Starting from zero: A fresh grad’s take on PR in the age of AI
- Where do the skills andnbsp that have been learned presently fit? How can I stand out from the crowd alongside AI? What view may I offer from a human standpoint?
- Students should have stronger emotional intelligence, stronger crucial thinking, and adaptability, as well as using AI as a help system.
How does one gain experience when artificial intelligence ( AI ) is becoming less and less popular as entry-level positions become available?
As a recent grad in event management and public relations, I’m getting ready to work in a field where I’ve spent years training. The first thing I learned was that knowledge is built from the ground upward. Years of seminars, group projects, jobs, and many discussions with business professionals followed. But here I am, perched on top of a quickly redefining business definition of “entry-level.”
I do not read from a place of authority because I have yet to provide the professional world. What I do have is closeness, to classrooms where we learned the A to Z of PR in principle, to intern positions where learning slowly occurred through study, and, most recently, to an economy talk that has gotten louder over the past month.  ,
AI has shifted from being a theoretical idea to a really real, provide force that seems to be sweeping us off our feet more quickly than we can find ourselves. It is already carrying out many of the tasks that a recent graduate would be expected to perform in the workplace. Which results in a constantly growing list of questions. Where do the knowledge I currently possess match? How can I distinguish myself from AI? And what perspective from a human perspective can I offer that no algorithm can actually provide?
I am aware that it is exhausting.
PR has usually been learned through murder and training. First drafts of fresh graduates are used to create press lists, monitor protection, coordinate events, and provide assistance to senior practitioners. These tasks are fundamentally early, despite being frequently repeated and even almost invisible. They impart knowledge that you can only learn through concept, such as inclination and judgment. These exact features are now being absorbed by AI resources developed for speed and efficiency more frequently than not.
And this is where I’m most uneasy. Not out of fear that AI will completely replace PR, but because it is aware that it could really quietly take away the room where beginners are supposed to grow. Where does the desire to develop the impulses we are expected to possess originate? And this is before we even get started talking about artificial general intelligence, which makes it seem even more out of reach for someone who hasn’t already made their first move into the field.
The adoption rate of AI has increased this issue over the past year, making it seem less fanciful and fast. In a sector where consumer budgets are always tighter, effectiveness and the need for speed are unquestionably appealing. Without any goal, using efficiency could overlook the human procedure that sustains the job. It may seem as though the rope is being shortened only as we are ready to begin our walk for those preparing to enter the workplace.
An emotional aspect is added as a result. We are repeatedly told as students to respect the well-known review, internship, graduate, and application cycles. When we spend years learning skills that can now be automated, there is confusion about validity as well as employment. So how do I demonstrate value in a world where learning is prioritized over rate?
However, with all the wisdom and strength that AI has, it has also become clear on what it may recreate. A deeper wisdom permeates the productivity of AI: PR is firmly rooted in the human condition. It involves comprehending people’s desires, thoughts, and cultural contexts. It involves schedule, compassion, and complexity. And no matter how sophisticated AI gets, it still struggles in these places.
A bot is unable to feel a community’s heartbeat during a crisis or comprehend the seriousness of a reputation that is at risk. AI lacks the personal depth that results from lived human experience. It cannot live up to the ethics, beliefs, or believe that characterize the sector. These characteristics are not possible by an engine to recreate.
And perhaps the market isn’t removing entry-level positions but reshaping them. The best PR firm may have completely integrated AI and human professionals who remain in the driver’s seat in the near future. AI is capable of performing simple tasks like creating early-stage material, market segmentation, data analysis, and the first press release draft. This enables PR specialists to concentrate on making ethical decisions, developing meaningful connections, and strategic storytelling.
While AI provides data, we add meaning to it. Students should be expected to reach with stronger critical thinking, agility, and emotional knowledge, using AI as a complement rather than treating it like a replacement.  ,
What we as fresh grads can bring to the table is priceless. We bring the heart of humanity to life. a desire to incorporate our own stories into the narratives that companies choose to show. We shape those tales, story their beginnings and endings, and give them personal depth that AI can’t match. We provide the people with authentic, fresh stories. AI can help with writing, but it is unable to create a message’s essence.
