ISDP Voices

In March 2025, Myanmar was struck by a 7.7 magnitude earthquake, the effects of which were felt even in neighboring Thailand, altogether affecting over 17 million individuals. Notably, while countries like India and collective disaster management mechanisms under the aegis of Quad and ASEAN mobilized aid, BIMSTEC had no boots on ground. Given that BIMSTEC […]

In May 2025, at a manufacturing facility in Luoyang, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for continuous efforts to build the manufacturing industry stronger to advance Chinese modernization, stating: “China has always adhered to the path of developing the real economy. From the past reliance on imported matches, soap and iron, to now becoming the world’s […]

In July 2025, the United States enacted the GENIUS Act (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins), its first comprehensive federal framework for regulating stablecoins. The law requires issuers of dollar-denominated tokens to maintain one-to-one reserves in “high-quality liquid assets” (HQLA), with a strong emphasis on U.S. Treasury bills. At first glance, the Act […]

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s recent visit to India has been seen as a cautious step towards the gradual normalization of strained bilateral ties. Yet, it was his subsequent engagement in Kabul for the sixth China–Pakistan–Afghanistan trilateral dialogue that signaled a more consequential trend; the steady evolution of Beijing’s South Asia strategy. The meeting gained […]

Alzheimer’s disease represents one of the most formidable health challenges of our time, casting a shadow over millions of lives worldwide. The global burden of this neurodegenerative condition is staggering, with current estimates indicating that 57 million people worldwide are living with dementia, a figure that threatens to nearly triple to 139 million by 2050. […]

As tensions intensify across East Asia, the probability of a dual contingency—a Chinese invasion of Taiwan alongside a North Korean assault on South Korea—can no longer be dismissed as hypothetical. For U.S. allies Japan and South Korea, the challenge is how to prepare for simultaneous high-end conflicts without becoming strategically overstretched. One overlooked source of […]

Chinese authorities say a great deal about the environmental challenges on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau. But the official narrative omits critical elements, not least the scale of degradation, regional risks, and the political uses of environmental policy. This article explores what is left unsaid in China’s environmental discourse on Tibet, and why these silences matter for […]

The Trump administration’s August 7 tariffs have officially taken effect. After four months of shifting deadlines and opaque negotiations, some clarity is finally emerging–at least on paper. Instead of “90 deals in 90 days,” the world saw sweeping unilateral U.S. tariffs and only eight confirmed agreements, one of them with the European Union. Controversial from […]

A recent report by a Chinese news outlet highlighted comments from a senior Bangladeshi officer, who stated that “China is very important to us,” underscoring the significance of China as an investment partner. He emphasized the longstanding bilateral relationship between the two countries and suggested that the progress made over the past 50 years could […]

On July 19, China announced the commencement of the construction of what is set to become the world’s largest hydropower project on the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo in Nyingtri (Ch: Nyingchi), Tibet. The project comprises of five cascade power stations with a total investment of about 1.2 trillion yuan, and it is targeted […]