South East Asia

China, which shares a border with Afghanistan, is making preparations for a Taliban takeover of the country. China’s first preference will be to work with the new rulers and is signaling its population that despite the country’s outspoken policy against Islamists, it, unlike others, adhered to a non-intervention policy. It …

Moscow is also reported to be open to some kind of cooperation with the U.S., though far short of American bases in Central Asia. Following military drills with Tajikistan last week, the commander of Russia’s Central Military District said on July 19 that Russia would hold drills with Tajikistan and …

Initially, Pakistan’s foreign ministry wrote it off as an accident, but China has described it a terror attack. On July 14, nine Chinese nationals and three Pakistanis were killed and 28 others injured when a bus carrying them to a construction site plunged into a ravine in the Upper Kohistan …

The State Department is making preparations to fly thousands of Afghans and their families to as-yet undecided countries in order to complete the visa process that will allow them to immigrate to the U.S., State department officials told reporters on Wednesday, as part of Operation Allies Refuge. Tens of thousands …

The Taliban appear to have “strategic momentum” in the fight for control of Afghanistan as they put increasing pressure on key cities, setting the stage for a decisive period in coming weeks as American forces complete their withdrawal, the top U.S. military officer said Wednesday. “This is going to be …

The following is the second of a series of analyses by Chinese dissident and expert Chris King, who is a Senior Research Fellow for the MEMRI Chinese Media Studies Project, on the personality cult of Chinese President Xi Jinping. King was an active participant in the student protests in China …

The meeting highlighted where U.S. and Southeast Asian interests align, and where they part ways. Myanmar, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the South China Sea disputes have topped the agenda in discussions held yesterday between the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his 10 Southeast Asian counterparts. The Special ASEAN-U.S. …

China hawks have seized on a report about new Chinese missile silos to spread alarmist claims about the Chinese nuclear arsenal and agitate for a new arms race. The revelation that China has been quickly building approximately 119 new hardened silos in the desert of Gansu province is important new …

Once again, the U.K. appears to be out of step with its closest ally on chips and China, sitting on its hands over the sale of its largest semiconductor factory to a company with alleged links to the Chinese Communist Party. The U.K’s “have your cake and eat it, too” …

VIEs, as they are known, evade Chinese law, which prohibits foreign ownership of Chinese tech companies. Through a series of intricate contractual arrangements, however, these structures effectively give foreigners the economic benefits of ownership. People believe that if Beijing were to publicly declare a VIE illegal—in other words, expropriate foreign …