I think we should learn to adapt to AI so that we can use its power and put our efforts into society rather than endure it. We will use it to enhance rather than replace ( as I did for this commentary by putting my language in perspective ). To improve rather than to remove. There is still space to learn, develop, and explore the unique contributions we can make as the market changes and AI transforms our work. And in doing so, we will help identify what may follow, rather than just keeping up with change.
Anandpreet Kaur received a first-class honors degree in B. A. With an intern at a global communications firm, Taylor’s University earned a large connection degree in PR and event management, giving her hands-on experience in the fast-paced world of public relations and corporate communications.
Residents spot discoloured water at Sin Ming condominium after pipe leak: PUB
After a nearby pipe leak, some residents at the Flame Tree Park condominium in Sin Ming on Thursday ( January 1 ) noticed discolored water coming from their taps.
Around 9am, the National Water Agency PUB received an alert about a pipe hole near the intersection of Upper Thomson Road and Sin Ming Avenue.
” We promptly dispatched our service team to the location to find the leak’s source and begin the repair work. The organization informed CNA that no changes were made to the supply of water to nearby homes and businesses.
According to PUB, the deteriorated ocean that residents experienced was most likely the result of the hole, which resulted in the resuspension of metal sediments in the waters pipe network.  ,
According to the organization, repairs are continued and are anticipated to be finished by Friday.  ,
Water bags were distributed to the impacted residents for a temporary supply while PUB delivered a water carriage to the apartment.
According to PUB, the managing broker of Flame Tree Park likewise performed water flushing on the condominium’s tanks and pipes.  ,
Restaurant is looking into the root of the hose leak.
Thais, foreign tourists seek blessings on New Year’s Day
On New Year’s Day, Thai and international visitors flocked to churches, city pillars, and temples all over Thailand in search of gifts and good fortune for both themselves and their families.
At the City Pillar Shrine in Bangkok, huge crowds gathered to pray and observe the upcoming jubilee of 2026.
Wat Bowonniwet Vihara, which is close by, was bustling with devotees offering praise and giving congratulations.  ,
Crowds took part in alms-giving rites at Wat Arun Ratchawararam Ratchaworamahawihan, also known as the Temple of Dawn, one of the state’s most recognizable sights, hoping for good fortune this time. The Ruamkatanyu Foundation at Wat Hua Lamphong received numerous awards.
Thai and international travellers line up at Tha Tien Pier on Thursday to board a boat boat to Wat Arun on the other side of the Chao Phraya River. ( Photo: Apichart Jinakul )
Around 7am, merit-making activities took place in the northeast Khon Kaen province’s Wat Nong Wang Phra Aram Luang at the Phra Mahathat Kaen Nakhon Memorial Pagoda.
300 monks led by Abbot Phra Thep Wisutthikhun collected wheat and dried food from a large number of Buddhists to celebrate the New Year.
The abbot claimed that the custom of making merit in Thailand is a respected Thai custom that has been around for ages and aims to start the year with a strong sense of conviction. The priest anticipates at least 2,000 guests on New Year’s Day, with the funds going to universities for the deaf and children with disabilities.
Provincial government Anupong Suksomnit led 109 monks in an alms-giving service at the Thao Suranari Monument at around 6.30am in Nakhon Ratchasima under the direction of provincial governor Anupong Suksomnit.  ,
People of Buri Ram’s Lahan Sai city, which borders Cambodia and shares a border with Cambodia, make significance, give alms, and volunteer robes at Wat Pho Sai Thong. Surachai Piragsa is the photographer.
People of Buri Ram state gathered at Wat Pho Sai Thong to express their gratitude and fast before a massive statue of the adored priest Luang Pu Suk Thammachoto. Some prayed for harmony and expressed concern about potential conflicts if the peace agreement was not followed.
Suthita Manklang, a native of Buri Ram and a supporter of the Thai government, appealed for the government to solve border disputes quickly.
Wongduan Phiromsuk, 59, said she gave her life to the fallen men and called for swift action to stop further hostilities for the good of both the army and the border areas.
From early on Thursday night in the northeast, people from Nakhon Sawan state packed the City Pillar Shrine, offering flowers, incense sticks, lights, and garlands and praying for blessings, peace, and success throughout the year.
