Weekly Updates: Peace & Security
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Weekly Updates: Peace & Security *
November 3, 2025 by Aparna Parthasarathy
Photo courtesy of ABC news
Peace and Conflict in Sudan and Palestine
On October 26th, the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces seized El-Fasher in Darfur after blockading the region for almost 18 months. This was one of the last remaining positions for the Sudanese armed forces, and the country is now divided between the RSF-controlled West and SAF-controlled East. Since the seizure, there have been reports of mass casualties and hundreds of thousands of civilians murdered. Within 72 hours, overhead images from the region show clusters of bodies appearing throughout el-Fasher, with many observers noting an increase in systematic killings, causing humanitarians and government officials to warn of genocide. The Sudanese Foreign Minister Hussein Al-Amin has called into question the lack of action from the international community in quelling the RSF. There have been recent peace talks between the U.S, the RSF, and the SAF, yet both sides are unwilling to secede.
In other news, earlier this month, a ceasefire deal was arranged between Israel and Palestine. Some of the highlights focused on an end to the blockades, the return of the hostages, and the allowance of aid and human services to enter Gaza. While crucial in ending conflict within the region, the deal violence between the nations and in the surrounding regions has not ended. Israel claims that hostages have yet to be returned to them, while individuals in Gaza say they are lacking the aid that was promised to them during negotiations. Even earlier this week, Israel continued strikes on Gaza in response to the death of an Israeli soldier and the incomplete return of all hostages taken almost two years ago. While this deal dangled precariously, violence in surrounding Middle Eastern states had risen, with Israel carrying out attacks against countries such as Lebanon to attack the terrorist organization Hezbollah.
Aparna Parthasarathy (BC’28) is a Peace and Security Representative at Columbia Academics in Foreign Affairs (CAFA), intending to study Political Science and Human Rights
Last week, between October 26 and 28, the 47th ASEAN summit took place in Kuala Lumpur, and there were quite a few worth noting. Firstly, Cambodia and Thailand agreed to a ceasefire. This comes after the increase in intense fighting that occurred between the two countries at the Thai border in August. President Trump was present at the signing and received high praise from Thailand’s Prime Minister Anwar, whom he has nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Both countries state that they are willing to work together to de-escalate the conflict, but want to make sure the other is as committed and acts in line with the agreement. Something to note is that at the time of the signing, both countries were involved in trade negotiations with President Trump. Some believe that economic incentive pay has played a role in the signing of the declaration.
Secondly, the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, attended virtually and expressed an increased desire to work with South Asian countries in order to diversify and expand their trading partners and markets. This comes after Indian economic scholars claim that India will keep its guard up with the U.S., following the newly placed 50% tariffs. Additionally, 2 weeks ago, India hosted the Afghan Taliban Foreign Minister. They expressed their support for the Taliban regime to keep the U.S. out of Afghanistan and away from intervening with Bagram (what was once the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan); a major shift from their previous alignment regarding U.S. involvement in Afghanistan. Overall, it seems India’s foreign policy is shifting away from cooperating with the U.S.
Other things to note: The Malaysian foreign minister stated that he believes ASEAN’s peace plan outlined for Myanmar can be implemented without much difficulty. Timor-Leste has officially joined ASEAN and is now its 11th member. ASEAN outlined a desire to expand relations with countries in the RCEP. Overall, it seems ASEAN is moving its policy towards increased cooperation among global and member states and wants to expand its outreach.
Emma Arsic-Wills (CC’29) is a South & Southeast Asia Representative at Columbia Academics in Foreign Affairs (CAFA), intending to study Political Science.