South East Asia

US Intelligence Sees ‘Significant Risk’ in Afghanistan Withdrawal

The plan to pull troops from Afghanistan could give terrorist groups like al-Qaida and Islamic State a chance to regenerate the capabilities they would need to carry out an attack against the United States, according to top U.S. intelligence officials. Their warning, coming the same day U.S. President Joe Biden …

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China Will Loom Large in Balkans Once Pandemic is Over

Despite the West’s growing suspicions about China, its role in the Western Balkans is likely to become even more central in the post-COVID-19 era. The global public has never talked as much about China as it has during the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 struck China first, causing mayhem in Hubei Province. …

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The U.S. Must Prepare for the Worst in Afghanistan

Afghanistan’s president, Ashraf Ghani, stands between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Faced with the fact that the United States has lost patience with the Afghan government’s dithering negotiations with the Taliban, Ghani now has little choice but to orchestrate a deal that will likely end his presidency—and almost …

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China looms large in Turkey’s controversial waterway project

Turkey is reportedly gearing up to partner with China in the construction of an artificial waterway parallel to the Bosporus, a project with likely implications for Russia and the United States in the Black Sea. While Turkey remains stuck between the West and Russia on a number of strategic issues, …

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China Sanctions Intensify, Escalating Trade Risks – Analysis

Western trade and investment interests in China are facing new threats as sanctions trigger retaliation, heightening tensions over human rights, national security and territorial control. Since the start of President Joseph R. Biden’s term in office on Jan. 20, there have been several exchanges of new sanctions announced by the …

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Chinese Incursions In South China Sea Heightens Tension – Analysis

China’s increasing incursions in the contested South China Sea in defiance of global norms has heightened tensions in the region. In view of its massive military muscle and economic power that China has accumulated in the recent decades emboldens it to ignore and violate the sensitivities of other small claimants …

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Energy Partnership Bolsters China–Russia Relations – Analysis

Russia’s Novatek and China’s Shenergy signed a new gas deal in February 2021, highlighting the primacy of energy ties in China–Russia relations. Under the provisions of the agreement, Novatek will ship around 3 million tonnes a year of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Shenergy’s Shanghai terminals over the next 15 …

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A Geopolitical Perspective On China’s Financial Sector Opening-Up – Analysis

In recent years, the dual factors of anti-globalization movement and intensifying geopolitical frictions have presented China’s economy a very different external environment compares with that in the past. In response to such change, China has begun to adjust its development priorities and strategies, with the “internal circulation” being the result …

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