Afghanistan’s Relations with Neighbors Under the Taliban: Exporting Instability

Afghan men consume drugs on a side street of a market in Afghanistan. Photo credit: Oliver Weiken/dpa

In the two years since they took over Afghanistan, the Taliban have ignited several diplomatic crises and security threats across the country’s borders. Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan have warned that the Taliban are hosting terror groups, and UN and other sources have noted increasing drug trade, border tensions and refugee flows.   Central Asian states, particularly […]

Growing Asian Ties to the Gulf and Potential for Strategic Cooperation

India’s PM Modi, Japan’s PM Kishida, China’s President Xi and Korea’s President Yoon each visited the Gulf recently. Photos credit: Hamad Al Kaabi/UAE Presidential Court/Handout via REUTERS, Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS, Mohamed Al Hammadi/UAE Presidential Court/Handout via REUTERS

Japanese Prime Minister Kishida, Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Indian Prime Minister Modi each made a trip recently to Arab countries of the Gulf. In July, Kishida visited Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Qatar while Modi was in the UAE. Yoon visited the UAE in January. These three trips received far […]

Southeast Asia between Major Powers: Lessons for the Middle East

US President Joe Biden with ASEAN leaders during the 2022 ASEAN summit in Cambodia, November 2022. Photo credit: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarqu

I once asked a Vietnamese friend what an impending leadership change in Hanoi meant for his country’s relations with China. “Every Vietnamese leader,” he replied, “must get along with China; every Vietnamese leader must stand up to China; and if you cannot do both at the same time, you don’t deserve to be the leader.” […]

The New Great Game for Leadership in Asia

US President Joe Biden meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 in Bali, November 2022. Photo credit: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

The strategic complexion of Asia has shifted substantially in recent years. The United States is no longer the predominant military, diplomatic, and economic power across the region, as it was for the last half of the 20th century and the first decade of this century. China actively contests American leadership as it strives to restore […]

The Quad Is for Real, Thanks to Abe

Quad Ministers panel at the Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi, India, March 3, 2023. Photo credit: via REUTERS

“Japan is not now and will never be a tier-two power,” declared Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in a speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington in February 2013. He was there to champion the idea of a Quadrilateral Security Dialogue between Japan, the United States, India, and Australia. He succeeded in […]

The ASEAN Model: A Vision of Middle East Integration Beyond the Abraham Accords

Asean Summit in Bangkok (top) and The Negev Summit in Sde Boker (bottom). Photos credit: Koki Kataoka / The Yomiuri Shimbun, REUTERS

The summit of foreign ministers came together on relatively short notice. It was unstructured, informal, with little of the staff work or pre-negotiation that normally precedes such gatherings. The agenda was slim and general, and the outcome rather modest. But viewed through a historical scope, the results were transformational. I am not referring to the […]

In Southeast Asia, the United States Needs to Up its Economic Game

US President Joe Biden poses with India Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida as he announced the countries that are joining the new Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. Photo credit: EYEPRESS via Reuters Connect

One often hears that China is “winning” the competition with the United States in Southeast Asia. This strategically important region is home to 650 million people, and collectively is the world’s fifth largest economy and the US’s fourth largest export market. While serious competition is indeed a reality, it is not particularly useful to think […]