South East Asia

Pakistan pays for first shipment of Russian oil in Chinese currency

The payment in non-US dollar denominated currency helps alleviate Pakistan’s balance of payments crisis and furthers the broader trend of de-dollarization in developing nations Pakistan paid for its first imports of discounted Russian crude oil in Chinese currency, Reuters reported on 13 June, marking a significant shift in the south …

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Can two great powers cooperate to build a safer world? It has happened before.

As the Biden administration and Congress struggle to get their heads around the challenge posed by China today, they should reflect on lessons learned in America’s success in winning the Cold War with the Soviet Union. Just because fundamental and irresolvable differences in values and interests compel the United States …

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German intel. chief calls PKK biggest foreign terror group in country

The top German intelligence chief said the PKK is the biggest foreign terrorist group in the country, with around 14,500 supporters. Türkiye has complained that despite the group’s illegal status, European Union countries have long turned a blind eye to its activities on their soil, including media outlets, pro-terror demonstrations, …

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Blinken’s Overtures To China A Strategic Mistake – Analysis

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s overtures to Beijing remain a double edged sword.The visit will give a huge moral and strategic win for Beijing, and further weakens Washington’s standing, being looked as weak and desperate. The first top level meeting in Alaska in 2021 has played well into Beijing’s …

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Competition of the main players in the geopolitics of Central Asia

The continuation of the war in Ukraine has caused important changes in the geopolitics of the peripheral regions and the axis of Eurasia, which is one of the most visible and noisy by a little distance in Central Asia, a region that plays an important role in the historical and …

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China Overtakes Russia as Dominant Power in Central Asia

Communist China’s People’s Liberation Army has established a military presence in Murghab, Tajikistan, close to the Chinese border with Afghanistan. There is also no doubt that Russia’s embarrassing military imbroglio in Ukraine has helped China supersede Moscow as guarantor of Central Asian state sovereignty. [Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart] Tokayev has…. denounced …

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The potential and limitations of Russia-China cooperation in the Middle East

On May 28, the Middle East affairs working group of the Russian and Chinese Ministries of Foreign Affairs (MFA) convened in Chengdu, China. The meeting was chaired by the Russian MFA’s Middle East bureau chief, Alexander Kinshchak, and the Chinese MFA’s Asian and African Affairs department head, Wang Di. In …

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China-Saudi Ties Boost While U.S. Influence Wanes

Days after welcoming Secretary of State Antony Blinken as part of efforts to reset relations with the U.S., Saudi Arabia turned its attention to boosting ties with one of Washington’s main competitors: China, says Bloomberg. A Bloomberg report — Saudi Arabia Looks to China for Business as US Influence Wanes …

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China’s Xi hosts Abbas, vows support for Palestinian state on 1967 borders

Xi used the word ‘Palestine’ as he welcomed Mahmoud Abbas on a visit that follows Beijing’s offer to mediate peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated on Wednesday China’s support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the 1967 borders in a meeting …

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The Afghan And Ukrainian War Contexts And Features: A Comparative Perspective

It was Afghanistan’s irresistible desire for independence from foreign occupation that bled and weakened the Soviet Union substantially during its nine-year occupation and led to its subsequent disintegration. Thus, Ukraine emerged as an independent sovereign state from Afghanistan’s unremitting desire for independence. Now that Ukraine is fighting for its own …

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