South East Asia

In the immediate aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a once-hesitant Germany was shocked into reorienting its national security posture. In response to Moscow’s aggression, Chancellor Olaf Scholz proceeded to announce the creation of a 100-billion-euro supplemental fund for the German military, halt the approval of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline and support international sanctions and energy embargoes against Russia.

From his first days in office, Joe Biden and his national security advisers seemed determined to revive America’s fading global leadership via the strategy they knew best — challenging the “revisionist powers” Russia and China with a Cold War-style aggressiveness. When it came to Beijing, the president combined the policy initiatives of his predecessors, pursuing Barack Obama’s “strategic pivot” from the Middle East to Asia, while continuing Donald Trump’s trade war with China. In the process, Biden revived the kind of bipartisan foreign policy not seen in Washington since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

More than 250,000 Afghans seeking asylum have arrived in Pakistan since January 2021, according to the UN refugee agency.

Qaiser Khan Afridi, a spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Pakistan, has said that Pakistan is facing new inflows of asylum seekers from Afghanistan after the Islamic Emirate’s takeover of Kabul.

The world has been witnessing difficult situation for the refugees, living across the world due to ongoing global military conflicts. The ultimate targets, who suffered more in this situation, are refugees, be it Afghan or others. 20 June is an international day designated by the UN to honor refugees around the globe. It falls each year on June 20 and celebrates the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution. World Refugee Day is an occasion to build empathy and understanding for their plight and to recognize their resilience in rebuilding their lives.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for an attack on a Sikh temple in Afghanistan’s capital of Kabul that killed at least one worshipper and wounded seven others.

IS made the claim in a statement posted on its Amaq website late Saturday. It said the assault on “the Sikh and Hindu temple” was in response to alleged insults made against the Prophet Muhammad, the central figure of the Islamic religion, by an Indian government official. It did not name the official.

While attending the recent Shangri-La Dialogue on Security in Singapore, Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida Fumio stressed the need to oppose unilateral changes to the status quo by force, no matter where they occur. “I myself have a strong sense that Ukraine today may be East Asia tomorrow,” he warned. Needless to say, Kishida was referring to the possibility of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

The U.S. sought to bolster its support in Asia by reassuring nations they do not need to join a coalition against China, drawing a stark contrast with Beijing’s threats to defend its interests with military force, said Bloomberg.

The Bloomberg report — US Makes Asia Inroads by Playing Down Need to Oppose China — said on June 13:

From the very onset, the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has not only become a buzzword on the domestic political scene but sharply divided the domestic political spectrum of Pakistan. The debate surrounding CPEC can be broadly categorized into three types. The CPEC supporters see it as a panacea for most of Pakistan’s problems which is plausible, given its transformative potential.

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) welcomed an unprecedented $150 million contribution from the World Bank to provide critical livelihood and life-saving assistance to the most vulnerable rural populations in Afghanistan.