LATEST PULSE

On September 10, 2025, China designated Scarborough Shoal, a 50-kilometer-wide triangular cluster of rocks and reefs in the South China Sea, as a protected marine reserve. While presented as an environmental measure, the move immediately sparked controversy, with the Philippines condemning it as an attempt to assert control over a strategically important waterway. The shoal lies just 134 nautical miles from the Filipino coast, within Manila's exc...

The Philippine's economy is projected to grow 5.6% in 2025 and 5.7% in 2026, according to the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) latest "Asian Development Outlook" report from September 30. This keeps the country on track as one of Southeast Asia's fastest-growing economies, second only to Vietnam. Despite global trade uncertainty and heightened geopolitical risks, strong domestic demand, easing inflation, and sustained infrastructure spending ...

Since gaining independence in 1948, Myanmar has struggled with chronic instability, much of it rooted in its complex ethnic landscape. Ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) emerged in the wake of unfulfilled promises of autonomy, and by 1962 the military junta had seized power, curbing minority rights and waging brutal campaigns against insurgent groups. For more than half a century, Myanmar remained under military rule.   Hopes for a democrat...

On August 31, 2025, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his first official visit to China in seven years for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit. This meeting was highly significant for both Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, whose countries have much in common. Both are economic, political, and cultural powerhouses in Asia and globally, with nuclear capabilities and rapidly rising influence. And while relations between th...

The South China Sea (SCS) is one of today's most complex and strategic geopolitical arenas where overlapping territorial and maritime claims intersect with vast economic resources and critical security interests. Its centrality stems from its status as the world's main maritime route, carrying 24 percent of global maritime trade valued at $5.3 trillion, its abundance of natural resources including oil, gas and fisheries, and the overlapping ...