Disinformation, peace negotiation, information warfare, conflict resolution, fog of war, back channel diplomacy — conflict mediator and peace negotiator Michael Vatikiotis joins The Voices of War host Vedran 'Maz' Maslic to expose how deliberate deception has made peacemaking structurally impossible. With more cameras, data, and AI-generated content flooding the information space than ever before, why are mediators, journalists, and governments more blind to the realities of war?

The fog of war is no longer a byproduct of conflict — it is the weapon. Governments, including democratic ones, are intentionally hiding truth from lawmakers and the public. Journalists are being targeted and eliminated from conflict zones — not by accident. AI is being weaponised to manipulate information in ways we cannot detect or verify. And the multilateral institutions built to preserve the post-WWII international order — including the United Nations — are deadlocked and increasingly bypassed in conflicts from Gaza to Ukraine to Iran.

In this episode of The Voices of War, Vedran 'Maz' Maslic speaks with Michael Vatikiotis — conflict mediator, peace negotiator, author, and journalist — about the structural collapse of truth in modern warfare, the rise of new mediation models led by middle powers like Pakistan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia through the Islamabad process, and whether the world is sleepwalking toward the complete abrogation of international law and rules-based conflict resolution.

🎙️ Michael Vatikiotis has spent nearly four decades in Southeast Asia moving between two worlds: reporting on conflict and negotiating peace. He is a back channel peace negotiator in some of the world's most intractable conflicts.

🔗 Read Michael's SCMP article: https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3351339/blinding-world-lies-makes-peacemaking-impossible-task

🎙️ The Voices of War is your gateway to the untold stories and nuanced perspectives of conflict. Hosted by Vedran 'Maz' Maslic — military leader, life-long student, and entrepreneur.

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China is sitting on 120 days of strategic oil reserves. That's not unlimited patience — that's a countdown. As the Iran blockade tightens and the Strait of Hormuz becomes the most contested waterway on earth, Beijing faces a question it cannot ignore: how long can strategic restraint hold?

In this episode of The Voices of War, Vedran 'Maz' Maslic sits down with journalist and geopolitical commentator Qinduo Xu to unpack China's Iran calculus — the oil dependency, the US grand strategy to control key access points across Venezuela, Russia, and now Iran, and what Beijing is actually doing about it. From China's electrostate model overtaking the American petrostate, to rare earth leverage, de-dollarisation, and the KMT's quiet visit to Beijing — this is a conversation about the real contest behind the Iran war: US vs China.

Key topics: China Iran war, Strait of Hormuz blockade, China oil reserves, China geopolitics, US China relations, Beijing strategy, Iran blockade, China rare earth minerals, Trump Xi Jinping, China Taiwan, dual circulation, China global strategy, middle east war, geopolitics.

Qinduo Xu is a journalist and geopolitical commentator with deep expertise in Chinese foreign policy and global affairs.

The US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz started today. Iran has promised retaliation. China has issued direct warnings to Washington — and Trump's Iran war strategy may be heading toward catastrophe.

In this episode of The Voices of War, I sit down with Dr. Robert 'Bob' Bowker — 37 years as an Australian diplomat in the Arab world, Ambassador to Jordan and Egypt, intelligence analyst with the Office of National Assessments, and one of the sharpest minds on Middle East war and geopolitics alive today.

What we cover:

→ What the Hormuz blockade actually means for global oil prices (Brent at $94 — physical oil already trading at $150+)

→ Why the Islamabad peace talks collapsed and what it signals for the Iran-US conflict

→ Iran's asymmetric warfare options and retaliation timeline

→ The China-Iran war dynamic that could escalate a regional crisis into a global confrontation

→ Trump's Iran war strategy — and exactly where it breaks down

→ Israel's influence on US foreign policy

→ The fractures inside the Gulf Cooperation Council

→ Why this Middle East war is more dangerous than the 1973 oil crisisTwo red flags Bob is watching: Iran cutting regional oil exports — and China placing naval escorts alongside its tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. If either happens, this goes global.

About Dr. Robert 'Bob' Bowker Dr. Bowker served 37 years as an Australian diplomat in the Arab world — Ambassador to Jordan, Egypt, and non-resident Ambassador to Syria, Libya, Tunisia, and Sudan. He served at the UN's relief agency in Gaza and Jerusalem, spent a decade as an academic at the ANU Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies, and worked as an intelligence analyst with the Office of National Assessments. He is the author of six books on the region, including his memoir Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots.

🎙️ The Voices of War is your gateway to the untold stories and nuanced perspectives of conflict. Hosted by Vedran 'Maz' Maslic — military leader, life-long student, and entrepreneur.

📩 Subscribe to The Voices of War

Substack: https://thevoicesofwar.substack.com/

Twitter / X: https://x.com/thevoicesofwar

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_voices_of_war/

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Website: https://www.thevoicesofwar.com

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