Many Christians identify with the idea of ‘Israel being the promised land’, but economic reasons are also behind their support for the country, analysts say.
Lucio Blanco Pitlo III is a research fellow at the Asia-Pacific Pathways to Progress Foundation, fellow at the University of the Philippines Korea Research Centre, lecturer at the Chinese Studies Programme at Ateneo de Manila University, and contributing editor (Reviews) for the Asian Politics & Policy Journal.
In Southeast Asia, where the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov once lamented economic ties ran only "skin deep", the immediate diplomatic response to Moscow's Ukraine war has been one of deep ambivalence. Diplomatic observers say despite Russia's shallow trade and investment exposure in the region, governments are exercising caution in condemning the aggression as they mull the long-term costs of.