Taiwan has recently undertaken military maneuvers, demonstrating its readiness and resolve in the face of rising tensions with China.  Taiwan’s military drills send a clear statement that the country is ready to defend itself against future threats. These drills include a variety of capabilities, including naval maneuvers, air defense simulations, and joint operations. Taiwan hopes to discourage aggressive moves and …

China – Following reports about the Russian soldiers who are encountering stiff opposition in Ukraine, the chief of the United States’ intelligence community has given a hint that China is now growing more apprehensive about taking a military action against Taiwan. Avril Haines, who is the Director of National Intelligence, said on Tuesday before the Senate Armed Services Committee that …

ASEAN – The leaders of Japan and Thailand announced a new defence agreement today as well as plans to upgrade their economic relations, as Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida wrapped up the last leg of a three-nation tour of Southeast Asia. The agreement would facilitate the transfer of defence hardware and technology from Japan to Thailand, which has one of …

Myanmar – According to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Myanmar’s army committed genocide and crimes against humanity in its violence against the Rohingya minority, and that no one in the country is safe as long as the junta is in power. Blinken claimed the assaults on Rohingya were “widespread and systematic” and that evidence amounted to a clear goal …

Myanmar – According to a Cambodian foreign ministry official, a Southeast Asian special envoy will visit Myanmar from March 20 to 23, in an attempt to start a peace process in a nation ravaged by turmoil since a coup a year ago. Last month, Cambodia’s foreign minister, Prak Sokhonn, requested Myanmar’s governing generals to allow him to speak with all …

ASEAN – According to a UN rights expert, UN Security Council members China and Russia, as well as Serbia, have continued to provide Myanmar’s military with weapons used to attack people since last year’s coup. Tom Andrews, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, has called for an emergency session of the Security Council to …

Myanmar – The Myanmar junta turned down a request from a regional special envoy to meet with a group of expelled MPs, which it had labeled a terrorist organization, on Sunday, as part of efforts to break a year-long political impasse since the coup. Since the putsch in February 2021, Myanmar has been in disarray, its economy has been paralyzed, …

Afghanistan – At the weekend, Taliban forces marched through a northwest Afghan city in a show of force, days after reinforcements were dispatched to quiet protests after the imprisonment of a popular leader. After an Uzbek Taliban leader was jailed for apparent connections to an abduction scheme, wave of protests started last week in Maymana, the capital of Faryab province. Fears …

Myanmar – On Monday, a Myanmar military court found Aung San Suu Kyi guilty of three criminal offenses and sentenced her to four years in jail, the latest in a series of proceedings against the deposed democratic leader. The Nobel Laureate has been jailed since February 1, when her administration was deposed in a coup, putting an end to Myanmar’s brief …

Malaysia – Rescuers in northern Myanmar claimed that the verified death toll from a landslide at an illegal jade mine had grown to six, but that the search effort had been called off since dozens of others were still missing and assumed dead. Thousands of people die each year while working in the lucrative but poorly controlled jade trade, in …