Opposition politician Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has won the Maldives’ general election, putting China’s latest foray into India’s backyard in jeopardy.

The US-China bilateral relationship is too big to fail.

In this first article of a new series on claimants in the South China Sea dispute, we examine the historical reasoning, diplomacy, and island-building underpinning China’s claim.

Reports suggest that China wants to build a military base in Australia’s backyard.

The first domino of ASEAN claimant states has fallen as Brunei goes silent on the South China Sea dispute in exchange for closer economic cooperation with China.

It’s not just the Maldives where India and China are staring each other down in the Indian Ocean. The “Resplendent Island” is also a potential frontline in the simmering geopolitical competition between Asia’s giants.

It’s time for US policy planners to deal with the China that exists, and not the imaginary one they have long hoped for.