Min Aung Hlaing’s September 4 trip to Hanoi — his third ASEAN state visit — underscores the junta’s drive to reclaim regional legitimacy as bilateral trade has fallen by more than 60 percent since 2020.
Tag: diplomacy
Posted inGeopolitics
Ratcliffe Flies to Moscow With a Warning on NATO and a Plea to Cut Iran Loose
CIA Director John Ratcliffe made a secret visit to Moscow on August 26, meeting Russian intelligence chief Sergei Naryshkin to warn against NATO attacks and urge Russia to end its support for Iran.
Posted inWorld
Norway’s King Harald V Dies at 89 After 35 Years on the Throne
King Harald V of Norway died on Friday at Oslo’s National Hospital at age 89, ending a reign of more than 35 years; his son Crown Prince Haakon automatically became King Haakon VIII.
Posted inGeopolitics
Iran Signals Attack Halt as US Pauses 13-Day Strike Campaign
After thirteen consecutive days of US air and naval strikes, Washington paused military operations against Iran on July 26 and Tehran indicated it would reciprocate, opening the first serious diplomatic space since the conflict began.
Posted inGeopolitics
Rubio and Wang Yi Converge on Manila for ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Week
The Philippines opens its 2026 ASEAN chairmanship ministerial week on July 18 with Marco Rubio, Wang Yi and Sergey Lavrov in attendance, as energy security and the Hormuz disruption dominate the substantive agenda.
Posted inGeopolitics
Iran ceasefire on massive life support as Hormuz-first demand stalls the one-page deal
Six weeks after a Pakistan-brokered truce halted US-Iran hostilities, both sides remain deadlocked over sequencing in a 14-point memorandum that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and defer nuclear talks.
Posted inGeopolitics
Trump and Xi open Beijing summit on trade, Taiwan, and the Strait
The two leaders agreed to pursue a ‘constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability’ on the first day of a two-day state visit, with the Strait of Hormuz, Taiwan, and rare earths all on the table alongside tariffs.