For the last 15 years, China has relied on gray zone operations to advance its territorial ambitions across Asia. And for 15 years, the US has struggled to respond. But the open door on which China has been pushing may finally be closing. Gray zone operations involve the assertive use of a variety of tools in ways that create conditions that can be described as neither peace nor war. Military forces might act provocatively — even dangerously — while carefully avoiding violence, whereas law enforcement employs nonlethal violence as a first resort. Such an approach creates difficult calculations for its targets.
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Grab Holdings Ltd plans to acquire Taiwan’s No. 1 food delivery business, Foodpanda, for US$600 million. The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) is reviewing the proposal. Grab offers ride-hailing, dining, fresh food and grocery delivery, parcel delivery, payments, loans, insurance and digital banking services in 900 cities across eight Southeast Asian countries. Leveraging mapping data and artificial intelligence (AI) models developed in cooperation with China, it has built a comprehensive retail and consumer ecosystem. If Grab were to enter the Taiwanese market, it would have a major impact on the food service industry, convenience stores, supermarkets and e-commerce services. The ecosystem
On Wednesday last week an Indonesian frigate conducted exercises with the Chinese navy east of Taiwan, in waters Beijing has repeatedly used to demonstrate its capacity to encircle and blockade the nation. What was Indonesia doing there? The answer comes readily from Jakarta. Indonesia was practising bebas aktif, or “free and active” foreign policy, working with competing powers while reserving the right to belong to none of them. Indonesian personnel joined the US-led RIMPAC exercises in Hawaii this year, military contacts with Russia have continued, and the KRI I Gusti Ngurah Rai met the Chinese frigate Honghe while sailing home from
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