China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan signed an intergovernmental agreement to begin construction of a railway link connecting Xinjiang with Fergana Valley, Beijing, June 6, 2024 The report of the death of China’s Belt and Road Initiative [BRI] was an exaggeration, after all. Within days of the US President Joe Biden’s acerbic remark during an interview last …
US, Russia lock horns in Niger
The US drone base ‘Base Aerienne 201’ in Agadez, Niger Such a thing never happened in the past one hundred years since the United States stepped out of the Western Hemisphere as an imperial power — an adversary barging into one of its military bases abroad. A military base is deemed sovereign territory and an …
Biden reaches out to Xi Jinping with eye on financial stability
The US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen arrived in Guangzhou on the first leg of a six-day visit to China, April 4, 2024 The salience of the phone call from the US President Joe Biden to Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday is their consensus that during the period since their summit meeting in Woodside, California, …
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France all dressed up and nowhere to go
French President Emmanuel Macron at a conference (file photo) Ever since its ignominious defeat in the Napoleonic wars, France is entrapped in the predicament of countries that get sandwiched between great powers. Following World War II, France addressed this predicament by forging an axis with Germany in Europe. Caught up in a similar predicament, Britain …
Russia’s victory in Ukraine resonates in Central Asia
Russian President Vladimir Putin (third from left) with Central Asian counterparts at a recent CIS summit, Kyrgyzstan, Oct 12, 2023 Russia’s stunning victory in the battle of Avdeevka and the rout of the Ukrainian military, boosts the credibility of Russia as provider of security for the Central Asian region. The point is not lost …
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Germany swims or sinks with NATO
German Chancellor Scholz (L) and US President Biden at the White House, Feb. 9, 2024 There couldn’t be a better metaphor than what a Chinese analyst used to characterise the NATO while commenting on its secretary general Jens Stoltenberg’s recent remark that the West does not seek war with Russia but should still “prepare ourselves for …
China, Russia pip US to the Taliban hearth
Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) receiving the credentials of Taliban government’s ambassador to China, Asadullah Bilal Karimi in a formal ceremony, Great Hall of the People, Beijing, Jan. 30, 2024 The diplomatic recognition of the Taliban government in Afghanistan on January 31, 2024 by China must be bracketed with two other far-reaching regional policy moves …
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China ignores US entreaties of mediation
Wang Yi, Member of Politbureau of Chinese Communist Party Central Committee and director of Central Foreign Affairs Office (3rd from left) met with Jake Sullivan, assistant to US President for National Security (3rd from Right), Bangkok, Jan. 26-27, 2024 There is an old proverb that when misfortunes come, they come in battalions. Coming on top …
ICJ ruling on Gaza is on the way
In a few hours from now, by this evening per IST, it is expected that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will rule on the South African request for provisional measures to stop what it argues is Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. It is a poignant moment: an ex-apartheid country is censuring an …
Regional opinion urges Iran-Pakistan amity
Unsurprisingly, the eruption of tensions in the Pakistan-Iran diplomatic ties on Tuesday following Tehran’s air strike across the border against Baluchistan is subsiding, which testifies to the political maturity of the two countries. Neither side wants the tensions and both are astute observers of the regional and international environment. Their chosen path of reconciliation becomes …
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