Politics

Russian tanks during the drill at the Kadamovsky range in the Rostov region, Russia, on Feb. 3: China's leaders will try to copy some of Putin's tactics.
Opinion

Ukraine crisis a gift for China that keeps on giving

Beijing is learning invaluable lessons regarding the future of Taiwan

15 February 2022
German armed forces prepare to transport howitzers to Lithuania at a military base in Munster, Germany, on Feb. 14.
Ukraine war

G-7 vows 'forceful' response if Russia attacks Ukraine as talks continue

Japan maps out sanction response while U.S. closes embassy in Kyiv

15 February 2022
Men hold weapons during a basic combat training for civilians in Mariupol, eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine war

Ukraine conflict risks market fallout worse than Cuban missile crisis

Central banks fight inflation stoked by tensions, but overkill would prompt recession

15 February 2022
Tanks and tankers: Ukraine's military conducts exercises, top, and LNG is loaded on a ship in Qatar. (Source photos by AP and Ukrainian Armed Forces Press Service/Reuters) 
Market Spotlight

Qatar's Asian gas contracts hamper Ukraine planning

U.S. pursues alternative LNG supplies for Europe if Russian cuts flow

14 February 2022
U.S. President and Russian President Vladimir Putin address the Ukraine situation on Feb. 12 by phone.
Ukraine war

Biden warns Putin Ukraine invasion would draw decisive response

Sanctions in coordination with European allies among potential options

13 February 2022
Russian infantry fighting vehicles stand on the training area at the Kadamovsky range in the Rostov region, Russia, on Jan. 27: Japan has studiously avoided specifying what measures they might impose.
Opinion

Japan must do more to support Ukraine

Tokyo's efforts to mollify Russia have been a clear failure

12 February 2022
A wheat field in the Stavropol region of Russia, the world's top exporter of the grain.
Ukraine war

Ukraine crisis sends grain prices soaring, threatens food security

Wheat and corn costs approach levels seen during Arab Spring unrest

12 February 2022
The receiving station for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline near Lubmin, Germany, pictured on Feb. 2: the EU needs to implement a watertight plan for the continent's energy security.
Opinion

Ukraine crisis exposes West's abysmal understanding of energy markets

Time to put an end to the weaponization of global energy supplies

10 February 2022
Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Xi Jinping in Beijing on Feb. 4: China and Russia care about different things. (Handout photo from Kremlin)
Opinion

Putin and Xi manifesto signals start of a new era

Moscow and Beijing's unity stems from mutual distrust of the U.S.

9 February 2022
An aerial view shows Kunashiri, one of the Russian-control islands known as the Northern Territories in Japan.
International relations

Ukraine crisis roils waters for Japan's bid to reclaim islands from Russia

Kishida vows to continue talks, while new U.S. envoy calls Moscow 'aggressor'

8 February 2022
China's Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin: A joint statement released after their recent summit says the countries' relationship "has no limits -- there are no 'forbidden' areas."
Asia Insight

China and Russia's 'no limits' ties test West as Ukraine shivers

Olympic summit with Xi caps Putin's evolution from leader once lauded by Biden

8 February 2022
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet in Moscow in June 2019. China now has shown support for Russia over the Ukraine issue, but experts say an invasion would bring little benefit to Beijing.
Comment

China will gain little from backing Moscow on Ukraine

Russian invasion unlikely to help Beijing grab Taiwan

7 February 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Friday.
Beijing Winter Olympics

Putin and Xi blame U.S. and allies for heightening arms race

Leaders 'oppose further expansion of NATO' at Olympics summit

5 February 2022
Vladimir Putin, pictured in Saint Petersburg on Jan. 27: the Russian president will likely use the supportive atmosphere in Beijing to bolster his rhetoric. (Handout photo from Kremlin)
Opinion

Putin and Xi prepare to synchronize their watches

U.S. efforts to drive a wedge between Russia and China have failed

4 February 2022
Rahm Emanuel says a statement by his Russian counterpart "lacks self-awareness."
International relations

Rahm Emanuel blasts Russian envoy on Japan territorial dispute

Newly arrived U.S. ambassador says 'rules and respect count'

3 February 2022
A person wearing personal protective equipment walks inside Beijing Capital International Airport on Jan. 31: this time, Beijing is welcoming very few outsiders at all.
Opinion

Beijing Winter Olympics reveal a very different China

Timidity ahead of 2008 Summer Games now all but forgotten

3 February 2022
U.S. President Joe Biden meets with his national security advisers in the White House Situation Room. Biden has promised enormous economic sanctions on Russia if it invades Ukraine. (Photo courtesy of the White House) 
Indo-Pacific

5 keys for U.S. deterrence to work in Ukraine -- and Taiwan

Xi will be watching Putin's actions carefully, analysts say

2 February 2022
The U.N. Security Council addresses the situation between Russia and Ukraine on Jan. 31 in New York.
Ukraine war

China backs Russia on Ukraine conflict with eye on Taiwan

U.S. response monitored by Beijing for clues about cross-strait implications

2 February 2022
Berlin heaped insult on injury by proudly presenting the sale of 5,000 steel helmets as a gesture of solidarity.
1 February 2022
A Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force H-6 bomber is seen flying near Taiwan's air defense identification zone on Sept. 18, 2020.
Comment

China-Russia drills near Japan hint at burgeoning military ties

Recent maneuvers threaten to shake up East Asian security order

29 January 2022
Myanmar military officials attend a commissioning ceremony of a submarine gifted by China in December. (Photo courtesy of Myanmar's Ministry of Information)
Myanmar Crisis

Myanmar's isolation from West opens door for China and Russia

Beijing brokers peace talks and gifts a submarine while Moscow supplies arms

28 January 2022
Akio Miyajima, Ambassador of Japan to Poland, said support for the introduction of renewable energy would be a godsend for Poland. He said that Japan should hurry to provide infrastructure support to help Poland’s decarbonization efforts.
Interview

Japan should strengthen ties with Poland to keep China in check

Central, Eastern European countries changing stance toward Beijing, envoy says

24 January 2022
U.S. and Russian diplomats made no major breakthrough at talks on Friday, and Moscow has been massing troops on the border with its neighbor.
International relations

U.S. orders departure of Ukraine embassy staff family members

U.K. accuses the Kremlin of seeking to install a pro-Russian leader in Kyiv

24 January 2022
A damaged portrait of former Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev is seen at the city hall in Almaty on Jan. 10, after the country's largest city was rocked by protests.
Politics

Kazakhstan drive to close book on Nazarbayev era gathers pace

President Tokayev sidelines predecessor but true reform remains elusive

23 January 2022
Russian S-400 missile air defense systems, pictured in Kaliningrad region, Russia, in August 2020: Delhi's arms deals with Moscow risk attracting sanctions of its ally in Washington.
Opinion

Buying more Russian weapons will not lift India's economy

Young people need high quality jobs, not increases in defense spending

23 January 2022