-
Jan 21, 2024 | 
eastasiaforum.org | Allison Alexy |T.Y. Wang |Chung Min Tsai |John Quiggin
Author: Editorial Board, ANUOn the face of it, India appears to be in something of a sweet spot. Last year the nation became the world’s most populous country; Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted world leaders at the G20 Summit while being treated to large and enthusiastic receptions abroad; and India enjoyed the fastest growth of any major economy in the world. Sweet spots have a habit of becoming intoxicating — but take a peek under the hood and things may not smell quite so rosy.
-
Jan 21, 2024 | 
eastasiaforum.org | Robin Jeffrey |Allison Alexy |T.Y. Wang |Chung Min Tsai
Author: Robin Jeffrey, MelbourneFor Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its mentors in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Hindu supremacist civil society organisation, 2024 could be an epoch-making year. As 2023 ended, they had much to feel pleased about. Preparation for national elections due by May 2024 had gone on carefully. The BJP received a boost of confidence in early December after landslides in three Hindi-speaking northern states.
-
Jan 19, 2024 | 
eastasiaforum.org | Jia Qingguo |Allison Alexy |T.Y. Wang |Chung Min Tsai
Author: Jia Qingguo, Peking UniversityA glimmer of hope for the stabilisation of China–US relations sparked in 2023. Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden met in Bali on 14 November 2022. They agreed that the two countries should re-establish contact and dialogue to improve the management of this important but increasingly troubled relationship. Several developments contributed to the China–US agreement.
-
Jan 18, 2024 | 
eastasiaforum.org | Michael Barr |Allison Alexy |T.Y. Wang |Chung Min Tsai
19 January 2024 Author: Michael Barr, Flinders UniversityLast year was unprecedented in independent Singapore’s history. Difficulties have arisen in past years for the government, the economy, specific sections of the Singaporean populace or in terms of escalating repression, but 2023 encompassed all the above. Recovering Singapore’s reputation for clean governance will not be an easy task.
-
Jan 17, 2024 | 
eastasiaforum.org | Allison Alexy |T.Y. Wang |Chung Min Tsai |John Quiggin
18 January 2024 Author: Kevin Nielsen M Agojo, City University of Hong KongDespite mixed results in his first year in office, the promising developments in the presidency of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr should not be overlooked. His notable achievements include the signing of the New Agrarian Emancipation Act, which condoned US$1 billion of debts belonging to 610,054 beneficiaries.
-
Jan 16, 2024 | 
eastasiaforum.org | Ghulam Ali |Allison Alexy |T.Y. Wang |Chung Min Tsai
Author: Ghulam Ali, Hong Kong Research Centre for Asian StudiesChina’s pursuit of internationalising the yuan, currency swaps, e-currency, cross-border deals and digitalised currency have recently made international news. These efforts are mainly on the rise with Gulf states. On 28 November 2023, the People’s Bank of China and the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates renewed their currency swap agreement worth US$4.89 billion for five years.
-
Jan 16, 2024 | 
eastasiaforum.org | William Waqavakatoga |Allison Alexy |T.Y. Wang |Chung Min Tsai
Author: William Waqavakatoga, University of AdelaideAfter its December 2022 election, Fiji got a new prime minister for the first time in more than 15 years. A new government was formed with Sitiveni Rabuka, leader of the People’s Alliance party, replacing Frank Bainimarama of the FijiFirst party. One democratically elected former coup leader was swapped out for another. The key challenge for the Rabuka government has been to hold together an effective coalition.
-
Jan 15, 2024 | 
eastasiaforum.org | Dushni Weerakoon |Allison Alexy |T.Y. Wang |Chung Min Tsai
Author: Dushni Weerakoon, IPSNearly two years after announcing a debt default in the middle of a severe social and political crisis, the Sri Lankan economy is showing the first signs of recovery. Year-on-year inflation dropped sharply to a low of 1.5 per cent in October 2023 from its peak of 70 per cent a year earlier. Interest rates are edging down accordingly and the highly volatile currency is now fluctuating within an acceptable range.
-
Jan 15, 2024 | 
eastasiaforum.org | Daniel Sneider |Allison Alexy |T.Y. Wang |Chung Min Tsai
Author: Daniel Sneider, Stanford UniversityNearly two years into the presidency of Yoon Suk-yeol, South Korea has made a geopolitical pivot of potentially historic proportions. The Yoon administration has firmly rejected the prioritisation of engagement with North Korea that was a foundation of the previous president Moon Jae-in’s progressive government, embarking on an increasingly confrontational approach to the Pyongyang regime.
-
Jan 14, 2024 | 
eastasiaforum.org | Allison Alexy |T.Y. Wang |Chung Min Tsai |Ganeshan Wignaraja
Author: Editorial Board, ANUFirst the good news — Washington and Beijing are talking again. In 2023, both capitals came to accept the reality that the deterioration of relations that had carried over from the Trump years through much of the first Biden term was unsustainable. At the start of 2024 there’s a sense that, in the short run, bilateral relations are more functional than a year earlier.
