01/11/2020 The Indo-Pacific Region (IPR) has been deemed as the most relevant geopolitical theatre of the 21st century where the future of the international order will be decided. The persisting bipolar competition in the area, exemplified by the India-China discord and the U.S.-China confrontation, has been overshadowing the existing regional constructs implemented to enhance economic
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20/10/2020 While China is Japan’s biggest trading partner, the relationship between the two countries has had its ups and downs over the past decades. Polls suggest that Japanese opinion of China in 2020 has hit an all-time low. Recently, Japan has increasingly been making decisions that may not be to Beijing’s liking. Two noteworthy developments
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14/10/2020 On 22 September 2020, President Xi Jinping laid out the most ambitious environmental goal for China so far. Addressing the United Nations Assembly, he stated that the country will boost its Nationally Determined Contributions by achieving carbon neutrality before 2060. Such a pledge echoes the “ecological civilization” framework, introduced under President Xi Jinping in
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09/10/2020 On 17 September 2020, in a virtual event with the Minister for National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) Suharso Monoarfa, and the EU Ambassador to Indonesia, Vincent Piket, the “EU-Indonesia Cooperation Publication – Building capacity for Green Growth” was launched. It calls for attention on EU-Indonesia cooperation, a thirty-year strategic partnership which, despite the current
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India-China relations are souring. The EU is playing a delicate balancing act in advancing its values and interests with both players. The EU-India Summit of July 2020 is indicative of how the EU looks towards India to deliver as a reliable partner in Asia, with similar values of multilateralism and democracy. The Joint Statement cemented
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On 25 September 2020, H.E. Tchary Atayev, Ambassador of Turkmenistan to the Kingdom of Belgium and the European Union, hosted a high-level roundtable under the title ‘Constructive Dialogue for Peace and Sustainable Development’ on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the country’s Permanent Neutrality Status. After some brief historical context, the Ambassador highlighted the
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Should the EU and other Western firms establish a foothold in some of Africa’s networks, then it must demonstrate to its African counterparts that its providers share the fundamental commitment and understanding for local, economic considerations
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28/09/2020 Japan’s new Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has taken office on 16 September 2020, replacing Shinzo Abe who stepped down due to health reasons. 71-year-old Suga is a political veteran with a notoriously tight schedule, who has climbed his way up the political ladder from humble farmer origins. Suga served as Chief Cabinet Secretary under
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24/09/2020 On 12 August 2020, for the first time in the history of the ‘Everything But Arms’ (EBA) mechanism, the decision to partially withdraw trade preferences to one of its key beneficiaries, Cambodia, came into effect. Simply put, the EBA represents the European Commission’s trade scheme which grants duty-free and quota-free access for all products
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24/09/2020 This year, the corridors of the UN Headquarters in New York will be largely empty and silent. The conditions around COVID-19 dictate that the UN General Assembly – the most high-profile UN event of the year – will be a mostly virtual affairs this year. Yet, there will be no shortages of initiatives and
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