Before Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, it was fashionable to suggest that his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, would approvingly scrutinise Russia’s military performance and its implications for a Chinese military attack on Taiwan. …
A senior Asian diplomat quips that China’s leadership fears the numbers two, three, four, five and seven. The superstition is the way the numbers are stacking up. China agonises over the bilateral alliances represented by …
Former prime minister Kevin Rudd says China’s security deal with Solomon Islands was a ‘politically illiterate’ move if Beijing is sincere about improving relations with Australia. Speaking at an ASPI event in Canberra on Thursday, …
When Russia attacked Ukraine in late February, many were afraid that a Chinese assault on Taiwan would be next. After all, President Xi Jinping had indicated that he wanted to resolve the ‘Taiwan question’ while …
The signing of the security pact between China and Solomons Islands represents one of the gravest Australian diplomatic and intelligence failures in more than half a decade. This failure didn’t just happen, nor is it the result …
There is strong opposition in Solomon Islands to Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare’s security deal with China, says the nation’s opposition leader, Matthew Wale. Wale tells The Strategist those opposed to the deal include members of …
Russia’s unprovoked war against Ukraine has accelerated the division of the world into two blocs, one comprising the world’s democracies and the other its autocracies. This, in turn, has exposed the risks inherent in economic …
In the Xi Jinping era, the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (commonly known as the Friendship Association, or Youxie) promotes the Belt and Road Initiative, a strategic, political and economic vehicle driving …
Led by United Front Work Departments of Chinese Communist Party committees at each echelon of government, the united front system is a complex and opaque set of organisations designed to advance the CCP’s influence in …
Why shouldn’t we believe Beijing’s claims that its security agreement with Honiara won’t result in a base or place to operate its navy from in Solomon Islands? Because we’ve seen this playbook before: in Djibouti …
In his statement to the Solomon Islands parliament on the draft security agreement between his country and Beijing, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare stridently but disingenuously denied ‘pitching into any geopolitical power struggle’. Despite the shared …
Russian President Vladimir Putin thought he could quickly capture Kyiv and replace Ukraine’s government. Whether he was misled by poor intelligence or by his own fantasies about history, his ‘smash and grab’ failed in the …