South Pacific

In New Caledonia, France Sees Foreign Meddling

Antonia Colibasanu - May 22, 2024

French President Emmanuel Macron held an emergency meeting on May 20 with his defense and security council to discuss the unrest in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia. During two other council meetings in the past week, Paris first declared a state of emergency in the territory and then deployed the gendarmerie, the French […]

Daily Memo: China and Russia Discuss Sanctions Workarounds, Military Ties

Geopolitical Futures - May 16, 2024

No limits. China and Russia will create the financial infrastructure to sanction-proof payments between their countries, expand the scale of joint military exercises and...

Daily Memo: Iranian Outsourcing, Israeli Forces in Rafah

Geopolitical Futures - May 7, 2024

Weapons in Yemen. Iran is building drone and ballistic missile factories in Yemen to avoid targeting by future U.S. and Israeli attacks, Kuwaiti newspaper...

Daily Memo: Russian Drills, Xi in France

Geopolitical Futures - May 6, 2024

Russian response. Russia announced that it will hold drills simulating the use of tactical nuclear weapons after France and the United Kingdom made comments...

Daily Memo: South Pacific Competition, Turkish Foreign Policy Blitz

Geopolitical Futures - April 23, 2024

Defining freedom. Australia wants to strengthen ties with Papua New Guinea to promote Pacific stability and counter China's regional expansionism, Australian Prime Minister Anthony...

Daily Memo: US and Japan to Overhaul Defense Partnership

Geopolitical Futures - April 11, 2024

Major U.S.-Japan upgrade. U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida agreed to upgrade command and control and boost military operability and...

Our Trip to the Western Pacific

George Friedman - March 29, 2024

My wife and I are returning from a six-week trip spanning New Zealand, Australia and Japan. The trip’s purposes were both personal and work-related....

Daily Memo: Russia Targets Ukraine’s Energy Infrastructure

Geopolitical Futures - March 22, 2024

Russian strikes. Last night, Russia carried out the largest attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in several months, Ukraine's energy minister said. Energy facilities and...

Daily Memo: Serbia Beefs Up Defenses, EU Reaches Ukraine Trade Deal

Geopolitical Futures - March 20, 2024

Plugging the defense gap. Serbia recently acquired essential components for its 2K12 Kub air defense system from Hungary. The deal includes procurement of target...

Daily Memo: Palestinian Talks, EU Funding for Ukraine

Geopolitical Futures - March 13, 2024

No agreement. The head of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, has refused to participate in a trip to Moscow following a meeting of Palestinian...

Daily Memo: China’s Economic Targets, North Korea Denounces Joint Drills

Geopolitical Futures - March 5, 2024

China stays the course. At the opening of China's 14th National People's Congress, Premier Li Qiang presented his first government work report, outlining 10...