On Thursday, people in Nakhon Sawan province ask for blessings at the City Pillar Shrine. ( Photo: Chalit Poomruang )
Drink driving tops list of New Year road violations
New data indicates that over 90 % of highway traffic violations occurring between December 30 and December 31, 2025, were related to alcohol use. However, at least one fatality was brought on by poor usage of a map application.
More than 1, 150 customers violations were reported on Thursday by Director-General of the Department of Probation, Pol Capt Piya Raksakul.
According to data from the last moment of 2025, 95.04 percent of the breaches involved driving while under the influence ( DUI), with 56 cases involving different materials. Just one instance of speeding was discovered that morning.
Officials have been calling for strict actions against speeding and driving while” seven dangerous times” include a 271 accidents resulting in 53 deaths on the next day alone.
During the two-day police time, 1, 366 circumstances, or 92.74 percent, were recorded that involved consume driving. According to Pol Capt Piya, this is a lower of 162 cases from the same time last year.
Nonthaburi, Bangkok, and Samut Prakan were the top three regions for drink-driving-related incidents, with 174 cases and 131 situations.
Two women unintentionally killed a school freshman in a tragic event, sending him into a canal after their car struck his motorcycle. On Plasin Road in Bangkok’s Bang Khen area at 5am on January 1st, the crash was found.
The body of the 19-year-old student, who has only been identified as Patithep, was also recovered from Khlong Bang Bua by officers and rescue personnel. His Vespa bike was likewise returned in bad shape.
The two ladies were saved and taken to Paolo Kaset Hospital. Just Malee, 28, and Sukontha, 30, were given names for them.
Witnesses reported seeing their car and Vespa interact at great speed as they turned in.
Malee claimed they only noticed something they had hit just before veering off the road because they were traveling at normal speed and were focusing on their global positioning system ( GPS). She continued,” They did not see the motorcycle before or during their exit from the covered car.”
Both women have been subjected to liquor, and a case involving Patithep’s body has been undergoing an autopsy is pending.
Scam centers behind Thailand’s strangely strong baht? – Asia Times
Thailand’s baht, which increased by nearly 10 % against the US dollar in 2025, outperformed its main financial and economic fundamentals.
Spectators and experts have provided a variety of explanations. The leading hypothesis speculates that the reason for gold’s record performance in 2025, which was up about 67 % year over year, may be because Thailand is a significant silver trading hub and purchases are frequently made in ringgit. The idea is that metal buyers purchase baht, increasing the stock’s value in the process.
The Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Thailand have both made clear that bass strength is a problem that needs to be solved. The BoT issued an instruction this week to businesses to report any unusual currency transactions over US$$ 200,000. However, MoF is thinking about introducing a fresh tax  for virtual gold purchases.
Of course, having a strong dollar isn’t always a problem. When an economy is performing also, investors may anticipate strength as they invest in local currencies and invest in local businesses. The value of the local coin generally rises as a result of higher global demand.
However, the Thai market is not doing well, at least no by a long shot. The third quarter saw a slowdown in GDP growth of 1.8 % year over year, which is weak and has been for centuries. Foreign investors chasing yields are attracted to low interest rates, making them insecure. Concerningly higher public and private debts are both.
An overvalued ringgit causes a lot of problems. Imports are less expensive due to a solid baht, which lowers the relative demand for locally produced, competing goods. This sluggish private require causes a contraction in the local economy.
A sizable ringgit even harms the millions of farmers in Thailand. In a highly competitive global atmosphere, an overvalued currency can be the difference between profit and loss because agricultural goods frequently have low profit margins. This also applies to Thailand’s now struggling export-oriented companies.
Additionally, the high baht, which increases the cost of lodging, transport, goods, and dining for visitors who spend money in other countries, is hurting the important tourism industry. Travelers choosing local rivals has dropped by almost 10 % from last year. This year, visitor numbers in Vietnam increased by almost 20 %, and they increased by almost 15 % in Malaysia, for instance.  ,
Overall, the Thai market is strong, so the ringgit is not rising. Therefore, a strong money in such a fragile business requires more investigation because its potential harm and distortions are extensive and extensive. Why is the baht therefore but overvalued?
New, related headlines may provide the answer. In Thailand, allegations of high-level social activity that led to the resignation of a deputy finance minister have just turned into a contentious social issue. Fraud facilities in neighboring Cambodia and Myanmar are well-known for stealing tens of billions of dollars annually from people around the world, including Thai individuals.
