Diplomacy & Crisis News

If disaster response is the Indonesian Navy's true priority, expanding and modernizing its existing fleet would deliver far greater returns.

What Vietnam thinks about the Trump administration's use of force in the Western Hemisphere.

Four of seven high priority sites have been remediated, with work underway at a fifth, partially completed but apparently stalled at a sixth, and unfunded at the seventh.

If passing legislation to deal with China is a remote prospect, the USCC should focus more on other tools with a higher chance of success.

A recent ruling could pave the way for the government to term any protest or demonstration, even those that are peaceful, as terrorist acts.

The Soviet Made ZSU-23-4 Shilka is slowly becoming a low cost drone killer for Ukraine in 2026.

The notion that the best defence is a good offence applies in many situations, but it is crucial that you always have a good defence to start with if you wish to keep yourself safe and capable of providing any offence. This bit of boxing and martial arts advice can be applied to military defensive measures as well, as too much offense or too much defence may win battles, but may also end up losing you the war.

The initial phases of the Ukraine War came with the furied use of special weapons systems like Javelins and other high tech anti-tank missiles during the first months of the war. Over the skies above the field of battle, the use of large and sophisticated anti-air missiles to shoot down lower cost missiles and more numerous drones took shape. While very effective, it also depleted the number of high end defence missiles that could be used against Hypersonic missile threats in the future. With the international stockpile of advance defense missiles being limited, the Hypersonic threats would become more aggressive as the years went on, and targets became harder to defend, even with successful tactical results. It has come to the point where nations that have defended themselves appropriately are now supplying interceptors to those who are in disarray in how to address their own defensive posture. While the irony exists, it remains to be seen if any lessons will be learned.

An idea which I had commented on several times since 2022 became reality as an initiative in support of Ukraine’s Armed Forces took the older Soviet ZSU-23-4 system and modernised it for anti-drone warfare. While the depletion of NATO defense systems through the attrition of advanced missiles on simple targets was likely planned by Russian forces, installing a low cost remedy to drone swarms was always the solution needed since the first day of the war. Made famous in the West in the movie The Flight of the Intruder, and through generations of active service in the East, the ZSU-23-4 Shilka was a mainstay of the Soviet Armed Forces since the 1970s. The Shilka acted as the protector of their mobile divisions through the use of a radar guided set of X4 23mm anti-aircraft cannons, mounted on a modified BTR-50 chassis, with the weapons system and radar based in a rotating turret on top of the hull.

The new privately donated initiative took to using the large global stockpile of ZSU-23-4s, re-equipping their radar and sensors with systems designed to combat drones, and redeploying the modernised ZSU-23-4MI Shilkas in the field in Ukraine. While this system is far from the most advanced, and would work only against aircraft and drones, it might be the best long term solution for the vastness of Ukraine. The best protection often comes in simple numbers, as opposed to high tech and very costly solutions. With little to nothing being done to destroy the source of the drone threats since 2022 by NATO, there has never truly been an offense to speak of in combination with these defensive measures. As with boxing and martial arts, to win a fight, you have to decide to fight it, as defense only strategies welcomes more violence from the other side.

While simple low cost responses to threats start to emerge as battlefield solutions in 2026, the basic tenets of defending one’s society also comes from having a proper defence, or simply put, an appropriate level of safety on the streets of our nations. The many instances where thoughts and prayers are given after negligent policies results is an ever losing strategy. A coordinated narrative that downplays real threats in our streets likely comes from intent, not negligence, as it literally ignores the need for security. Slow, lacking, or absence in responding to known threats when the opposite is apparent is already the biggest threat to societies worldwide. As with a losing strategy, leaders who fail must be made to exit their roles, and it should be standard that their ties and links to the results should be formally and systemically investigated. If you wish to end a war, you have to fight the war, defensively and offensively at once. This starts with protecting yourself.

Des films sortent, des films ressortent. Un événement, parfois, se produit. C'est plus rare qu'on ne le dit. Ce nom, la rétrospective dont il est question ici le mérite absolument. À l'occasion du cinquantenaire de sa mort, le distributeur Carlotta a proposé un certain nombre de films réalisés (…) / Cinéma, France, Région, Langue

Michael Kugelman previews the major events to watch: upcoming elections in Bangladesh and Nepal, the India-Pakistan conflict, and ever-volatile relations with the U.S.

Growing corporate debt, the never-ending construction of Rogun, and lack of debt management transparency from the government add to the fiscal pressure on the country’s budget.

India is facing complex choices in navigating China’s state-led control and the US’ chaotic and fragmented AI governance regulation.

Pyongyang accused Seoul of sending drones to its territory. Seoul rejected the claim, saying it has no intention to make provocations.

For Takaichi, U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to capture the president of Venezuela and his fiery rhetoric toward Greenland create a particularly difficult conundrum. 

New Delhi needs to go back to the drawing board and figure out how to reframe its relationship with Washington.

Meanwhile, opportunist neighbors seek business ties with the junta.

Neither America nor China can achieve true tech dominance.

Imagining a bloodless Trump takeover.

The announcement came as Michael DeSombre, the U.S. assistant secretary for East Asia and the Pacific, visited both nations for talks related to the border dispute.

The International Court of Justice in The Hague today opens hearings into the genocide case initiated by The Gambia in 2019.

The two governments said that there were insufficient safeguards against the Grok chatbot from being used to generate pornographic imagery.

In 2025, Philippine politics was dominated by political feuds and rising public anger at high-level government corruption.