Protesters stage a “die-in” near the Presidential Palace to protest extrajudicial killings occurring  as part of President Rodrigo Duterte’s so-called war on drugs, Manila, Philippines, May 8, 2017 (AP photo by Bullit Marquez).

In this week’s Trend Lines podcast, WPR’s editor-in-chief, Judah Grunstein, and managing editor, Frederick Deknatel, discuss U.S. President Donald Trump’s just-announced summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the implications for U.S.-Russia and trans-Atlantic relations. For the Report, Ana Santos talks with WPR’s senior editor, Robbie Corey-Boulet, about efforts to hold Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte accountable for abuses committed in his bloody crackdown on drugs and petty crime. If you like what you hear on Trend Lines and what you’ve read on WPR, you can sign up for our free newsletter to get our uncompromising analysis delivered straight to your […]

Former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou is greeted by former Haitian President Michel Martelly at the airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Aug. 13, 2013 (AP photo by Dieu Nalio Chery).

They may be far from East Asia, but Central America and the Caribbean have become important battlegrounds as Taiwan tries to stave off further international isolation. The regions occupy a disproportionately large place in Taiwan’s foreign relations, home to 13 of its 32 technical missions, and 10 of its 18 embassies—more than Asia and Africa combined. Yet in the past year, China has pulled away two of Taiwan’s oldest allies there, Panama and most recently the Dominican Republic, which severed its diplomatic ties to Taiwan this spring, enticed by some $3 billion in Chinese incentives, according to Taipei. Panama’s decision […]

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his wife, Kim Jung-sook, review an honor guard, Moscow, Russia, June 21, 2018 (AP photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko).

South Korean President Moon Jae-in returned from a three-day visit to Russia on Sunday, the first South Korean leader to make a state trip there since 1999. In Moscow, Moon addressed the State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s parliament, held talks with President Vladimir Putin, and signed agreements to expand economic cooperation. He capped off the visit with a World Cup match between South Korea and Mexico in the southern port city of Rostov-on-Don. Putin’s aims in hosting Moon seem straightforward enough. He wants to mitigate the hostility he faces from the West by reaching out in the other […]

A protester displays a mock target with an image of an alleged victim of extrajudicial killings during a rally in Manila, Philippines, Dec. 10, 2017 (AP photo by Bullit Marquez).

CALOOCAN, Philippines—The battlefield of this war looks like any other bustling urban district in the Philippines. The sidewalks are crammed with street vendors selling everything from food to underwear. Pedestrians zigzag through the roads, avoiding motorized rickshaws known as tricycles and careening jeepneys, the colorful converted jeeps that are the country’s most common form of public transportation. The air is thick with smog and heavy with the sound of blaring horns and screeching tires. Set back from the streets are rows of makeshift homes stitched together by pieces of wood, corrugated steel and tarpaulin. This is Bagong Silang, an informal […]

Pakistani journalists gather for a rally to mark World Press Freedom Day, Karachi, Pakistan, May 3, 2018 (AP photo by Fareed Khan).

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing series about press freedom and safety in various countries around the world. Last week, the Pakistani daily Dawn reported that its distributors and vendors were experiencing harassment and intimidation in several cities to prevent them from delivering the paper to subscribers. That followed an incident in April, in which the country’s largest television channel, Geo, was blocked by its cable operators across 80 percent of the country. Many in Pakistan saw the hand of the military behind the incidents. In an email interview, Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia Program […]

People from Pakistan’s tribal areas participate in a rally demanding the release of suspects being held because of their alleged links to militants, Karachi, Pakistan, April 8, 2018 (AP photo by Fareed Khan).

Last month, Pakistan made one of the most important political moves in its 70-year history. Parliament passed legislation, officially the 25th Constitutional Amendment Bill, which paves the way for the merger of Pakistan’s semi-autonomous Federally Administered Tribal Areas with the neighboring province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. On May 31, Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain signed the bill into law. Pakistan’s tribal belt will now come under the writ of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s provincial government. North Waziristan, South Waziristan and the rest of Pakistan’s seven tribal agencies will become districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. No longer will they be loosely administered by national government representatives known as political […]

U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at a signing ceremony during their meeting on Sentosa Island, Singapore, June 12, 2018 (AP photo by Evan Vucci).