Experienced analytical journalists from Singapore have written in-depth studies comparing Thailand’s fraud middle incomes to cash flows and money laundering. According to the reports, controlling stakes in a significant Thai funding organization and a big Thai energy company were fraudulently acquired with these large flows of funds. Additionally, they have identified significant Thai institutions as the entrants of illicit money.
The writers, Bradley Hope and Tom Wright, both of whom were former Wall Street Journal writers, shared the same details about the amazing 1MDB scandal in Malaysia in their guide,” Billion Dollar Whale.” The book is a sobering examination of the stunning simplicity with which foreign criminals can transfer billions of dollars in stolen funds around the world, and it is particularly pertinent to Thailand’s present scam center situation.
Wright and Hope have examined the income coming from a sizable portion of a much bigger pizza. Even so, the images they provide amount to trillions of illegal funds entering Thailand. The stolen goods are typically originally held by scam gangsters in the form of cryptocurrency, which must be converted ( laundered ) into a fiat currency, such as the baht, in order to be used globally.
If Wright and Hope’s monitoring is accurate, this may have led to significant buys of Thai baht, which may explain the stock’s unexpected appreciation. How much of the baht’s exorbitant worth is attributable to these unlawful flows? Given the insufficient amount of trustworthy public data, it’s difficult to accurately assess that.
” But it’s definitely everything, and this feature deserves to be in the conversations and analyses of policymakers in the region,” says renowned American economist and fund professional Sean Turnell, who is currently a senior colleague in the Southeast Asia Program at Australia’s Lowy Institute think tank.
Additionally, the scam gangsters are known to be well connected with one another, ranging from Chinese organized crime organizations to their local enablers. Successful behaviors have quickly spread among them. A technique that converted large sums of money from Cambodia to Thai baht has probably been used by other gangsters in Cambodia as well as those operating in nearby Myanmar and Laos.
Even Wright and Hope might have imagined that the scale of inflows to Thailand is much larger. So, are the scammers and their criminal accomplices to blame for the overpriced baht and the negative effects it has had on the Thai economy?
Of course, the funds must remain in baht for these illicit flows to truly affect the value of the currency. The baht would be sold almost as quickly as it was purchased if it were first converted to baht and then immediately changed to other currencies. However, as Wright and Hope’s claims to demonstrate, a significant portion of that money actually stays in Thailand, is invested in Thai businesses, and is being used to finance real estate and other purchases.
The perception of the baht as a regional” safe have n” might be a final factor in the baht’s strength. Being perceived as a” safe have n” by organized criminals is not the kind of vote of confidence that Thailand and its financial system need or want because so much of mainland Southeast Asia’s fund flows are generated by the vast scam industry.
Thai politicians, bureaucrats, financiers, and law enforcement officials are left wondering about the vast and illicit money flowing into Thai baht. These inquiries must be answered in order to safeguard the integrity of the Thai banking and political system. It is essential to the well-being of millions of regular Thai people.
Former economist and Southeast Asian affairs observer Larry Dohrs.
Zia led Bangladesh across its most decisive economic threshold – Asia Times
History is unusually merciless toward girls navigating enshrined masculine polities, and it rarely favors leaders who fail to text their own narratives. Khaleda Zia, the former prime minister of Bangladesh, passed ahead on December 30 and is still ensnared in that darkness.
She is regarded as a philosophical opponent of monarchy, a figure of snowy resolve, and a trained democrat with an unsurpassed electoral pedigree, if at all. The essence of her management has since vanished from the collective storage, though.
Zia was a key figure in Bangladesh’s current economic development because she was a three-time prime minister who was more than just a survivor of the disorganized post-junta transition. Under her leadership, the country underwent a significant change: it became a aggressive, export-driven, semi-industrialized state from a brittle, economic backwater.
When she came to power in 1991 following the government’s surrender, Bangladesh was suffocating under widespread poverty. More than 56 % of people were impoverished.
By the end of her first term, that rate had fallen to 53.1 %, displacing approximately five million people from poverty. It was a small but significant win for a young republic that was hampered by weak institutions and a rundown bank.
The breakthrough came from her next tenure, which spanned 2001 and 2006. In five years, poverty dropped from 48.9 % to 40 %, a nine-point drop.
