On the face of it, China’s recent declaration of an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) extending to territories that it does not control has nothing in common with America’s arrest and strip-search of a New York-based Indian diplomat for allegedly underpaying a housekeeper she had brought with her from India. In fact, these episodes epitomize both powers’ unilateralist approach to international law.

More than five years after flights by Israeli airlines to Turkey stopped, Israel signed an agreement with Ankara to renew service. Civil Aviation Authority director Giora Romm his Turkish counterpart, Bilal Eksi, struck the deal after talks that took place in Turkey, Haaretz has learned. The sides agreed to address Israel's security concerns which were cited as the reason flights were ceased.

Niger's president is pushing for the creation of multinational African brigades — notably with Libya — to boost border security in lawless zones where jihadist fighters roam. Mahamadou Issoufou says Niger is "no sanctuary for terrorists" but believes many jihadist fighters have taken refuge in the south of neighboring Libya after French forces ousted al-Qaida-linked militants from a teetering Mali earlier this year.

Colombia President Juan Manuel Santos praised his country’s relationship with Ecuador during a visit of his Ecuadorean counterpart, Rafael Correa, to the border region on Monday. Santos specifically was positive about Correa’s support for ongoing peace talks with the country’s largest and oldest-living rebel group, the FARC.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Afghan President Hamid Karzai have reached preliminary agreement on a bilateral security pact that now depends on the approval of Afghanistan's tribal leaders. The pact, announced jointly by Kerry and Karzai late on Saturday after two days of talks in the capital, Kabul, would keep some U.S. forces in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of most foreign troops by the end of next year.

After years of neglect, the Canadian government seems to be ratcheting up international cooperation with its Latin American counterparts. The increase in diplomatic overtures is motivated by the promise of forging new trade relationships and enhancing existing ties, but also by the apparent continent-wide consequences of organized crime and drug trafficking. While an “Americas Strategy” was launched in 2007, the government only recently started matching its rhetorical commitments with action.

It is arguable that foreign aid and to a larger extent development policy, which includes not only Official Development Assistance but also people-to-people links, migration policy, trade policy and peacekeeping is a core part of our regional identity and a core component of our “soft power” in the Asian Century.