Successive Israeli governments have undermined diplomatic efforts and stoked tensions between Washington and Tehran.
US criticism of Malaysia’s entry ban on Israeli nationals is unlikely to force a major shift in the country’s foreign policy, analysts have said, after Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim rejected accusations that the move was antisemitic. The remarks escalated a dispute that has drawn in members of the US Congress, Malaysia’s long-standing refusal to recognise Israel and the widening international debate over where criticism of Israel ends and hostility towards Jewish people begins. “We are not...
Mr. Modi also said that this is a defining period in India's journey, where aspirations are reaching new heights
Nearly three decades after its return to Chinese sovereignty, Hong Kong is once again at an important crossroads. The recent decision by the United States not to renew “The President’s Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization” has once again focused international attention on the city’s future. For some, it represents another chapter in the geopolitical competition between Washington and Beijing. For Hong Kong, however, it should also serve as a reminder that its future cannot be defined...
US President Donald Trump says Washington remains ‘locked and loaded’ while pursuing diplomatic talks with Tehran.
Miliband, Trump critic who once opposed strikes on Syria, joins Streeting, defence novice with shifting Israel views.
US Secretary of State say Iran is in ‘a lot of trouble’
US report says the beleaguered government in Havana is the 'connective tissue' of a global 'anti-American coalition'.
The China threat has landed in Brussels. A new European Union position paper accuses Beijing of amplifying security threats, posing “a critical long-term strategic challenge” and reviving “sphere-of-influence logic” to reshape the global order. Beijing is cast as an enabler of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while its “assertive behaviour” in the South China Sea threatens European and Indo-Pacific security, stability and prosperity. The document, “Common Understanding: The Threats and Challenges...
Incoming PM Andy Burnham will immediately face foreign policy challenges, including the conflicts in Ukraine and Iran.
When Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was laid to rest in Tehran earlier this month, Indonesia, home to more Muslims than any other nation on Earth, decided to send only its ambassador – at first. The decision raised questions not only about Jakarta’s non-aligned foreign policy but also the tensions at the heart of President Prabowo Subianto’s prized “good-neighbour” diplomacy. One former Indonesian ambassador called the minimal initial presence “a slap in the face” for Iran and asked whether Washington...
India is stepping up engagement with Indo-Pacific middle powers as uncertainty grows over the future of US security commitments in Asia, with analysts saying New Delhi is building a web of partnerships that allows countries with different strategic interests to cooperate without joining a formal alliance. Prime Minister Narendra Modi went on a six-day diplomatic tour of the Indo-Pacific from July 6 to 11, visiting Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand, and signing a raft of agreements to boost...
It might in the short term, but not in the long term.
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday abandoned plans to impose a 20 per cent charge on commercial cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz, less than a day after unveiling the proposal, while pressing ahead with a naval blockade targeting Iranian trade. Trump said the proposed fee would be replaced by trade and investment agreements with Gulf states following discussions with regional leaders. “Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the...
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh claimed that Islamabad's influence in West Asia is a "severe setback" to India
Foreign ministers' meeting comes months after the EU imposed sanctions on Israel over West Bank settlement construction.
An “institutionalised” China-US G2 framework could offer a “structural guarantee” for global peace in a world beset by crises, a high-profile adviser to Beijing has said. Zheng Yongnian, a noted Chinese political scientist, said the world was faced with four intertwined challenges – geopolitical conflicts, increasingly “religionised” societies, imbalances in the global economy and the fading of the UN-centred governance system. He characterised this collective breakdown as a “crisis of...
US President Trump said he will remove Syria from the US state sponsor of terrorism list at the NATO summit.
US forces have expanded their military strikes on Iran, after blaming Tehran for breaking the MoU to end the war.
President Trump announces a move to delist Syria, citing efforts by Ahmed al-Sharaa to unify the country.
President Donald Trump has said the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran is ‘over’, after the latest strikes.
Trump says MoU with 'vicious, violent' Iran is over
The US-Israel war on Iran is forcing African governments to rethink their security and economic priorities.
What does Trump want from his NATO allies?
Norway wants China to use its ties to the Russian leadership to help bring about a negotiated settlement to the war in Ukraine, also for the sake of better relations with Europe, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said on Monday. “China is probably the country with the best and most direct access to the Russian leadership. We expect, hope and strongly urge China to use that channel,” he told reporters after meeting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Oslo. The biggest chunk of their...
Congress alleges that the government policies for passport have hurt India’s global reputation; also calls out PM’s silence on ‘Israel’s genocide in Gaza’
Shielding US commitments to Israel from congressional scrutiny would be harmful for both countries.
With relations between Israel and the US fraught, some are speculating whether the special relationship may be at an end
Nato’s 32 member states will convene in the Turkish capital this week for an annual summit expected to be dominated by efforts to secure a fragile peace in Ukraine and the Middle East, with Indo-Pacific issues taking a back seat. Analysts said the conflicts in Ukraine and Iran, as well as Washington’s push for European allies to raise defence spending, could diminish discussion about the security alliance’s cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners, despite the Nato chief’s warnings about China’s...
US influence challenged by changing global order: Paolo von Schirach
Washington has started dealing with regional players without regard for Indian interests.
India and Japan also expressed "serious concern" at the situation in the East China Sea and South China Sea, and opposed unilateral actions that endanger freedom of navigation as well as attempts to change the status quo by force
India’s decision to resume tourist visas for Bangladeshi nationals marks the clearest sign yet of a thaw in strained ties, but analysts say the deeper test will be whether trade links can be rebuilt while Dhaka courts Chinese investment near India’s sensitive eastern flank. India began accepting tourist visa applications from Bangladeshis on Sunday, nearly two years after services were suspended in the fallout from violent protests that forced former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina from...
Wu Xinbo is the dean of the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai and a leading Chinese researcher on the US. In this interview, he analyses how shifts in US foreign policy are changing the relationship between the two countries. SCMP Plus readers get early access to articles in the Open Questions series. As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary, how do you assess US foreign policy and the future direction of its relations with China? Simply put, US...
Irrespective of any grievance, political cause or strategic calculation, terrorism in all its forms and manifestations must be condemned unequivocally, says India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni.
In comments directed at Asean, a top Communist Party official reiterated that Beijing did not want to become a regional hegemon, while vowing to strengthen its energy cooperation with the Southeast Asian bloc. “For a country like China, which has ‘harmonious coexistence’ embedded in its DNA, it is extremely difficult to undergo a ‘genetic mutation’ and become a militaristic hegemony that bullies the small and weak,” said Sun Haiyan, deputy head of the party’s International Department. Sun, who...
Israeli opposition criticise the means employed by Netanyahu, but cannot risk opposing his ends.
In the Trump era, American diplomacy is being led not by impartial diplomats, but by real estate investors.
The vice president’s decision to criticise Israel and distance himself from rival Rubio means he is reading the base.
The White House denied a split between the two officials who have historically held diverging foreign policy positions.
Political scientist Robert Pape argues the fallout of Iran war curbs US hubris and challenges Trump’s self-image.
Both Washington and Tehran know that current deal will not lead to lasting peace. It is merely a strategic pause