The world has been fixated this week on the Singapore summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un, the ruler of North Korea. As the first-ever meeting between the serving leaders of these two bitter enemies, it was seen as an opportunity to redirect a relationship that only a few months ago seemed to be lurching toward armed conflict, and the risk of nuclear war. The outcome from Singapore, though, was less an equitable step forward than a clear win for Kim. Since the unexpected summit was put together very quickly, while surviving a sudden and soon-reversed cancellation […]

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, hold talks, United Arab Emirates, April 30, 2018 (Kyodo photo via AP).

Japan has been telegraphing its concerns to the United States about the potential impacts of the Trump administration’s decision last month to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal. One Japanese official recently acknowledged Tokyo’s anxieties that it may be forced to cut off Iranian oil imports, which have resumed after the nuclear agreement was inked in 2015 and currently total some 170,000 barrels per day. An official from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry recently indicated Tokyo does not want that to change and hopes for an exemption from sanctions the U.S. is preparing to impose again on […]

North Korea leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump at the conclusion of their meetings at the Capella resort on Sentosa Island, Singapore, June 12, 2018 (AP photo by Susan Walsh).

Let’s get this out of the way up top: The outcome of yesterday’s summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is preferable to nuclear war. That’s a pretty low bar, of course, but lowering the bar increasingly seems like Trump’s one area of expertise. In any event, we can all be glad that he—and Kim—cleared it. After that, the verdict is less forgiving for Trump. When stripped of all its smoke and mirrors, its oddball pageantry and puffery, the summit delivered a boilerplate document rehashing previous talking points on both sides, with no new […]

Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomes Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a meeting during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Qingdao, China, June 10, 2018 (AP photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko).

On his five-nation swing through Asia last November, U.S. President Donald Trump touted his administration’s vision for a “free and open Indo-Pacific.” The idea of focusing attention and resources on the world’s most populous region, where America’s economic future lies, struck most observers as smart and strategic, although the details remained vague and were difficult to square with his moves to dismantle his predecessor’s trade policies in Asia. But now Trump’s emerging Middle East strategy, marked most of all by his withdrawal last month from the Iran nuclear deal, may derail whatever goals he has in Asia before they get […]

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen greets garment workers on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Aug. 23, 2017 (AP photo by Heng Sinith).

In the run-up to Cambodia’s national elections next month, long-ruling Prime Minister Hun Sen, in power since 1985, has taken no chances of a political shocker similar to the opposition win in nearby Malaysia in early May. To ensure that he and his party triumph again, Hun Sen has in the past year overseen the dissolution of the major opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party, or CNRP; harassed many opposition politicians into exile or tossed them in jail; and torn apart a vibrant and independent Cambodian media. Hun Sen and the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, or CPP, will now […]

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviews an honor guard, accompanied by Indonesian President Joko Widodo, during their meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, May 30, 2018 (AP photo Darren Whiteside).

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi used a three-country tour of Southeast Asia in the late May and early June to tout his “Act East” policy. In Indonesia, he signed a deal to develop the country’s Sabang port at the mouth of the strategic Malacca Strait, while pledging to boost security and maritime cooperation. And in an address to the Shangri-La Dialogue, a forum on Asian security issues in Singapore, he pledged India’s commitment to free navigation and a rules-based order for maritime security in Asia. In an email interview, Anubhav Gupta, the assistant director of the Asia Society Policy Institute […]

Protesters attach stickers that read “Apology” to a fellow protester wearing a mask of U.S. President Donald Trump during a rally against Washington’s handling of the North Korea issue, Seoul, South Korea, May 25, 2018 (AP photo by Ahn Young-joon).

After the initial public euphoria about an imminent breakthrough in their decades-long crisis with North Korea, South Koreans who work professionally on foreign and national security policy are taking a more strategic and sober view of recent events. Many worry about the consequences of a change in their relationship with the United States, while others see important economic and political opportunities ahead. I just returned from a week of meetings in Seoul and Incheon with scholars from universities, government agencies and think tanks, as part of a delegation from George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government. I came […]

East Timorese independence hero Xanana Gusmao is cheered by supporters following negotiations that settled the sea border between East Timor and Australia, Dili, East Timor, March 11, 2018 (AP photo by Valentino Darriel).

On May 12, East Timor voted in early parliamentary elections, after last year’s indecisive elections produced a minority government and political paralysis. Following a campaign that was tarnished by some incidents of political violence, the Change for Progress, or AMP, coalition of opposition parties won 34 of 65 seats. A court challenge by the defeated Fretilin party over alleged irregularities was rejected by an appeals court last week, opening the way for the AMP to form a government. In an email interview, Guteriano Neves, a policy analyst based in East Timor’s capital, Dili, discusses the election results, the AMP’s policy […]