Almost 13 million people escaped poverty in one expression, in profound terms. 18 million Bangladeshis have passed that level during her total of 18 years in power. Instead of being a consequence of state wealth, this was the effect of fundamental structural reform.
The progress is significant in a global context. China is praised for having experienced the greatest poverty reduction in past, thanks to export growth and industrial control. Under Zia, Bangladesh’s course followed that reasoning, though more subtly.
Through manufacturing work, international migration, booming exports, and a revitalized remote economy, wealth was forged.
Her policies tethered Bangladesh’s rural areas to international labor needs. Millions of people who often experienced subsistence stagnation were absorbed by the garment industry and foreign employment.
Unflashy and free of grandiloquent slogans, this rational political-economic maneuver worked out. For a legacy deserves much more recognition than it has now been given in the harsh ledger of history.
Khaleda Zia took the less traveled route, invoking Robert Frost’s well-known stop, before declining to promote the vacation. She gave in to her adversaries ‘ phrases and self-congratulation.
What is still evident from the perspective of backwardness is how decisively that choice silently helped to stabilize Bangladesh’s economy.
Imports are inevitable places where industrialization takes place. Zia inherited a landscape that is still reeling from the demise of cotton, a product that once ruled Bangladesh’s reputation internationally.
Ready-made clothing became the fundamental core of global integration under her leadership. Clothing exports nearly tripled during her first term, rising from 51 % to 65 % of total exports.
That foundation was stressed out by her next word. Bangladesh’s cotton industry was commonly anticipated to suffer as a result of the multi-fiber Arrangement’s world validity. It was unable to do so. Exports had increased by over 60 % by 2006, under Zia’s control, with clothing accounting for roughly 30 % of all exports.
The end result was a nationally competitive manufacturing engine that supported industrial capitalism in a country that had been for years seen as an economic aid case.
Her strategy to work movement was guided by the same understated pragmatism. Payments were only$ 764 million per year when she first took office, which is hardly a macro note. By 1996, they reached$ 1.2 billion.
They rose from$ 1.9 billion in 2001 to$ 4.8 billion in 2006, a 150 % increase in five years, during her second term. This was the direct result of deliberate, extreme work export strategies targeted at Southeast Asia and the Gulf.
Remittances evolved into Bangladesh’s casual security system, which supports remote spending, housing, education, and microinvestment. This financial lifeline was developed meticulously, years earlier, and without much fuss, which later served as the economic anchor during periods of political upheaval.
Instead of speech, fundamental transformation is how economic development is defined. Agriculture made up 30 % of Bangladesh’s GDP in 1991, while industry made up 21 %. By the end of Khaleda Zia’s second term in 2006, agriculture’s share had fallen to 20 %, while industry increased to 27 %.
For the first time in the country’s past, crops served as the nation’s main development website. A president chose the less traveled route and continued along that path lengthy enough for the economic landscape to change, which is how that change happened.
The transition from a peasant business to a semi-industrial society was a peaceful crossing of a historical criterion. The event took place without ritual or the words of glory.
Crucially, starvation was not the only factor in business growth. Corn production continuously increased during Zia’s tenure due to the proliferation of high-yield varieties, increased watering, and the combination of Boro cultivation.
Cutting activity increased, and food safety increased. Bangladesh moved toward corn self-sufficiency, breaking the persistent reliance on food aid that had much highlighted its vulnerability as a nation.
An economy that was shaped by logical care more than firm ideology reflected this balance, which was industrial acceleration without agrarian collapse. Khaleda Zia was able to survive the persistent shadow of military dominance, donor pressure, and persistent social polarization while operating in a hostile environment.
Although Zia’s management laid the foundations for Bangladesh’s commercial transition, she avoided the stereotypical technocratic idiom. She presided over the crucial moment when Bangladesh unwittingly crossed the threshold of famine and began a gradual, inevitable monetary change. It was significant even though it wasn’t a clean break or a finished journey.
Zia fought for social facts while refusing to give in to power. She emerged as a model of resistance in the face of unified authority, opposition silencing, and daily state excessive violence. That resistance remained nurturing and generative even as it gradually grew softer and more symbolic—almost silent.
