Situation Reports

Morocco announced that the United Arab Emirates will establish a consulate in Laayoune, the largest city of the disputed territory of Western Sahara, the Middle East Eye reported Oct. 28. 

India has enacted and amended a series of laws to allow any of its nationals to purchase land in the disputed territory of Indian-administred Kashmir, Times of India reported Oct. 28.

The Turkish government has threatened to take “legal and diplomatic” steps against the French satirical paper Charlie Hebdo for publishing a caricature of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Reuters reported Oct. 28.

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena publicly announced that Sri Lanka’s foreign policy would remain neutral during U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit to the country, News First reported Oct. 28.

The South African Treasury unveiled its 2020 Medium-Term Budget Statement on Oct. 28, which projects the country’s gross debt-to-GDP to peak at 95.3 percent of GDP in 2025-26 after stabilizing its debt within the next five years via austerity measures, including a proposed three-year wage freeze in the public sector. 

Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin said that his country is mirroring China's strategy in the South China Sea to "swarm" disputed waters with fishing boats and militia, warning that this means the likelihood of an accidental clash is rising "tremendously,” Bangkok Post reported Oct. 28.

A suicide bomber connected to the Kurdistan Workers' Party detonated explosives Oct. 26 in southeastern Turkey's Hatay province as security forces attempted to arrest him, Daily Sabah reported Oct. 26.

An Oct. 27 bombing targeting a religious school in the Pakistani city of Peshawar's Dir Colony killed at least eight people and injured more than 110 others, Dawn reported.

During his visit to India for the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo publicly offered the U.S. government’s support in defending against threats to New Delhi’s sovereignty, particularly from China, the Hindustan Times reported Oct. 27.

The U.S. State Department has approved a $2.4 billion arms sale to Taiwan of 100 Harpoon Coastal Defense Systems manufactured by the U.S. company Boeing, Hong Kong Free Press reported Oct. 26.