China Communist Party Unveils New Leadership With Xi Jinping At Top

China‘s ruling Communist Party unveiled its new leadership line-up on Thursday to steer the world’s second-largest economy for the next five years, with Vice President Xi Jinping taking over from outgoing President Hu Jintao as party chief. Xi was also named head of the party’s Central Military Commission, state news agency Xinhua said. The other new members […]

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The U.S. Military Pivot To Asia: When Bases Are Not Bases

From his office window, Roberto Garcia watches workers repair the USS Emory S. Land, a submarine support vessel that is part of a U.S. military buildup as Washington turns its attention to fast-growing Asia and a newly assertive China. The Philippines, Australia and other parts of the region have seen a resurgence of U.S. warships, planes and personnel […]

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CPC Congress Concludes, New Central Committee Elected

The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) concluded in Beijing Wednesday morning, after a new CPC Central Committee and a new Central Commission for Discipline Inspection were elected. Delegates to the congress also passed resolutions on the report of the 17th CPC Central Committee, the work report of the Central Commission for Discipline […]

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Afghan Warlords Regrouping

One of the most powerful mujahedeen commanders in Afghanistan, Ismail Khan, is calling on his followers to reorganise and defend the country against the Taliban as Western militaries withdraw, in a public demonstration of faltering confidence in the national government and the Western-built Afghan National Army. Mr. Khan is one of the strongest of a […]

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Ten Economic Issues for Obama’s Second Term

The second term Obama administration is taking office facing challenging economic conditions. The economy continues to expand, yet the pace is disappointingly slow. The unemployment rate has fallen below 8 percent for the first time in almost 4 years, but is still unacceptably high. The economic expansion remains fragile and vulnerable to risks associated with […]

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Afghanistan’s Fraught Future

President Hamid Karzai’s visit to India comes at a time when his nation’s future, more than at any point since 9/11, is shrouded in a fog of fear. This weekend, shells fired by his troops were reported to have killed five civilians in Pakistan’s South Waziristan agency, the latest in a series of cross-border skirmishes. […]

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China’s Risky Anti-Japan Policy

Recent anti-Japanese street demonstrations in China may signal the start of economic decline for a nation that won its reputation as the “world’s manufacturing factory” in the late 1990s and surpassed Japan in 2010 to become the second-largest economy after the United States. Although the riots were ostensibly meant as a protest against the Japanese […]

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Obama Caught In The Great Thrall Of China

IN SEVEN weeks America‘s federal budget will self-destruct and plunge America back into recession unless Barack Obama can persuade the Republicans in Congress to raise taxes, which they have vowed never to do. So what is he doing between now and then? He’s heading off to visit south-east Asia and attend the East Asian Summit. […]

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