While on the face of it, China’s acquisitions of ports looks like mere commercial transactions based on an economically driven agenda — the rhetoric China is employing — several analysts have pointed out that geopolitical concerns seem to be what are actually driving China’s port investments. “A deliberate military and …
Read More »EU Pivot To Asia – OpEd
The EU and Asia are undergoing rapid changes in an increasingly globalised World. The Asian trade community is gripped with fear and Asia’s economic growth will get to a slowdown because of the impact of coronavirus. The slowdown would be worse than the global financial crisis of 2008-09 and the …
Read More »China Energy Risks Rise With AUKUS Security Deal – Analysis
China may face a significant challenge to its energy security if it tries to retaliate against Australia for plans to acquire nuclear submarine technology from the United Kingdom and the United States. On Sept. 16, Beijing blasted the announcement one day earlier that Australia will join in a new security …
Read More »Taliban’s Rule In Afghanistan: Implications For Pakistan And India – OpEd
The fall of Kabul was inevitable and the only surprising element was the speed of Taliban’s advance. On the part of India, it was a strategic failure and stinging humiliation. India had invested almost $3bn in construction of dams, power lines, schools, roads and training of Afghan soldiers. India even …
Read More »Afghanistan and China, NATO, Russia
Afghanistan is now a hot issue among the world powers. China has talked to NATO while Russian Foreign Minister has said about a common approach by U.S., China, Russia and Pakistan. Media reports said: China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has held a virtual meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg …
Read More »China And The United States Engage In Global Rivalry: The Case Of Alex Saab – OpEd
In the increasingly bitter global rivalry between China and the United States, the case of Venezuela’s special envoy, Alex Saab, may be only a sideshow. But it serves as a good reminder of the different political and diplomatic priorities of the two superpowers as they vie for influence in major …
Read More »U.S., Russian Military Officials Meet As Washington Seeks Central Asian Presence
Top U.S. and Russian military officials have held a “constructive” meeting to discuss issues of mutual interest and how to lower the risk of incidents during military exercises. General Mark Milley, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, and General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian General Staff, met …
Read More »Tensions grow as US, allies deepen Indo-Pacific involvement
With increasingly strong talk in support of Taiwan, a new deal to supply Australia with nuclear submarines, and the launch of a European strategy for greater engagement in the Indo-Pacific, the U.S. and its allies are becoming more assertive in their approach toward a rising China. China has bristled at …
Read More »How AUKUS May Damage NATO
The fallout over the AUKUS deal, as we are now seeing, has been a severe rift in relations between two historic allies, the U.S. and France. And the collateral damage may also include NATO. Only weeks after U.S. President Joe Biden courageously ended the war in Afghanistan—in the face of …
Read More »China and Pakistan See Eye to Eye on the Taliban—Almost
As the dust settles on the Taliban’s reconquest of Afghanistan, regional neighbors are adjusting their policies to take the new geostrategic reality into account. Among these countries are the self-proclaimed “iron brothers”—China and Pakistan. The good news for Beijing and Islamabad is that their respective policies on Taliban-run Afghanistan broadly …
Read More »