The 2024 large revolt was born out of her bravery. A novel Bangladesh is emerging from that plant. On that note, Zia functions as a map point-to-hop rather than just a memory of the past.
Dr. Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir is a professor of economics at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh’s Department of Development Studies. He can be reached via internet at [email protected]. ad
US grants TSMC annual licence to import US chipmaking tools into China
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing ( TSMC) has been granted an annual license by the US government to import US chip manufacturing equipment to its Nanjing, China, chipmaker announced on Thursday ( Jan 1 )
The authorization “ensures uninterrupted fantastic operations… and product deliveries,” the organization said in a declaration to Reuters.
Similar buy permits have also been granted to South Korean companies Stat Hydro and Samsung Electronics.
As part of US efforts to stay ahead of China in technical enhancement, the Asian firms formerly had benefited from deductions from Washington’s extensive restrictions on chip-related exports to China.
However, those rights, known as approved end-user position, expired on December 31 and companies were forced to seek US export permits in 2026.
The US Department of Commerce granted TSMC Nanjing an annual trade registration, eliminating the need for personal vendor licenses, according to TSMC in a statement.
The license, according to it, “ensures continuous fantastic activities and product sales.”
No TSMC’s most advanced semiconductors, the Nanjing plant produces 16-nanometre and various mature node chips. In Shanghai, TSMC even has a chipmaking facility.
In its 2024 annual review, TSMC claimed that its Nanjing site made up about 2.4 percent of the company’s overall profit.  ,
China’s Quad counter centers on building an anti-India arc – Asia Times
China is slowly creating a counterarchitecture aimed at its most vulnerable representative, India, as the US, Japan, India, and Australia tries to restrain Beijing’s ambitions. Beijing is turning India’s landscape from an asset into a risk thanks to persistent opportunities, defense partnerships, and political utilize across South Asia.
From” String of Pearls” to “encirclement”
Port exposure from the South China Sea to the Persian Gulf was the subject of first discussions of a Taiwanese” String of Pearls.” That has since grown into a more dense network of financial corridors, dual-use ports, and social influence capable of putting pressure on almost every Indian frontier at once.
The rationale resembles Cold War confinement, but with equipment for the 21st century. Beijing is tying security, business, network funding, and security relationships with India’s neighbors to ensure that every property borders and sea view is contested, in contrast to how Washington after established formal alliances with the Soviet Union.
Pakistan: the foundation of the country’s power
Pakistan continues to be the foundation of this structure. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, whose announced price has increased by about$ 62 billion, facilitates the Malacca Strait chokepoint and allows China to establish a long-term appearance on India’s eastern flank. It also provides a direct road from Xinjiang to the Arabian Sea via Gwadar.
Militarily, the marriage has grown deeper. The majority of Pakistan’s significant weapons are supplied by China, including Type 054A frigates and JF-17 fighters, and it has supported sensitive weapon and nuclear-related capacities to counteract India’s standard superiority.
Speak of “CPEC 2.0,” which is focused on industrial zones and greater economic integration, highlights how much Islamabad has come as a quasi-strategic river: financially dependent, military intertwined, and socially aligned with Beijing in opposition to New Delhi.
The flimsy east and north of Myanmar and Nepal
After the coup in 2021, China’s accept of Myanmar’s coup established a new corridor connecting Yunnan to the Bay of Bengal in India’s south.
Beijing has access to both the Indian Ocean and probable electronic intelligence monitoring facilities thanks to the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor and Kyaukpyu port. Years of funding in Myanmar’s political change and Act East scheme have generally been neutralized for New Delhi.
India has shifted from almost exclusive American effect to contested space on the Himalayan crest. Beijing has exceptional utilize thanks to China-backed routes to Tibet and a proposed trans-Himalayan rail, rising funding commitments above$ 2 billion, and near party-to-party ties with Kathmandu’s communist leaders.
How easily China can amplify India-Nepal frictions was highlighted by the 2020 map dispute over Kalapani.
Sri Lanka and the Maldives: tightening the knot in the Indian Ocean
China’s southern and central arcs are anchored by Sri Lanka and the Maldives in the Indian Ocean.
Beijing has a long-term foothold astride important sea lanes off India’s southern coast thanks to the 99-year lease of Hambantota and the multibillion-dollar Colombo Port City project, both of which were completed in Sri Lanka.
