ISDP Voices

Last month, Indonesia celebrated the 77th anniversary of its independence. During the annual state of the nation address on August 16, Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo spoke briefly yet strongly on Indonesia’s position in the global constellation. Jokowi listed out Indonesia’s current high-profile global engagements, such as it being a “champion” of the United Nations’ […]

The first in-person ministerial meeting of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) was concluded in Los Angeles last week (Sept 8-9, 2022). Ministers from 14 countries got together in Los Angeles (LA) for a two-day meeting, co-hosted by US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. Representing around 40 percent of the global […]

While responding to questions after delivering a lecture on “India’s Vision of the Indo-Pacific” at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok on August 18, India’s External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, emphasized that the “Asian Century would not happen if the two neighbors could not join hands.” He also reiterated these remarks on August 29 at the launch […]

Much to the lament of the international community, the recent Tenth Review Conference (RevCon) of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons ended inconclusively, in no small part owing to the action of one particular state. It is telling that four days after this RevCon’s unsatisfactory conclusion, the world would lose […]

The Global Financing Facility (GFF) for Women, Children and Adolescents is a multi-stakeholder global partnership that aims to improve health and nutrition of women, children and adolescents in developing countries. According to statistical data reported by the GFF in December 2021, undernutrition is related to about 45 percent of child mortality, and anemia leads to […]

With the rapidly intensifying geopolitical environment of the Indo-Pacific, India has been steady and mindful in treading the shifts and churns in the region. As the Indo-Pacific continues to sustain as the center of global geopolitical, geo-strategic and geo-economic competition for regional as well as extra-regional powers, India is likely to emerge as a critical […]

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) isn’t quite as lucrative as often advertised. Ten projects found in six nations – Vanuatu, Indonesia, Myanmar, Tajikistan, Pakistan, and Hungary – could not generate sufficient revenue to justify the cost. Projects in Mongolia and Azerbaijan face the same problem, despite gross gains. It falls on these countries to […]

The wisdom of the U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s decision to visit Taiwan has been questioned by commentators and politicians all over the world, not only by Beijing’s supporters but also by some friends of Taiwan and people in Taiwan. This is easy to understand. Many of us worried that her visit would increase the […]

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan has reiterated that China is a master at manipulating the agenda and changing the narrative of what could have been ultimately a rather uneventful – albeit significant – trip in the name of what China perceives to be its national interest. Beijing has defined this […]

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan on August 2 is an explicit demonstration of American resolve in the Indo-Pacific and commitment to the U.S. allies and partners throughout the region. Unsurprisingly, it has generated extensive controversy and poked China in its Achilles’ heel, eliciting a multitude of warnings and actions (from economic coercion […]