Kiribati – News

The Diplomat The Diplomat is a current-affairs magazine for the Asia-Pacific, with news and analysis on politics, security, business, technology and life across the region.

• Japan’s FOIP 3.0: Is Pragmatism That Delivers Resilience Enough?

  by OBA Mie

  Japan’s updated vision is sharper and more self-interested.

• Vietnam Sentences 11 to Death in Country’s Largest Ever Drug Trafficking Case

  by Sebastian Strangio

  The case dates back to March 2023, when four flight attendants were ‌caught carrying narcotics hidden in toothpaste tubes on a flight from Paris to Ho Chi Minh City.

• Indonesia’s President Pitches His Country as Russia’s ‘Gateway’ to Southeast Asia

  by Sebastian Strangio

  Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Prabowo Subianto described his country as “a natural entry point to ASEAN" for investors.

• The Japan-Thailand Relationship: Light and Shadow

  by AOKI-OKABE Maki

  The benefits and vulnerabilities of deepening interdependence

• Escaping the Escalation Trap in the Thailand-Cambodia Maritime Dispute

  by William J. Jones

  Compulsory conciliation under UNCLOS could help both sides insulate sensitive negotiations from domestic political pressure.

• Securing Navigation for Trans-Caspian Trade 

  by Cornell Overfield and Elizabeth Wishnick

  Since 2022, but particularly in 2026, hard maritime security issues on the Caspian Sea have started moving to the forefront.

• The Climate Crisis Is Stretching the Nepali Military Beyond Its Limits

  by Tek Raj Koirala

  The question here is not whether the military should be involved in disaster response, but how the military itself is responding, adapting, and transforming amid the climate crisis.

• Australia’s Broken Hill: Where Children Are Sacrificed to Mining Interests 

  by Antonio Castillo

  A historical mining town in Australia’s outback is confronting severe lead-contamination health threats, disproportionately affecting Aboriginal children. 

• Ezra Jin Is Free, But There Are More Pastors in China Behind Bars

  by Gao Pu

  “I respectfully ask the international community to stand with me – to fight for the freedom of Pastor Gao Quanfu, Pang Yu, and all peaceful Christians imprisoned in China. ”

• The Meaning Behind Pakistan’s First Lunar Rover 

  by Usman Haider and Abdul Moiz Khan

  The Jinnah 1 mission signals increased cooperation with China and takes Pakistan’s rivalry with India to new heights – literally.

• US Allies in Asia Are Paying for the Iran Stalemate

  by Alexandru Filip

  The U.S. administration lacks the willingness to confront China and Russia over their assistance to Iran, and Asian allies are paying the price.

• Central Asia’s Energy Transition Depends on Water Security

  by Kamila Fayzieva

  A more integrated and flexible power system could give Central Asian states greater room to manage drought, hydropower volatility, and competing demands for water.

• K-Beauty’s Brazil Push Signals a New Type of Korean Diplomacy

  by Nicole Choi

  As strange as it sounds, the Korean beauty industry is playing an increasingly important role in Seoul’s foreign policy calculus. 

• Security Is the Key to Resolving the Thai-Cambodia Border Conflict

  by Sihasak Phuangketkeow

  “The first step is security: uphold the ceasefire, reduce military risks, clear mines, strengthen law enforcement, and cooperate against criminal networks.”

• UNHCR Says It Is Not Involved in Malaysia’s Planned Repatriation of Refugees to Myanmar

  by Sebastian Strangio

  Rights groups say that the 1,476 Myanmar nationals are at high risk of torture, mistreatment, and forced conscription on their return.

• Japan’s Electricity Shock Is a Contract Problem

  by Richard Dickenson

  It’s not a matter of counting suppliers.

• Job Opportunity: Multilingual Translation Project Coordinator in Tokyo

  Diplomat affiliate MHT Corporation is seeking a Japan-based multilingual professional to coordinate translation projects.

• Mohan Malik on Trump, Asia, and the Legacy of the Global War on Terror

  by Luke Hunt

  The veteran strategist and security analyst joins Beyond The Mekong to discuss the region's ongoing security challenges.

• US Aircraft Carrier Arrives in Thailand After Record 286-day Deployment

  by Sebastian Strangio

  The vessel's arrival has shone a light on Pattaya's sex industry, which established itself as a rest and recreation destination for U.S. personnel during the Vietnam War.

• ‘We Are Horrified’: Academic Freedom at Risk With Uzbek Professor’s Arrest in Kazakhstan

  by Catherine Putz

  Dr. Ikboljon Qoraboyev's arrest on espionage charges has sent shockwaves through Kazakhstan’s increasingly internationalized academic sector.

• China’s Global Strategy Under Xi Jinping

  by Mercy A. Kuo

  Insights from Steve Tsang.