Asia Pacific

Brahma Chellaney’s recent essay in The Hill raises a legitimate and important concern. The United States applies nuclear non-proliferation norms with troubling inconsistency. On this narrow point, many scholars of arms control would agree. Yet the argument he constructs to make that case rests on a series of …

Peter Rodgers In U.S.–Iran relations, there has been no shortage of “critical moments.” Yet what is unfolding today is of a different nature. Not simply because a 40-day war has taken place between the two sides but because, for the first time, military instruments and a diplomatic opening …

Hadi Elis For decades, debate has persisted over whether the United States is prepared—or even willing—to pursue regime change in Iran. Yet beneath the surface of military rhetoric and diplomatic posturing lies a more subtle reality: Washington has increasingly favored a long-term strategy of systemic weakening rather than …

Dr. John Calabrese Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has just concluded a two-day visit (April 9–10) to North Korea, in his first trip to Pyongyang in more than six years. The visit emphasized strengthening high-level exchanges and expanding practical cooperation. With U.S. President Donald Trump set to arrive …

By Dennis Ross In international politics, we often confuse capability with inevitability. The assumption that military superiority guarantees strategic success has shaped countless decisions—and just as often, it has led to miscalculation. As Will and Ariel Durant once observed in The Lessons of History, nature and history do …

Dr. Shehab Al-Makahleh Diplomacy, in the Middle East, rarely arrives as a gesture of peace. More often, it emerges as an extension of war by other means—language replacing artillery, but not intent. The recent U.S.-brokered meeting in Washington on April 14, 2026—bringing together representatives of Lebanon and Israel …

Lawrence J. Haas Iran’s economy is already crippled, but still resilient. The US economy is less threatened, but its political system is less tolerant of short-term economic pain. With its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz now in place, Washington faces the twin challenge of maintaining it in …

Cheng Li-wun, chairwoman of Taiwan’s main opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), visited China from April 7–12, 2026. Following a meeting with the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, both leaders indicated their wish to see a peaceful situation over the Taiwan Strait. The KMT leader too remembered the common cultural …

The looming May 14–15 summit in Beijing between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping presents a puzzle that conventional geopolitical maps struggle to navigate. As Trump seeks to end the major military operations against Iran before this high-stakes visit, he will find a Chinese leader who is not coming …