Ka Maria Malaya, whose real name is Myrna Sulatre, is one of the world’s most important female militant leaders and propagandists, but outside of the Philippines she is hardly known. She is often referred to as “Ka Oris’ wife,” as she is a recent widow... MORE

The Myanmar junta and the Rakhine nationalist Arakan Army (AA) have agreed on an informal ceasefire in Rakhine State (Mizzima, November 29). This truce, which came into effect at the end of November, occurred despite a sharp escalation in fighting in the months following the... MORE

Philippines Security Forces Halt Islamic State Attacks after Mindanao Bus Bombing On November 27, Philippine police conducted an operation at an Islamic State in Southeast Asia Province (ISEAP) hideout in Maguindanao, Mindanao and killed two ISEAP members (akhbaralaan.com, November 28). The operation served as a... MORE

Introduction General Secretary Xi Jinping has a long record of breaking with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) rules and conventions. At the recently concluded 20th Party Congress, he made himself the “party core for life” by revising the CCP charter and reinforced that position by filling... MORE

Introduction At the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 20th Party Congress in late October, five diplomats were selected as full Central Committee members, one of whom will be appointed as China’s next foreign minister (FM) at the National People’s Congress (NPC) next March (Xinhuanet, October 22;... MORE

On November 30, with mass protests only recently suppressed in Beijing and Shanghai and still simmering in Guangzhou and Chongqing, state media notified the “whole party, army and country” that former General Secretary Jiang Zemin, who led the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from mid-1989 to... MORE

Introduction Questions about the unity of Italy’s new government on several key foreign policy issues persist, ranging from the extent of its support for Ukraine to its commitment to various European Union institutions. However, on the issue of China, the new government of Prime Minister... MORE

In the ninth month of Russia’s war against Ukraine, it is becoming increasingly obvious that the Russian army is being gradually overtaken by “shell hunger.” This should be expected based on earlier analyses made in August 2022 (see EDM, August 16, 18) and has been... MORE

The enforcement of the price ceiling for Russian oil transported by sea enacted on December 5 is not a surprise, as this measure was being discussed by the Unites States and its key partners as early as September 2022. It is, nevertheless, important proof of... MORE

Moscow’s all-out war of aggression against Ukraine, which commenced on February 24, has vividly demonstrated that Russia’s militarism and drive toward colonial expansion has not disappeared. This has, in turn, revealed that arguments supporting the notion that economic growth and inclusion in major international organizations... MORE