South East Asia

Now that we are fewer than 50 days away from the start of the Biden administration, it is worth considering how U.S. counterterrorism policy priorities will shift. We should anticipate the Biden foreign policy team — led by Secretary of State-designee Antony Blinken, U.S. Ambassador-designee to the United Nations Linda Thomas Greenfield and incoming national security adviser Jake Sullivan — will reinvigorate U.S. multilateral counterterrorism efforts at the United Nations and elsewhere.

From drug revenue to extortion to charitable donations, the Taliban has plenty of avenues to fill their coffers.

The Taliban militants of Afghanistan have grown richer and more powerful since their fundamentalist Islamic regime was toppled by U.S. forces in 2001.

Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri has died of natural causes in Afghanistan, according Afghanistan and Pakistan media on Friday.

Taiwan has two defense procurement deals with the United States in the pipeline for 2021, worth approximately US$8 billion, Vice Defense Minister Chang Che-ping (張哲平) said Monday during a legislative hearing.

Last week, the New York Times reported that in August of this year, Israeli agents killed al-Qaeda’s number two, Abu Mohammed al-Masri, in Tehran.

Credible rumors recently circulated that al-Qaeda’s current leader Ayman al-Zawahiri died of natural causes, although this remains unconfirmed.

Through its Belt and Road Initiative, China seeks to play a larger role in the Black Sea region. China has been wooing littoral states in hopes of securing new markets for its goods and investing in infrastructure projects.