360info. YORK, England | SALAY, Thailand | KHON KAEN, Thailand | 18 August 2024 (IDN) — The Mekong region is renowned for the dramatic variation between the dry and rainy seasons. However, in line with climate change projections, […]
The Chinese Investment in Latin America Is Changing
By Javier Lewkowicz, Dialogue Earth* BUENOS AIRES, Argentina | 17 August 2024 (IDN) — In the past decade, Chinese investment into Latin America has so often been characterised by large infrastructure projects: roads, railways, dams and ports, among others, frequently backed by state finance, and in many countries arriving under the banner of the Belt […]