The Doklam debate has missed one key element: The mutual withdrawal deal was clinched just after Chinese President Xi Jinping replaced the chief of the People Liberation Army’s (PLA) joint staff department. This topmost position – equivalent to the chairman of the U.S. joint chiefs of staff – was created only last year as part […]
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping Tuesday identified the need to have closer communication between defence and security personnel of the two countries at the first substantive bilateral meeting of the two leaders after the tense standoff in Doklam. The meeting came on the sidelines of the 9th BRICS Summit in Xiamen, China. Read […]
Ultimately, the trajectory of the U.S.-Pakistan relationship will depend on the types of pressure tactics implemented by the White House, and on the nature of Pakistan’s responses and retaliations. Another determinant of the relationship’s future is how much risk Washington and Islamabad will be willing to take on. The harsher the measures adapted by the […]
The annual multiday Islamic pilgrimage known as the hajj began Aug. 31. Each year, a few million Muslims from across the globe flock to Islam’s two holiest mosques, in Mecca and Medina, to perform their religious obligation. But the hajj is more than a religious pilgrimage; it’s an expression of Saudi power. Stewardship over the […]
Sanctions on North Korea have been tried, and failed. Serious negotiations seem like a pipedream. And any military strike would almost surely bring mass devastation and horrific civilian casualties. The Trump administration’s options are going from bad to worse as Kim Jong-un’s military marches ever closer to being able to strike the US mainland with […]
The case for government spending during economic slowdowns has been hotly debated for decades. John Maynard Keynes went as far as to suggest that during a recession governments should pay people to do meaningless tasks — such as digging holes in the ground and then filling them up. Read Here – BloombergView
The Communist Party of China (CPC), the country’s ruling party since the end of the civil war in 1949, will begin its once-every-five-year National Congress on Oct. 18, at which time a new slate of party leaders will be elected. In the major party reshuffle, some officials will stay in their posts; others will be […]
The current crisis in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, following coordinated attacks by a Rohingya militant group on some 30 police posts, is a grave threat to the security and stability of that restive state. While driven by mainly local dynamics and grievances, it also feeds Buddhist nationalism across the country. Read Here – Nikkei Asian Review […]
If you’d asked Pentagon officials on Wednesday morning, “How many U.S. troops are deployed to Afghanistan?” they’d have told you “about 8,400.” If you ask them now, they’ll tell you “approximately 11,000” — maybe a thousand troops less than the actual best estimate. Read Here – Defense One
An old field telephone from the 1940s, a Nazi flag and a map of Tobruk greet visitors to the newly reopened Rommel Cave Museum in Marsa Matrouh, one of Egypt’s lesser known tourist destinations. The items belonged to Erwin Rommel, one of the most celebrated generals of Nazi Germany until he was implicated in a plot […]
looking beyond borders 