South East Asia

Calculated Misrepresentations: The US Withdrawal from Afghanistan

Succeeding administrations have a chronic habit of blaming their predecessors. The Biden administration has been most particular on the issue, taking every chance to attack former President Donald Trump for the ills of his tenure. But the effort to almost exclusively lay blame at Trump’s door for the US fiasco …

Read More »

What’s Really Going on Between Russia and China

Behind the Scenes, They Are Deepening Their Defense Partnership “There are changes happening, the likes of which we haven’t seen for 100 years,” Chinese leader Xi Jinping said to Russian President Vladimir Putin last month at the end of a state visit to Russia. “Let’s drive those changes together.” To …

Read More »

What Exactly Does Washington Want From Its Trade War With Beijing?

Five years ago, then president Donald Trump launched a tariff-fueled trade war with China designed to reduce the bilateral trade deficit. His successor, President Joe Biden, then added a decoupling focus by restricting high-tech exports and curtailing professional and financial links. Both wanted to reduce imports of manufactured goods and …

Read More »

Macron’s Muddled China Outreach – Analysis

Just when it seemed the European Union was finally achieving strategic coherence as a global geopolitical actor, French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent visit to China has shattered that myth. The French president and the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, headed to China last week, hoping to …

Read More »

US Think Tank Asks Washington To Prepare For Sino-Indian Border Clashes

The Center for New American Security says the US has to defend India for the sake of Indo-Pacific security The US think tank, Center for New American Security (CNAS) in its report published in March, recommends that US policymakers must “closely monitor” the Sino-Indian border conflict and be prepared to …

Read More »

China’s Sinopec acquires stake in Qatar gas project

Chinese energy firms are increasingly cooperating with their Qatari and Saudi counterparts as the People’s Republic makes further inroads into the region. The Chinese oil giant Sinopec acquired a stake in a field owned by Qatar’s state-owned energy firm on Wednesday as Beijing increases its influence in the region. The …

Read More »

Can China Deliver In Middle East? – Analysis

As the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Iran met in China to commence a thaw in relations, Beijing has positioned itself as an ‘alternate’ power, keeping a policy of cooperation, consultation, and non-interventionism at the forefront. With serious discussions over the conflict in Yemen now underway, can China deliver …

Read More »

Western sanctions and the war in Ukraine create a new world order, and China leads the parade

When Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022, no one imagined that this war would ignite a global fire that would destroy the US-led international order that has ruled the world since the end of the war. Second World War. I know I did not realize …

Read More »

Saudi Arabia’s Nod To The Shanghai Cooperation Organization – OpEd

As the Kingdom steadily treads its path in line with Vision 2030, it won’t stop startling those less vigilant watchers who trumpet stereotypes instead of more nuanced analyses. The Cabinet’s approval of Saudi Arabia’s partnership with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization did not happen out of the blue. A meticulous process …

Read More »

China Unveils ‘Grandiose Plan’ For Central Asia – Analysis

In the three decades since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation and China have pursued divergent interests in post-Soviet Central Asia, as Moscow seeks to retain its influence even as Beijing’s “soft power” grows, underpinned by its dynamic economy. In a recent sign of the latter, Chinese …

Read More »