Attack on Turkish-operated oil tanker Altura: Bringing the US’ plunder and bullying policy to the Black Sea On March 26, a Turkish-operated oil tanker named Altura was attacked in the Black Sea. Türkiye’s Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu made a statement, saying “A foreign-flagged ship operated by a Turkish company, which had loaded crude oil from Russia, reported ...
ASEAN’s energy future crisis and structural risk are not something that can be solved on the supply-side alone. What it requires is an end-to-end system solution by technology, policy, finance, governance, and regional solidarity. By Mehmet Enes Beşer ASEAN member countries’ energy industries are changing as a result of rising demand, decarbonization requirements, and complex geopolitics. While the region is ...
Solar plants on a large scale are prone to land disputes, especially where there are uncertain tenure status or indigenous communities. By Mehmet Enes Beşer The ASEAN region boasts some of the finest solar irradiation in the world, offering a geographical advantage in tapping solar power to meet its rapidly growing energy needs. With Southeast Asian economies industrializing, urbanizing, and ...
How could an “operation” scenario unfold in the Strait of Hormuz, and what would the consequences be? By Adem Kılıç, Political Scientist When discussing a U.S. ground operation in Hormuz, it would be misleading to view the issue solely through the lens of military capability. For the true determining factors are the constraints imposed by geography, Iran’s war doctrine, and ...
Tracing Energy and Ecology By Mehmet Enes Beşer As the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) shifts from an infrastructure-centered vision to one of increasingly more inclusive models of world development, sustainability has become a core—if contentious—pillar of legitimacy. Nowhere is this more urgent than with China’s economic relations with ASEAN countries, a strategic border region for BRI deployment. By applying ...
Harnessing the Sun By Mehmet Enes Beşer Basking in the sunshine, increasing electric demand, and international pressure building to transition to cleaner energy, ASEAN is well-placed to emerge as a solar power leader. On Philippine rooftops, on rolling central Vietnamese plains, solar photovoltaics (PV) is one of the most promising green growth paths forward. But with this dormant potential, solar ...
Beijing, Moscow, and Tehran: Different Parts of the Same Front By Orçun Göktürk, from Beijing / China More than a week has passed since the renewed attacks by the US and Israel against Iran and the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. During this period, Iran targeted almost all US bases in West Asia and carried out successful retaliations against ...
Interview with Dr. Shoaib Khan, academic at the Center for Central Eurasian Studies at the University of Mumbai India… A leading actor in the new world order whose birth pangs are shaking the globe… Therefore, every step it takes in foreign policy is closely followed. I discussed India’s foreign policy aligned with the US, Russia, China, and BRICS, the trade ...
Ankara is daydreaming about becoming a global energy player By Melih Baş Recently, Türkiye has signed energy agreements with US energy giants. These include cooperation on energy exploration in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, as well as partnerships for overseas operations. Lastly on February 5, the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources announced that Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) signed ...
Recent technological leaps in both countries. I don’t know about you, dear readers, but personally, every week I’m amazed by new advances in science and technology that astound my limited understanding of the subject. But beyond that, they allow me to appreciate that this other war—the one that truly matters, the search for new inventions and discoveries to improve humanity’s ...
On recent negotiations between Washington and Ankara. On 24 September 2025, Türkiye and the US concluded a contract for the supply of LNG for a period of 20 years, with a volume of approximately 70 billion cubic meters. The next day, on September 25, a meeting between Erdoğan and Trump took place at the White House. Trump urged Türkiye to ...
Main political events in Türkiye in the last week. The main topic on Türkiye’s agenda last week was President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s trip to New York to attend the 80th United Nations General Assembly and the meetings he held on that occasion. The most prominent item in Erdoğan’s New York program was his meeting with United States President Donald Trump ...