One of the interesting effects of ballistic missile defense is how it has affected relations between states. The decades of tension that have arisen between Moscow and Washington over strategic defense issue are well known. Now U.S. ballistic missile defenses (BMD) are driving China and Russia closer together. Read Here – The Diplomat
If ever a reminder was needed of the slippery nature of the grounds on which India-Pakistan relations are played out, a most recent offering is the Washington-based Wilson Center study on India-Pakistan trade. Fairly up to speed on bilateral relations, by recording developments as recent as November 2012, the study has already been rendered outdated […]
After a brief lull, North Korea has begun acting up again: Kim Jong Un has vowed to re-start the country’s nuclear program, has declared the near-60 year-old armistice between his country and South Korea “void”, and, in his latest provocation, has prevented workers from the South from entering the jointly-owned Kaesong Industrial Park, once a symbol of hopeful reconciliation. And so […]
The Obama administration’s “pivot” to Asia made sense, because China was starting to doubt U.S. staying power. Now that Washington has sent Beijing a clear message it will be around for the long haul, however, the time has come for the two countries to deepen and institutionalize their relationship in order to secure Asia’s lasting […]
Recent newspaper reports of China having entered into a secret agreement with Pakistan for constructing a third 1000 megawatt nuclear reactor at Chashma in Punjab province has stirred up a sense of urgency in Washington and New Delhi’s diplomatic circle to find suitable ways and means of preventing any breach of international protocol concerning nuclear […]
Put simply, then, China won the battle by choosing not to fight it. But this isn’t quite the whole story. In addition to avoiding the grave costs of the war, China capitalized by offering developing countries an attractive alternative to the United States: ideologically-blind economic engagement. And, as a result, Beijing was able to expand […]
“The problem with this administration,” one senior official who works for an Obama cabinet department and is a loyal and enthusiastic supporter of the president told me, “is that we don’t do strategy, we do deliverables.” This is a common lament in modern Washington. Trapped within the news cycle like hamsters within a plastic exercise ball, the […]
March 19th marks the ten-year anniversary of the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Iraq has largely fallen off the United States foreign policy agenda since U.S. troops left the country at the end of 2011. Meanwhile, Washington has embraced a passive “one-Iraq” policy that derives its name from its emphasis on the importance of keeping […]
Instead of continuing their endless battling, the United States and Pakistan should acknowledge that their interests simply do not converge enough to make them strong partners. Giving up the fiction of an alliance would free up Washington to explore new ways of achieving its goals in South Asia. And it would allow Islamabad to finally […]
When Deng Xiaoping opened China’s doors to the world, he was quite clear in his message to his people: Do not challenge the American supremacy in any sphere. He needed Washington’s help for China’s journey to prosperity and recognition as a large power; to return the nation to what the Chinese considered to be their […]
looking beyond borders 