Few politicians anywhere are having a better Covid-19 crisis than Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike. An odd claim, perhaps, considering the Summer Olympics on which Japan lavished tens of billions of dollars had to be postponed to July 2021 – if it happens at all. Koike, though, is basking in the glow of Tokyo’s relative – […]
It takes nerves of steel and a cool wit to negotiate a truce in the face of a grave provocation – such as the brutal killing of 20 soldiers – and getting two nuclear-armed rivals to pull back from the brink of a full-scale confrontation. But that’s what Ajit Doval, India’s national security adviser, managed […]
It is Donald Trump’s worst nightmare: giving his acceptance speech in front of a half-empty arena, facing an audience whose faces are covered in masks, muffling their cheers and chants. But it is exactly what he may be facing if last month’s edict from authorities in Jacksonville, Florida, mandating masks for all indoor gatherings remains […]
The worse economic fundamentals and forecasts become, the more mysterious stock-market outcomes in the US appear. At a time when genuine news suggests that equity prices should be tanking, not hitting record highs, explanations based on crowd psychology, the virality of ideas, and the dynamics of narrative epidemics can shed some light. Read Here – […]
A tepid U.S. reaction could leave Beijing with the impression that it can proceed with relative impunity on other contentious issues in Asia. The shadow of Taiwan looms large in this context.Unless the United States demonstrates the resolve and ability to resist Chinese coercion and aggression, China’s leaders may eventually conclude that the risks and […]
Many Indian strategic analysts have misconceptions that China continues to perceive India as a significant hurdle to Beijing’s ambition for global prominence. Chinese strategists don’t see India as their strategic rival in the short to medium term. However, they consider it a future competitor, say 50-60 years down the road. Read Here – The Asia […]
The United States is launching a cold war against China, according to almost two thirds of Chinese researchers in a survey conducted by a Beijing-based think tank. A total of 62 out of the 100 respondents to the survey published by the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University agreed when asked “is the […]
One of the secret elements of the deal signed last year is that China will invest US$280 billion in developing Iran’s oil, gas, and petrochemicals sectors. This amount will be front-loaded into the first five-year period of the new 25-year deal, and the understanding is that further amounts will be available in each subsequent five year period, […]
Australia is shocked – shocked – to discover that its main supplier of telecom equipment, Ericsson, depends on Chinese equipment from Panda Electronics, a Nanjing-based manufacturer that appears on the Pentagon’s latest list of Chinese companies linked to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Read Here – Asia Times
For the past half-century, the United States has essentially dominated international waters in the Persian Gulf uncontested by any Great Power. As in the South China Sea and in the Bab el-Mandeb, however, Xi may have ambitions to challenge the United States and assert its military influence over yet another strategic chokepoint. Read Here – […]
looking beyond borders 