The world was shocked when four Tajik jihadists carried out a mass shooting in March, killing 145 people in the Crocus City Hall music venue in Russia’s Krasnogorsk, Moscow Oblast.

The Marcos administration seems to have decided to mobilize international and domestic public opinion to push the PRC to exercise more restraint. Behind this approach was probably a recognition that attention from Washington could prompt greater care by the PRC, as well as realization that the Philippines was unlikely to escape any confrontation between U.S. and PRC interests unscathed.

The Hong Kong Basic Law Article 23 legislation came into effect on March 23, 2024. Enactment of the legislation has already had a chilling effect on Hong Kong society and has affected foreign investment — something the HKSAR government has repeatedly denied.

The March 2024 session of the National People’s Congress confirmed the directions in which China’s paramount ruler Xi Jinping was already pushing the country, including a more aggressive global role, military expansion as the People’s Liberation Army approaches its 2027 centenary, increased economic and especially tech self-reliance.

The CCP’s Taiwan policy can be examined based on the content of the two sessions. It reveals that although the Lai government has not taken office, the policy of the CCP toward Taiwan has been roughly set. In recent years, the CCP has used legal principles to fight against the Taiwan government and erode its international space.

The Albanese government’s much anticipated Review of the Royal Australian Navy’s surface combatant fleet, titled “Enhanced Lethality Surface Combatant Fleet” was released on February 20, 2024. It promises a larger Navy to deal with a worsening strategic outlook.

While there is no end in sight at the moment, denying Putin a victory was, and remains, a goal that matters for the future of the world. It makes people safer. It shows that democracies can consolidate their efforts in the face of common threats.

Taiwan and South Korea are akin to “siblings”—both “dynamic economies and cultural beacons that fought successfully to achieve democracy in the late 20th Century.” While both have long been considered potential “flashpoints,” war is now being talked about again in earnest.