Showing 1 - 10 of 23
Washington pulling back from the world
News, Peter Apps, Published on 04/04/2016
» For many in the US, the attacks on Brussels must have felt like more of the same. Once again, militants struck, the systems designed to stop them failed and all the blood and treasure of 15 years of "war on terror" appear more wasted than ever.
Trump's brave new world of Twitter diplomacy
News, Peter Apps, Published on 08/12/2016
» When it comes to managing relations with China, Donald Trump is tearing up the rulebook. First by using Twitter to announce his telephone call with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, and then in his Sunday afternoon complaints over Beijing's economic and military policy.
Kim knows exactly what he's doing
News, Peter Apps, Published on 10/03/2017
» With a suspected role in the assassination of his estranged half-brother and a string of increasingly aggressive missile tests, the North Korean leader appears to be testing the patience not just of Washington but also his key ally, China. It's a high-stakes game that may push the region into the worst conflict it has ever seen. Kim Jong-un's actions have a ruthless internal logic, however, and while he has a plan, there is no sign that anyone has a coherent strategy for stopping him.
Syria, NK a fine balancing act for US
News, Peter Apps, Published on 14/04/2017
» If there were ever any doubt that US President Donald Trump's strike against Syria was also intended to send a message to Pyongyang, the deployment this weekend of a US carrier strike group towards the Korean Peninsula should have cleared it up.
From Trump to Europe crises, what to watch in 2018
News, Peter Apps, Published on 29/12/2017
» Professional forecasters like to say that making predictions is difficult, particularly about the future. As we reach the end of 2017, however, here are some of the key themes -- and questions -- that look set to shape global events next year.
Why Kim Jong-un wanted a diplomatic offensive
News, Peter Apps, Published on 12/01/2018
» Last year Kim Jong-un shocked the world with the unexpected speed of his nuclear missile development, his brutal crackdown on apparent rivals and suspicions that he ordered the assassination of his half-brother with a chemical nerve agent. This year, the North Korean leader is opening January with a diplomatic offensive -- but that doesn't mean a change of strategy.
Putin's nuclear-tipped hybrid war
News, Peter Apps, Published on 05/03/2018
» This month marks the fourth anniversary of Russia's March 2014 annexation of Crimea, an event that shocked the world and shook European faith in the post-Cold War security order. In retrospect, it has become clear that, for Russian President Vladimir Putin, annexing the peninsula was not so much an end goal as a declaration of future intent, an early escalation in a broader and more ambitious effort that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko recently termed, with little obvious exaggeration, Russia's "World Hybrid War" on Western democracy itself.
Syria strike leaves murky aftermath
News, Peter Apps, Published on 20/04/2018
» The US-led strikes on Syria may be over, at least for now, but the war that produced them -- as well as the wider international confrontations that fuelled it -- is only getting more complex.
What a nuke deal with Kim Jong-un might look like
News, Peter Apps, Published on 26/04/2018
» For much of the last few decades, powerful speakers on the South Korean border have blasted propaganda to nearby North Koreans, everything from Korean pop songs to news about the number of cars in the affluent South. On Monday, they stopped -- the latest step in a high-stakes diplomatic dance.
A reality check on Korea nuke talks
News, Peter Apps, Published on 24/05/2018
» When US President Donald Trump and his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in first agreed to meet in Washington on Tuesday, they seemed to genuinely believe they might be on the brink of a major rapprochement with the North. Now, there are concerns over whether the much-touted summit between Mr Trump and Kim Jong-un scheduled for Singapore on June 12 will happen at all.