International Organizations

As defence chiefs from 26 countries gathered for the annual Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore in May, all eyes were on the US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and his Chinese counterpart Admiral Sun Jianguo, Deputy Chief of the...

Greece was the first non-member to be offered BRICS membership, even though ironically the association of the emerging economies is yet to take off. The New Development Bank (NDB) operated by the five member-countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and...

As the focus of the West was fixated in Greece and Iran, the 7th BRICS Summit began a massive shift from a dialogue to an economic partnership – one whose full impact will be witnessed in the coming years. The...

The BRICS Development Bank launched. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is taking off. Where is Nigeria? As a slate of long-term projections suggest, Nigeria’s huge economic potential requires huge determination. When Muhammadu Buhari took over from Goodluck Jonathan, he ran...

The launch of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank heralds a new era in which international multilateral institutions are no longer owned, controlled and operated by advanced economies alone. The launch of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank heralds a new era...

Indonesia’s experience within ASEAN has been that leadership in a world of sovereign states must be earned and nurtured, not imposed at will. Indonesia’s experience within ASEAN has been that leadership in a world of sovereign states must be earned...

Japanese policymakers received a shock when they heard in late March that 57 countries, including some of the United States’ closest allies, had applied to join the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). While China has steadily been on the...

The South China Sea has become a flashpoint for conflict between China and some of its ASEAN neighbours, particularly the Philippines and Vietnam. China’s recent land reclamation around the Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands has also strained relations between...

In June 2015, negotiators concluded discussions in Singapore on draft Articles of Agreement of the nascent Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). India is a founding member of the AIIB and expects to have the second-largest shareholding after China. Global media...

Seventy years ago, the global governance institutions of the United Nations, World Bank, and IMF were created. They have certainly contributed to peace and enabling global economic and financial growth. However, the global environment has undergone an immense evolution since...

After a late flurry of additions to the founding membership of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), attention now turns to setting the China-led AIIB’s rules and regulations. Important questions remain — most importantly, whether the AIIB is a potential...

Despite obstacles, the White House continues to push preferential trade deals in Asia and Europe.  However, neither can reverse the erosion of U.S. innovation and in Asia Pacific, the proposed pact is more likely to divide than unify the region....

The president of FIFA appeared impregnable for the past 17 years, but the pressure from media, the sponsors and US investigators became irresistible. Until his surprise resignation provided another dramatic twist in this week’s FIFA revelations, Sepp Blatter seemed impregnable...

The rise of China and its growing influence in the Asia Pacific puts ASEAN unity and centrality to its biggest test in years. Although ASEAN leaders are trying to downplay the seriousness of this concern, their differences are publicly on...

Arrests of the leaders of the international football federation FIFA on corruption charges happened in Zurich, Switzerland. The police arrested seven FIFA officials though 14, both in and out of the group, are facing charges of high-level corruption. The arrests...