The one-year ban on Chinese research ships shows Colombo ‘did not wish to trigger any tensions’ with its neighbour, given India’s economic and military capabilities in the region.
Asean defence ministers to meet in Jakarta to discuss regional challenges, including the rising tensions over the territorial disputes in the South China Sea between China and the Philippines.
Analysts warn of a spike in Hamas-inspired radicalisation and plummeting interfaith relations, cautioning that an increasingly distracted Washington’s attention will remain elsewhere – unless China ‘does something drastic’.