Global Watch

China’s plans to establish a permanent base on the Moon could shape who controls lunar resources and the strategic space between Earth and the Moon for decades to come. The race back to the Moon is no longer symbolic — it is becoming a contest over long-term access to the next frontier.   The Risk That China Controls the Moon First China says its lunar program is about peaceful exploration, but its long-term plans suggest some...

Pakistan is becoming a more important diplomatic actor in the Middle East crisis. As tensions and fighting between the United States, Israel, and Iran shook the region, Islamabad pushed for negotiations and ceasefire efforts instead of further escalation.   US President Donald Trump recently confirmed that Pakistan had requested a pause in parts of Washington’s military operations linked to the Strait of Hormuz crisis while talks wit...

Donald Trump is flying into Beijing with the world’s two most powerful rivals trapped in a dangerous bargain: they cannot trust each other, but they may no longer be able to afford a full rupture.   The summit with Xi Jinping, set for Thursday and Friday in Beijing, is not a diplomatic reset. It is a stress test for a fragile US-China truce built after years of tariffs, export threats, military tension, and strategic suspicion. &nbs...

A wave of deadly clashes on the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border, including attacks that killed Chinese workers inside Tajikistan in November, is raising the risk of broader instability across Central Asia and putting trade routes, energy links, foreign investment, and regional diplomacy under growing pressure.   Why the Tajikistan-Afghanistan Border Has Long Been So Volatile The Tajikistan-Afghanistan border took shape in the late 19th cent...

A small gold pin has pulled Venezuela and Guyana’s border dispute back into the center of Caribbean diplomacy.   Venezuelan leader Delcy Rodríguez has been wearing a brooch shaped like the country’s official map, including the Essequibo—the resource-rich region controlled by Guyana but claimed by Caracas. As she tours Caribbean capitals to rebuild Venezuela’s diplomatic ties, the symbol has been interpreted a...