A crane rises next to the main tower of the Centenario deepwater drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Veracruz, Mexico, Nov. 22, 2013 (AP photo by Dario Lopez-Mills).

On Dec. 5, Mexico held its first-ever auction for deepwater oil blocks in the Gulf of Mexico. A total of eight out of 10 blocks were awarded to various consortiums of leading international oil companies, such as ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, Total and Statoil. The Mexican government estimates that the offshore fields hold as much as 11 billion barrels of oil and natural gas. The tender brought some much-needed economic relief for Mexico. As 2016 comes to a close, the country faces the most severe crisis originating north of the border in the United States since the 2008 financial meltdown, in […]

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a joint press conference at Abe's official residence, Tokyo, Japan, Dec. 16, 2016 (AP photo by Franck Robichon).

Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin touched down in Yamaguchi, the home prefecture of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, to begin a much-anticipated summit. Abe arranged a personal venue for their meeting: a famous hot spring bath in his hometown of Nagato. Abe has met with Putin more than 15 times since taking office in late 2012, even after high-level diplomatic engagement with Russia came under scrutiny from the international community, especially Tokyo’s ally in Washington, over Moscow’s annexation of Crimea and destabilizing activities in eastern Ukraine. Abe had hoped that his dogged approach to appeal to Moscow, along […]

A quay at the Port of Qingdao, in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong, Dec. 8, 2016 (Imaginechina photo via AP).

Last week, China brought formal legal challenges against the United States and the European Union for their failures to recognize the Asian giant as a “market economy” according to World Trade Organization rules. China’s current “nonmarket economy” designation allows Washington and Brussels to use a special tariff formula to stem the flow of low-priced imports in anti-dumping cases. Contrary to initial media reports of a trade war, Beijing’s WTO actions sent a positive signal for otherwise bleak trade relations between these major powers—at least in the near term. But longer term, the squabble over China’s market economy status is just […]

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak with Chinese President Xi Jinping at Diaoyutai state guesthouse, Beijing, Nov. 3, 2016 (AP photo by Jason Lee).

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak visited China last month, where he signed a series of deals, including a significant defense agreement, raising concerns that Malaysia could be “separating” from its partnership with the United States. In an email interview, Yang Razali Kassim, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, discusses Malaysia’s ties with China. WPR: What is the nature and extent of economic and military ties between Malaysia and China, how have ties evolved in recent years, and what impact has the South China Sea disputes had on them? Yang Razali Kassim: Economic ties […]

Then-Finance Minister Bill English, right, with then-Prime Minister John Key, left, Wellington, New Zealand, May 21, 2015 (AP photo by Mark Mitchell).

Bill English was chosen on Dec. 12 to be New Zealand’s new prime minister after John Key, who had led the National Party to three election victories since 2008, surprised the country by stepping down. In an email interview, Jon Johansson, a senior lecturer at Victoria University, discusses New Zealand politics. WPR: What have been John Key’s major domestic and foreign policy accomplishments, and where has his record been less successful? Jon Johansson: Key’s major domestic legacy achievements include his crisis leadership following the Christchurch earthquakes in 2010 and 2011; his government’s progress in advancing historical Treaty of Waitangi claims […]

Trade representatives from South Korea, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and Panama at a meeting, Houston, Tx., June 18, 2015 (Photo from the South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy).

Representatives from South Korea, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and Panama concluded negotiations for a free trade deal last month, with the final agreement expected to be signed next June. In an email interview, Won-Ho Kim, director of the Latin American studies program and of the Center for International Cooperation and Strategy at the Graduate School of International and Area Studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, discusses South Korea’s trade relations with Central America. WPR: How extensive is trade between South Korea and Central America, and what are the expected effects of the recently signed free trade […]

Former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed, in white, tussles with policemen who stopped him from speaking to journalists, Male, Maldives, Feb. 23, 2015 (AP photo by Sinan Hussain).

In this week’s Trend Lines podcast, WPR’s editor-in-chief, Judah Grunstein, and senior editor, Frederick Deknatel, discuss Russia’s efforts to reassert itself as a global power and whether or not Moscow is succeeding. For the Report, JJ Robinson talks with Peter Dörrie about the many problems facing the Maldives. Listen: Download: MP3Subscribe: iTunes | RSS Relevant Articles on WPR: Even With Aleppo’s Fall, Syria’s Assad Will Keep Looking Over His Shoulder What Could Trump’s Russia Policy Actually Look Like? Why Climate Change Is the Least of the Maldives’ Worries Will ‘Lip Service’ Reforms End Up Changing Morocco’s Politics? Is Macri’s Moment […]

Foreign tourists arrive at a resort, Kurumba Island, Maldives, Feb. 12, 2012 (AP photo Gemunu Amarasinghe).

On the morning of Aug. 17, 2014, an officer in the special operations section of the Maldives police force heard the beep of an incoming message from his cell phone. It was from Ahmed Adeeb, who at the time was the country’s tourism minister. “You guys need to focus on this auditor general,” he wrote in his message, referring to Ibrahim Niyaz, who had been investigating corruption in the country’s tourism marketing authority, the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC). “No worries,” the officer texted back. “Maybe we need to light up his office, as he is continuously making […]

A Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force surveillance plane flying over the disputed islands, called the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, in the East China Sea, Oct. 13, 2011 (Kyodo News photo via AP).