Chinese submarine visits to Chinese ports in Colombo have already demonstrated latent military utility, despite being categorized as commercial.
The Maldives ‘ sharp tilt under President Mohamed Muizzu, who was elected on an” India Out” platform, is a much stronger signal. His demand to remove Indian military personnel and his support for greater Chinese investment and security cooperation resulted in Beijing’s creation of a crucial mid-sized state with full control over central Indian Ocean shipping lanes.
For India, a historically friendly microstate’s pivot toward China has an enormous psychological and strategic impact.
Bangladesh: the key swing state
Bangladesh might prove to be the constellation’s most important swing state.
Although it has maintained close ties with India, Dhaka depends heavily on China for its arms and infrastructure, including major-name projects like the Padma Bridge and Matarbari and Payra deep-sea port development.
China’s presence in and around Chittagong, including facilities connected to submarine operations, places it within the Bay of Bengal, eroding India’s long-assumed naval dominance there.
India-Bangladesh relations are already being put to the test by tensions over border management and river waters. A leadership change in Dhaka could bolster Beijing’s position and de facto encircle India’s eastern flank.
A converging two-front challenge
This arc’s convergence with Pakistan’s long-standing strategy is what makes it particularly dangerous for India.
A growing Chinese naval presence in the Indian Ocean, combined with continental pressure in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh, and a western front via Pakistan, form a two-front scenario.
Any conflict involving China on the Line of Actual Control will now be seen in New Delhi from the perspective of potential Pakistani opportunism and maritime vulnerability.
This convergence is seen diplomatically in China’s repeated UN shaming of Pakistan-based militants and aligned positions on Kashmir, which limits India’s room for maneuver.
India’s conundrum of resolving it
India’s options are constrained by asymmetries in both geography and economics.
Bilateral trade with China increased to about$ 136 billion in 2023, making it China’s largest trading partner, and it has remained above the$ 100 billion mark despite border conflict. Although there are efforts to derisk and diversify supply chains, it will take years to significantly lessen reliance on Chinese manufacturing.
India must also get ready for a high-altitude conflict with China, deter Pakistan, and fund a blue-water navy capable of bringing down Chinese activity from the Arabian Sea to the Andaman Sea.
New Delhi’s Neighborhood First outreach struggles diplomatically to match Beijing’s willingness to support authoritarian or fragile regimes without conditions of governance.
What Delhi needs, and the long game.
China’s anti-India stance is a reflection of patient long-term investment rather than opportunistic adventurism. Beijing has created multiple pressure points that can be dialed up in any future conflict by constructing overlapping economic and security stakes around India’s periphery.
For India, the key is a fundamental change of regional statecraft along with faster growth or more ships and missiles.
That means putting a few neighbors before long-term political engagement rather than episodic crisis diplomacy, and offering viable, transparent alternatives to Chinese infrastructure financing, even on smaller scales, including co-financed projects with Quad partners, and leveraging India’s democratic appeal, people-to-people connections, and educational pull to rebuild societal goodwill that Chinese money alone cannot buy.
The Indo-Pacific order will be shaped by the conflict for supremacy between Asia’s two giants far beyond South Asia. Beijing has for the time being seized the initiative right away on India’s doorstep. Will New Delhi’s ability to reclaim strategic space affect the overall power balance in the decades to come.
An Indian Army veteran, Colonel Maqbool Shah.
Why Israel’s recognition of Somaliland is so upsetting to so many – Asia Times
Israel is in a. Never for strikes on Syria or Lebanon, or even for those against Iran or Gaza.
No, Israel is in the limelight because it is the first nation to identify official diplomatic relations.
ties with Somalia. Huh? As have the US, UK, UAE, Taiwan, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Denmark, Kenya, and Turkey, both have had tight, casual relationships with Somaliland for years.
The fact that the “union between Somaliland and Somalia was not ratified,” according to a 2005 African Union fact-finding vision, and “also”
Somaliland’s research for the country began in 1960 when it became inactive from 1960 to 1990.
for recognition of American political history’s historical significance as self-justified and previously unique.
Somaliland is not at all special. It is the result of imperial machinations, which saw the UK, France, Ethiopia, and Italy all occupy parts of the place at the beginning of the 19th century.
