Once frozen wasteland, the wild, inhospitable Arctic is becoming a contest across new frontiers. Melting ice is opening shipping routes and releasing energy resources, prompting a scramble for control and access. Competing businesses race to secure their advantage while rivals prepare for what could become a new theatre. President Vladimir Putin in his quest to […]
Read MoreRecent reports
Recent reports by Humphrey Hawksley for the BBC, YaleGlobal Online, Asian Affairs, and Nikkei Asian Review.
Beijing’s Achilles’ heels
When the Chinese leadership maps out its long-term regional and global policies, the territories of Hong Kong and Taiwan take special position. While the United States, Europe, the Belt and Road Initiative through Asia and Africa are all vital to China’s continued growth, these two cosmopolitan wealthy, educated societies represent its emotional side. Beijing regards […]
Read MoreTaiwan’s New Southbound Policy is decreasing its reliance on China
Long menaced by its larger neighbor, Taiwan’s efforts to shift away from its reliance on China by increasing trade instead with other regional partners are beginning to pay both economic and political dividends. Known as the New Southbound Policy, the government of President Tsai Ing-wen is encouraging and subsidizing Taiwanese companies to move out of […]
Read MoreChina could display global leadership by being pragmatic, confident and relaxed and allow Hong Kong its democracy
The ongoing protests in Hong Kong offer insights into China’s flexibility of governance and its patient ability to challenge the current world order. Much has and will be written on this issue. But for an answer on how governance may unfold, consider Taiwan, which for 70 years has stood in the storm’s eye of a […]
Read MoreIn New York’s Chinatown, don’t mention politics
The streets in New York’s Chinatown are narrow. Packed with humanity, loud conversations and small businesses — noodle restaurants, laundries and foot massage bars — they spill out the sounds and smells of East Asia. Some 100,000 people live in this part of Manhattan Island, which lies between fashionable Tribeca and the Lower East Side, […]
Read MorePlaying the long game
The re-election success of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi comes at a unique time for his country because Western democracies are continuing their inward naval-gazing and the world stage is crying out for new players with bold ideas. In his first term, Modi blazed an international trail through the sheer force of his personality and […]
Read MoreHow small nations can stand up to China
Beijing and Moscow haven’t always seen eye to eye. But, assisted by U.S. President Donald Trump’s belligerence, they are putting aside old suspicions and finding new opportunities for cooperation. The vast expanse of the Arctic Ocean is a case in point. Among the most significant practical achievements of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Russia […]
Read MoreNationalism endangers global security
Recent elections in India and Europe, societies with a range of cultures and levels of wealth, have provided further proof that the concept of a global society, with shared values, is retreating into one dominated by sovereignty and the nation state. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on his Hindu nationalist ticket, won an even bigger […]
Read MoreEast Asia’s weakest link
The American-led pushback against Chinese expansion has exposed a critical vulnerability in the Asia-Pacific which Washington believes needs urgent resolution. Security analysts argue that the failure of its two staunchest Asian allies, Japan and South Korea, to resolve historical grievances puts at risk long-term US regional power-projection.Until this is settled, there can be no creation […]
Read MoreA window into old Southeast Asia
There is much swirling debate at the moment about the rise of China, the cohesion of Asia and the writing of an alternative world order. Whether the threat comes from North Korea’s nuclear weapons or stealth espionage through the Chinese tech giant Huawei, the global commentariat is having a field day. Their arguments range from […]
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