South East Asia

Pakistan returns $1 bln of Saudi Arabia's loan over Kashmir dispute

Pakistan has returned $1 billion to Saudi Arabia as a second instalment of a $3 billion soft loan, as Islamabad reaches out to Beijing for a commercial loan to help it offset pressure to repay another $1 billion to Riyadh next month, officials said on Wednesday according to a report …

Read More »

Pakistani Politics Roiled by Familiar Triangle: Military, Government, Opposition

A combustible mixture of political unrest, stalled governance and military meddling await the incoming Biden administration. Political uncertainty has descended on Pakistan as the combined opposition, seeking to dislodge the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan, has gathered under the banner of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM). While the conflict …

Read More »

China’s Influence on Conflict Dynamics in South Asia

China has embarked on a grand journey west. Officials in Beijing are driven by aspirations of leadership across their home continent of Asia, feelings of being hemmed in on their eastern flank by U.S. alliances, and their perception that opportunities await across Eurasia and the Indian Ocean. Along the way, …

Read More »

China’s Military Actions Against Taiwan in 2021: What to Expect

Following the 2020 U.S. presidential election, many observers asserted that China-U.S. relations, what have been strained most of the time over the past three years, will see a change, most likely for the better. Judging from the moves taken by the militaries of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait …

Read More »

The Brexit Blame Game

Both the UK and the EU are engaged in a game of brinkmanship, amounting to a kind of shadow theatre— neither wants to shoulder the blame for the UK’s exit from the EU without a trade deal between the two. The stakes are higher for the UK.

Read More »

Top Pakistani Shia cleric 'Allama Sajid Naqvi' condemns US sanctions on Al-Mustafa University

Senior Pakistani Shia cleric Allama Syed Sajid Ali Naqvi condemned a recent move by the US to impose sanctions on Al-Mustafa International University. In an address to Pakistani scholars and seminary students on Sunday, the senior cleric described the move as unethical and illegitimate and a sign of the United …

Read More »

China may soon achieve a military equilibrium with the US, Washington said

China may soon achieve a military equilibrium with the United States, General Mark Milli, head of the United States’ Joint Chiefs of Staff, said. According to him, the PRC has a “very powerful” economy; the country has spent a lot of money developing the armed forces. At the same time, …

Read More »

To counter China and Russia, Biden has said he will strengthen alliances

President-elect Joe Biden has said he will stand up to China and Russia, but unlike President Trump, he has stressed the need to work closely with allies and international organizations to present a united front against two countries that Washington considers its foremost competitors.

Read More »