Three years of genocide: Israel’s traditional Asian allies shift stance on Gaza

ISLAMABAD (AA) — Three years into Israel’s genocide in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, its relations with several traditional Asian allies have come under growing strain, adding to Tel Aviv’s diplomatic isolation.

That isolation was on display at the UN General Assembly late last month, when scores of delegates walked out as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the chamber.

Among those leaving were representatives of several Asian countries, including Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia and Bangladesh.

Here is a look at how countries across Asia and the Pacific have responded to Israel and its war on Gaza.

East Asia

Israel has faced unusually strong state-level criticism from longtime East Asian partners, particularly Japan and South Korea.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi opposed US sanctions against International Criminal Court (ICC) President Tomoko Akane, who sought an arrest warrant for Netanyahu over alleged war crimes in Gaza.

Speaking during the UN General Assembly, Takaichi reaffirmed Tokyo’s longstanding support for the ICC and pushed back against Washington’s sanctions on Akane, saying Japan takes the measures “very seriously.”

Washington sanctioned Akane, the first Japanese national to lead the ICC, in August, accusing the court of infringing on state sovereignty.

Relations between Israel and South Korea also came under strain in April after South Korean President Lee Jae Myung shared a video on social media alleging that Israeli soldiers abused a Palestinian child before throwing him from a rooftop.

Lee called for the video’s authenticity to be established and for the circumstances surrounding the alleged incident to be investigated, stressing the seriousness of the allegations.

“Wartime homicide is no different from matters that we take issue with, such as the forced (enslavement of) comfort women, and the massacre of Jewish people,” Lee said.

The term “comfort women” refers to the sexual enslavement of thousands of women and girls, many of them Korean, by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II.

Israel strongly criticized Lee for sharing the video, calling his action “unacceptable.”

Israel’s Foreign Ministry claimed Lee had relied on a “fake account” and circulated footage of a 2024 incident that had already been investigated.

The ministry also accused the South Korean president of trivializing the massacre of Jews by making the comparison on the eve of Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day.

China, which has long backed the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, continued to advocate a two-state solution.

President Xi Jinping described the two-state solution as the “right direction” for resolving the longstanding Palestine issue.

South and Southeast Asia

Sri Lanka, one of the earliest countries to recognize the State of Palestine, used the UN General Assembly to call for the swift recovery and reconstruction of Gaza while reaffirming its support for the Palestinian people’s “inalienable” rights.

“Recovery and reconstruction of Gaza must be an early priority,” Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said in his address.

Herath said Colombo supports resolving the Palestine issue on the basis of the 1967 borders.

Pakistan, a member of the Gaza Peace Board, also reiterated its “unwavering” support for the Palestinian people and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Addressing the UN General Assembly, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also called for Palestine to be granted full UN membership.

India, meanwhile, has continued its balancing strategy, maintaining close diplomatic and strategic relations with Israel while reiterating its traditional support for Palestinian statehood and a two-state solution.

Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has significantly deepened its strategic relationship with Israel. During Modi’s February meeting with Netanyahu, the two countries elevated their ties to a “Special Strategic Partnership.”

Jatin Desai, a Mumbai-based political analyst, said India historically stood with the Palestinian people and that its position on Palestine was clear even before Israel was established.

Thailand, which has longstanding relations with Israel, continues to cooperate closely with the country, particularly in agriculture and education.

Around 100,000 Israeli tourists visit Thailand each year, while thousands of Thai workers, both skilled and unskilled, are employed in Israel. Israel is also a destination for Thai students pursuing higher education.

Bangkok established diplomatic relations with Israel in 1954 and formally recognized the State of Palestine in 2012.

Pacific nations

In January, US President Donald Trump, as chair of the Board of Peace for Gaza, invited Australia, Vietnam and Thailand to join the international body.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Canberra would consider the invitation but had yet to make a decision.

“We’ve received correspondence from the president that arrived, I think, last night. That’s something we haven’t had time to consider. We’ll consider all of these approaches respectfully and through our proper processes,” Albanese said after receiving the invitation.

Thailand also said it was reviewing the details of the proposal.

Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary To Lam accepted Trump’s invitation to join the Gaza Peace Council and “affirmed Vietnam’s readiness to participate as a founding member state of the council.”

New Zealand, which did not join neighboring Australia and several European countries in recognizing the State of Palestine last year, has said Palestinian statehood is ultimately “inevitable.”

In his final speech as foreign minister in the incumbent government earlier this month, Winston Peters defended New Zealand’s 2025 decision not to join most UN member states in recognizing Palestine as an example of an independent foreign policy.

However, Peters said recognition was ultimately a question of when, rather than if.

Across the Pacific, a cluster of small island nations has continued to provide Israel with a reliable bloc of diplomatic support in international forums, even as global criticism of its conduct in Gaza has intensified and more countries have moved toward recognizing Palestine.

Fiji strengthened its relations with Israel in September 2025 by opening an embassy in Jerusalem. Days earlier, it abstained from a UN vote supporting a two-state solution. Fiji does not recognize the State of Palestine.

Papua New Guinea has followed a similar course. It opened an embassy in Jerusalem in September 2023 and has since repeatedly opposed calls for a Gaza ceasefire at the UN. It also does not recognize Palestinian statehood.

Nauru has long been a strong supporter of Israel. It recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in 2019 and voted against a resolution supporting a two-state solution in September last year.

Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia have also consistently voted alongside Israel at the UN.

Samoa signed a visa-waiver agreement with Israel in 2019 but adopted a somewhat different position in September last year, abstaining from the two-state resolution. Like most of its Pacific neighbors, however, it has not recognized Palestine.

Other Pacific island nations, including Vanuatu, the Marshall Islands, Kiribati, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Tonga, maintain diplomatic relations with Israel, regularly support it in UN forums and do not recognize the State of Palestine.

Tonga and Israel signed a visa-waiver agreement in 2010, while Vanuatu and the Marshall Islands have consistently supported Israel in UN votes.