The recent detention of Afghan UN personnel highlights the continued unpredictability of the Taliban’s security enforcement in Afghanistan. Despite the Taliban’s appetite for increased international engagement, including with the US, wrongful detention is likely to remain a key tool of the regime to maintain political control over humanitarian activity…
2025 was a year filled with travel disruptions as a result of a shifting geopolitical landscape, regional conflict, and in some cases, domestic political dynamics. Tamsin Hunt examines some of the security trends that will continue to affect global travel over the coming year.
Despite heavy losses on the battlefield in 2023 and 2024, major territorial gains by Myanmar’s military in the past few months have signalled a recent shift in the military’s favour. With elections scheduled for December 2025, the junta’s ongoing offensive to secure strategic towns and transport arteries is increasingly intertwined with efforts to secure…
On 8 and 9 September, youth-led protests resulted in the collapse of the Nepalese government. Although these demonstrations were triggered by a controversial government decision to ban social media platforms, Tamsin Hunt argues that they brought much deeper and endemic issues to the fore – grievances that the next government will struggle to overcome.…
Civic organisations, locally known as 'ormas,' have long maintained a reputation across Indonesia as extortionists and ‘thugs,’ frequently demanding money from businesses as part of an established protection racket. Neo Tsotetsi discusses two pre-eminent ormas operating in Jakarta and countrywide, GRIB Jaya and Pemuda Pancasila, to examine their tactics…
The five-day border clash between Thailand and Cambodia in July formed part of a historic dispute over undesignated and culturally sensitive areas of their shared border, but Tamsin Hunt argues that other political and economic considerations on both sides also played an important role in this latest escalation.
Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra faces a backlash after a leaked phone call about a growing border dispute with Cambodia, driving cracks in her coalition government, and fears over another military coup. But Thailand’s military could instead exploit other areas of influence to capitalise on the current instability and increase its political…
The recent releases of four US nationals detained in Afghanistan has shone a spotlight on the Taliban’s efforts to engage with the international community and achieve formal recognition for its regime. There remain significant hurdles to engaging with the Taliban, however, and foreign travellers and businesspeople continue to face extreme scrutiny,…
The May 2025 cross-border clashes between India and Pakistan marked the most serious escalation between the long-time adversaries since the 1999 Kargil War. Tamsin Hunt examines the hardening positions on both sides, and the expanding pressure tactics that will drive tensions in the coming years.
A recent high-profile kidnapping in Thailand has shone a renewed spotlight on ‘scam compounds’ flourishing in South Asia’s organised crime industry, with repercussions for Thailand’s reputation as a safe destination for foreign – and particularly Chinese – visitors, writes Tamsin Hunt.
Saif Islam explores the macroeconomic and political implications of Sri Lanka’s latest budget and the potential for a resurgence of anti-government protests.
Travel security trends in Asia Pacific vary widely owing to the region’s vast and diverse landscape.