Indo-Pacific
The 23rd Province: Taiwan Seen From the Mainland
By Rita Giménez · 20/06/2023
In April, when we saw high-level European representatives visiting China, and the media centered on the Chinese military actions near the region, it was a good moment to ask ourselves a rather complex question: “will Taiwan become the 23rd Chinese province, or will it remain a de facto sovereign state?” The diverging answers to this […]
Asia vis-à-vis the invasion of Ukraine
By Miquel Vila · 22/03/2022
The West has presented a united front before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Western audiences may believe that the world is rallying behind us against Russian expansionism. The fact is that we no longer live in a time when the opinion of the West could be taken as the opinion of the international community. The […]
The geoeconomics of the supply shock beyond the pandemic
By Miquel Vila · 07/12/2021
Geopolitics often analyses how polities design, compete and secure access and transport of resources, armies, and people across territories. That is to say, logistics. Therefore, the current global supply chain crisis will indisputably impact the geopolitical realm, going way beyond the challenge of dealing with empty shelves during Christmas. Mainstream analysts still insist that we […]
Myanmar: a laissez-faire policy for a repressive regime returning
By Queralt Castillo · 05/06/2021
Four months ago, the military overthrew the democratic government of Myanmar. On 1 February 2021, the country’s citizens saw how their feeble democracy, implemented in 2015, was shattered. The Tatmadaw, the Burmese armed forces, heirs of the Burma Independence Army created by General Aung San – father of the country’s current leader Aung San Suu […]
Can the Tsai Administration’s Emphasis on Taiwan’s Soft Power Offer Lessons for Catalonia?
By Brian Hioe · 16/04/2021
Under President Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan’s successes in expanding its international space have been well-noted. In particular, with Taiwan having remained entirely lockdown-free during the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan has seen international accolades for its successful response to the pandemic. Likewise, Tsai’s credentials as a progressive politician that enjoys the support of Taiwanese young people have been […]
The EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment: the risks of navigating without a map
By Miquel Vila · 17/02/2021
On the brink of 2021, China and the European Union (EU) signed the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment’s (CAI). The Commission argues that the CAI contains substantial concessions from China that would help balance trade relations and create a level playing field between both economies. China has agreed to open new areas of its economy […]
Is China an enemy of Biden’s America?
By Xulio Ríos · 29/01/2021
We might contextualize the most recent US policy towards China through two speeches, that of Vice President Mike Pence at the Hudson Institute in 2018, and that of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the Nixon Library in 2020. Both developed, to some extent, the 2017 National Security Strategy. The message is clear and twofold: […]