Nuke Test Gives US ‘Excuse To Boost Its Military’

China urges caution and opposes moves that increase tension. The United States and its allies may boost their military presence in the Asia-Pacific region, citing Pyongyang’s nuclear test, analysts said. The comments came as China engaged in a flurry of diplomacy on Wednesday to ease regional tension. “More drills by the US and its allies […]

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The New Old Year

Any look back at 2012 would necessarily focus on three parts of the world: the eurozone, with its seemingly endless financial uncertainties; the Middle East, with its many upheavals, including, but hardly limited to, the Muslim Brotherhood’s accession to power in Egypt and Syria’s savage civil war, which has already claimed more than 60,000 lives; […]

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China Ups The Ante In Space

China recently opened its domestic satellite navigation network to commercial use across the Asia-Pacific region. The move underscored China’s emergence as an independent space power challenging the primacy of the United States, Russia, Europe and Japan. The network offers a still-to-be-proven alternative in the region to the well-established and highly accurate U.S. global positioning system (GPS), […]

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A Better Year: 2013 Forecast for Asian Economies

Leadership changes in China, Japan and South Korea along with the United States have marked another tumultuous year for the Asia-Pacific region. With 2013, the Year of the Water Snake in Chinese mythology, around the corner, what might be in store for the region’s economy? According to “feng shui experts” quoted byMalaysia’s top-selling daily The Star, the […]

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Kerry Positive For China-US Relations: China Daily

The diplomatic wisdom of incoming US Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to improve China-US relations, as the Obama administration seeks to rebalance its Asian strategy during the president’s second term. President Barack Obama on Saturday nominated Senator Kerry, the son of a diplomat, as his next secretary of state to replace Hillary Clinton, and […]

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After election, pressure grows on Obama in Asia-Pacific trade talks

U.S.-led talks on a free-trade pact in the Asia-Pacific region are entering a potential make-or-break stage, putting pressure on President Barack Obama and other leaders to sacrifice sensitive domestic interests for a big deal to boost growth. The 11 countries involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, talks meet next week in Auckland, New Zealand, for the […]

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China Wields Economic Club

SINGAPORE — The bitter dispute between China and Japan over their rival claims to ownership of the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea has severely strained bilateral political relations. Mishandling or mistakes by either side could trigger a clash between their paramilitary ships, drawing in regular forces and leading to a wider war. As […]

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The Currency of Power

Earlier this year, Bob Carr, Australia’s foreign minister and a longtime friend of the United States, observed with Aussie clarity: “The United States is one budget deal away from restoring its global preeminence.” He added a caution: “There are powers in the Asia-Pacific that are whispering that this time the United States will not get […]

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