Long before the rise of China as a global powerhouse, Asean was a key player in the Indo-Pacific. The 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations — comprising Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam — established an effective mechanism for trade and commerce, a framework for cooperation with the strict […]
Tag Archives: China
22
Aug
Aug
Leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (Brics) gather this week at what is often called the wealthiest square mile in the African continent. But the first in-person summit since 2019 of the grouping once seen as a credible counterweight to the western-led blocs begins with more than a sense of unease. China, the […]
16
Aug
Aug
Senior military commanders of India and China met after a gap of almost four months to address the protracted standoff on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) this week but had little to show for the talks that spanned two days. The joint statement issued at the conclusion of the meeting of the corps commanders […]
26
Jul
Jul
China’s politics are opaque even to close watchers of the second-largest economy in the world. The political play that goes on inside the Zhongnanhai, originally an imperial garden with a placid lake in the heart of Beijing, is blocked from public view by an impenetrable wall of secrecy. Foreign minister Qin Gang’s sudden removal, and […]
19
Jun
Jun
The United States (US) and China are trying to talk their relationship off the ledge. This is the big import from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to Beijing this week, the first by America’s top diplomat in nearly five years. Mr Blinken met Chinese president Xi Jinping on the final day of his […]
19
Jun
Jun
Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi’s visit to the United States (US) this week is set to make history. Bound by the shared anxieties over China’s belligerence, deep people-to-people links, and economic and technological synergies, New Delhi and Washington DC are ready to break free from the shackles of the past. If Bill Clinton’s 2000 visit […]
26
May
May
Off the northeastern coast of Australia in the Pacific Ocean is a smattering of islands, which form the frontline in the battle to survive in a warming Earth, and the associated vagaries of rapid sea level rise and rash changes in climate phenomenon. Yet, these small islands — sandwiched between the United States (US), China […]
08
May
May
Covid-19 is no longer a public health emergency, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared last week, roughly 1,200 days after it first learnt of a new coronavirus spreading through Wuhan, China. The declaration bookends a period marked by personal tragedy for millions, if not billions, of people. But, crucially, it is a moment to re-examine […]
19
Apr
Apr
India has already surpassed or will surpass, by July 1, China to become the most populous country on the planet, a United Nations Population Fund report predicted, a moment of tremendous opportunity and challenge for a country still striving to provide a basic quality of life to all its citizens. Three interconnected issues need the […]
06
Apr
Apr
China’s move to unilaterally rename 11 locations in Arunachal Pradesh, which Beijing claims as South Tibet, earlier this week is in line with its strategy of keeping the border with India unstable, even as it pretends that it wants to keep up business running as usual in other domains of the bilateral ties. This is […]