After meeting briefly on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Lima, Peru, last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe acknowledged the need for improved ties. Despite the diplomatic gesture, though, relations remain strained. Next year marks the 45th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and the People’s Republic of China, but celebrants of that auspicious occasion may unfortunately find little reason to cheer. The most immediate source of tension stems from a deepening confrontation in recent months over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, which China claims as the […]

Members of the Japan Self-Defense Forces arrive to take part in the U.N. Mission in South Sudan, Juba, South Sudan, Nov. 21, 2016 (AP photo by Justin Lynch).

A new, expanded mandate for the Japanese military, known as the Self-Defense Forces (SDF), participating in the United Nations mission in South Sudan went into force Monday. Japanese soldiers are now allowed to rescue humanitarian workers under attack and play a larger role in protecting U.N. camps. In an email interview, Ippeita Nishida, a research fellow at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, discusses the Japanese military’s overseas activities. WPR: What U.N. and multilateral security missions is Japan participating in, and what is public opinion toward participating in them? Ippeita Nishida: Japan has a 350-strong SDF engineering unit and some staff officers […]

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a press conference after meeting with President-elect Donald Trump, New York, Nov. 17, 2016 (AP photo by Kathy Willens).

Donald Trump’s surprising election victory has been met with caution around the world as America’s friends and rivals try to gauge the future direction of U.S. foreign policy under the new administration. In Japan, whose cornerstone relationship with Washington helps guide U.S. strategy in Asia, Trump’s win has elicited pause and an intense effort to shore up Japanese interests. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was quick to send a congratulatory cable to the president-elect, lauding his victory and indulging him by complimenting his acumen as a successful businessman. Abe followed up with a shrewd move to arrange a face-to-face meeting with […]

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a joint press conference, Tokyo, Japan, Nov. 11, 2016 (AP photo by Franck Robichon).

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Japan last month saw the conclusion of an India-Japan nuclear deal that had long been in the works. Not so many years ago, that development would have elicited major international reaction, given India’s status as a nonsignatory of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The lack of such reaction to the latest bilateral agreement is perhaps due to the fact that India already has 14 such deals in place, with a list of countries that includes the United States, Russia and France. Nevertheless, that India became the first non-NPT country to firm up such […]

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the Mediterranean Dialogues Summit, Rome, Dec. 2, 2016 (AP Photo by Gregorio Borgia).

The buzz in foreign policy circles this week has been over President-elect Donald Trump’s phone conversation with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, which overturned decades of protocol governing official U.S. contact with the government of Taiwan. It seems that the conversation was not a casual faux pas, but a purposeful decision by the Trump transition team. Now diplomats in Beijing and Washington have to cope with the fallout. But if the essential function of diplomacy has lost some of its sheen in Washington, it is not only the result of Trump’s iconoclastic approach. Traditional diplomacy has also been weakened by competition […]

President-elect Donald Trump arrives for a party at the home of a campaign donor, Head of the Harbor, N.Y., Dec. 3, 2016 (AP photo by Evan Vucci).

Donald Trump has a striking knack for simplifying complex international problems. For years, for example, scholars have debated whether China will be a constructive or disruptive global power. Many have argued that it could take decades to find out. Thanks to Trump, we could know the answer in just a few months. In recent days, Trump has managed to antagonize Beijing by speaking with Taiwan’s president, and doubled down on his provocation by calling out China’s economic policy and military posture on Twitter. This should not come as an utter surprise: The president-elect was frequently critical of China on the […]

Indians stand in line to withdraw money from an ATM, Hyderabad, India, Nov. 19, 2016 (AP photo by Mahesh Kumar A.).

On Nov. 8, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that 500-rupee and 1,000-rupee notes would be withdrawn from circulation, a move designed to tackle corruption that instead has created chaos and disproportionately affected India’s poor, who depend on the informal economy. In an email interview, Jan Breman, an emeritus professor at the University of Amsterdam, discusses India’s informal economy. WPR: How large is India’s informal economy, how many people participate in it, and how much tax revenue does the government lose from it? Jan Breman: The informal economy in India “employs” close to half a billion men, women and children, […]

An offshore drilling rig at a dock before it departs for the South China Sea, Yantai, eastern China's Shandong province, April 30, 2015 (Imaginechina photo via AP).

With China’s aggressive posture in the South China Sea undermining the popular narrative of its peaceful rise, many experts correctly point to the dual tides of nationalism and militarization as drivers of hostile behavior. But leaning too heavily on these explanations conceals a third factor behind Beijing’s maritime claims: a burgeoning demand for energy. Already the world’s largest energy consumer, China will only need more in the coming years to maintain sustained urbanization and industrialization. As more people move into cities and China’s economic output rapidly expands, its energy consumption will increase by nearly 50 percent through 2035, accounting for […]