Somaliland made the decision to join with Somaliland and Somalia after Somaliland became independent in 1960.
individuals from those assets in Ethiopia and different Europe.
Post-colonial management had a bad turnout. Somaliland opposed the original convention and proclaimed freedom when Siad Barre‘s regime, Siad Barre‘s, was impeached in Mogadishu.
The UN did not object. Nobody more did either. Until today.
Twenty-one organizations and governments in the Middle East and Africa signed a document.
“in illumination of the seriousness of the seriousness,” a statement condemning Israel’s acknowledgment of Somaliland.
implications on regional peace and security in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea, as well as
its significant effects on global security and peace, which also reflect Israel’s blatant disregard for international law.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation ( OIC ) was authorized to sign the statement by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Qatar, Jordan, Algeria, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Libya, Palestine, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Comoros, Djibouti, Gambia, Maldives, Nigeria, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation ( OIC ) signed it.
European nations are unsatisfied as well. Some of it is specifically about Israel. However, Israel unintentionally or purposefully undermined the whole colonial foundation of extensive regional politics.
Countries wished to have diplomatic relations with Somaliland, a calm and well-run nation that rejects Islamic fanaticism, holds elections, and occupies a proper position. However, they objected to spreading the idea of new frontiers.
They then called it “unique” and avoided the procedures, because why didn’t Biafrans, Berbers, or Darfurians claim to be independent if the citizens of Somaliland could remove imperial restrictions? Or, for that matter, why doesn’t the Kurds? Or the Baluch? Or the Druze, perhaps? Or Chinese people?
May Rwandan Hutus and Tutsis have prevented murder? Almost 2 million Tutsis
There are major areas of Rwandans, 1 to 2 million of Burundians, and there are also significant numbers of Burundians.
Tutsis occurs in the DRC regions along with Burundi and Rwanda. If there have been a founding of The Republic of Tutsi? Should it be?
American colonials, including those in France and the UK, however think they are separate from the West.
maintained a defense presence in their original colonies and gained a higher standing there. The.
Kenya and installations in nations like Mali and the UK have military installations there.
Nigeria, Djibouti, and Somalia.
France used to, but seven former territories were removed between 2022 and 2025 as a result of Russia and China increasing their reputation on the globe.
China is constantly looking for new energy and metals, but its issue is about the environment.
The relationship between Somaliland and Israel is that it strengthens Taiwan’s resolve to be indefinitely.
aside from Beijing. Of course, Taiwan has ties to Somaliland, and it praised Israel’s choice.
But, Israel did not cause a lot of annoyance in the rest of the world. Malaminiland occupies a crucial place at the confluence of the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. Through the Gulf, Persian cargoes pass through the Houthis in Yemen and various jihadist groups in Africa.
Somaliland is across Yemen from Djibouti, the only continuous US center in Africa. It is northwest of Somalia, which encourages pirates off its coast. In an effort to counteract Chinese breakthroughs in the area, Washington has been advancing and enhancing relationships with Somaliland for more than ten years.
But, regular efforts made by Congress to establish formal relations have failed. However, Deputy Ambassador to the UN Tammy Bruce told the UN Security Council:” While the President Donald Trump presidency made no changes in US coverage during the visit of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
” Israel is entitled to do diplomatic relations in the same way that any other sovereign position.” Earlier this year, some nations, including people of this Council, announced plans to boycott the region.
made the punitive choice to grant recognition of a Palestinian state that is no longer exist. And
but, no emergency meeting was held to show the fury of this Council. This is
Its continued diversion of focus and repeated twice requirements are distracting from Council’s efforts.
promoting global peace and security is our goal.
Regaining the emphasis on global security and peace may be beneficial in this situation.
Colonization is still alive and is inviolable, but it is still a problem.
Shoshana Bryen is the director of inFOCUS Weekly magazine and senior director of The Hebrew Policy Center in Washington. This article was originally published in his newsletter Weapons and Strategy, and it is now republished with authority.
Super Junior, Red Velvet stars perform at Singapore’s 2026 countdown concerts alongside local, regional acts
Siloso Beach, Sentosa, hosted the Let’s Celebrate 2026 clock present from Mediacorp in association with the Sentosa Development Corporation.
Irene and Seulgi, the first members of the lady team Red Velvet, were the headliner of the oceanfront music.