The EU’s relationship with Russia for the past decade or more has been characterised by uncertainty. That uncertainty finally came to an end in 2021, albeit in a fashion which raised further questions over the EU’s ability to become a significant player in the emerging multipolar international order. EU-Russia relations have been through several hurdles...Read More

Despite incoming US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan expressing disappointment about EU Member States’ decision to move forward with the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment with China in December 2020, the EU’s expectation of consultation was not reciprocated when the US unilaterally withdrew from Afghanistan this summer. Shortly afterwards, the launch of the EU’s Indo-Pacific strategy...Read More

Several decades ago, East Asia became the epicentre of superpower rivalry during the Cold War. Following a stalemate war in Northeast Asia’s Korean peninsula, in the early 1950s, military and ideological rivalry shifted to the Indochina peninsula and broader Southeast Asia in the 1960s. READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE: SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST.Read More

The AUKUS (Australia-UK-US) alliance announced on 14 September 2021 will facilitate Australia building at least eight nuclear powered, but not nuclear armed submarines, collaboration and technology sharing on AI, cyber warfare,. With overall closer alignment of regional security policies. While there was no mention of China in the announcement, AUKUS is without doubt the latest...Read More

China energy’s crisis has been making global headlines these last few weeks with many Chinese regions, suffering energy deficits. Soaring demand in the aftermath of the global pandemic for energy, from the country’s giant industrial sector and higher-spending households, has collided with tight supplies of imports due to ongoing coronavirus restrictions amid government efforts to...Read More

There are two ways of looking at the “Aukus” initiative, recently launched by the US, Australia, and the UK. First, it may be seen, as it was described by Ben Wallace the UK Defence Secretary: as an important defence procurement trade deal between the US and Australia, involving the construction and delivery of nuclear-powered submarines...Read More

The NATO communique issued yesterday (see here) addresses China as a security threat to the West for the first time. However, within the text there is relatively little on China (vs Russia) other than reference to it being a “systemic rival”, mirroring earlier EU wording on its relations with China. Interestingly there’s no mention of the...Read More

US President Joe Biden is a man on a mission.  He and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who’s hosting the Group of 7 (G7) top global economies, in the UK as this year’s presidency of the bloc, are looking to save “Western civilisation” from the rise of the East. This perceived threat is mainly arising out...Read More

On 15 April 2021, the White House announced new sets of financial sanctions on Russia.  This time the sanctions will have significant bite, targeting the country’s primary issuances of domestic Rouble-denominated government bonds. The sanctions come into effect on 14 June 2021 by an executive order set out by US President Joe Biden. Previously, in...Read More

There is much current discussion about the relationship between the US-led West – including the UK – and China. Diplomatically it is phrased as “how to meet the challenge of China”, or, in EU parlance, China is a “systemic rival”. However, there are darker tones being used in recent political discussions of the portrayal of...Read More