China Reform Monitor: No. 1030
Tajikistan cedes China 20 sq km;
India wants more cooperation on trans-border rivers
Tajikistan cedes China 20 sq km;
India wants more cooperation on trans-border rivers
Amid all the media focus on China’s maritime territorial disputes with Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines, the world nearly forgot that China still hosts the world’s largest outstanding land border dispute with the world’s largest democracy, India.
There has been much talk about the “pivot to Asia” as if it is something novel or new. In truth, however, U.S. foreign policy has been engaged in a pivot to Asia ever since Commodore Perry sailed under orders given to him by President Millard Fillmore in 1853 to open up Japan. Missing in the current approach, however, has been discussion about South Asia, except when South Asian states (namely Pakistan, India, Nepal, and Bangladesh) intersect with issues related to Central Asia and the war in Afghanistan.
The "
laughably bogus"
trial of Aleksei Navalny;
The Kremlin threatens another adoption ban
Taiwan, Japan reach accord on fishing rights;
Nepal caving to Chinese pressure on Tibetan refugees
The Transformation In U.S.-India Defense Ties
A New Arena For Cooperation
South Asia And The Obama Doctrine
South Asia's Growing Water Insecurity
For better or worse, governments tend to be defined by their handling of foreign crises. Weather one well, and you project an image of strong, principled leadership, much like the way Margaret Thatcher's government managed its dispute with Argentina over the Falkland Islands. Dither or delay, and you telegraph an air of provocative weakness. (Think Jimmy Carter and Iran.)
U.S. budget cuts drive Poland's missile shield... ...While Russia seeks to reengage diplomatically on BMD Does missile defense restructure mean new kill vehicles?
President Obama and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, recently set a September date for bilateral discussions. The goal is to mend ties between the U.S. and Russia, badly frayed by the recent passage of tit–for–tat human rights sanctions, and attempt to put the administration's "reset" of relations with the Kremlin back on track. The White House has already suggested disarmament, Iran, North Korea and Syria as the main topics for the talks.
Moscow releases retaliatory blacklist;
Putin’
s popularity on the decline?
Pak defense budget soars;
Pakistan's former military ruler arrested;
India vows to protect border amid alleged Chinese incursion
China bolsters forces at DPRK border;
Thailand the first to host Beidou, China’
s GPS
The civil war in Syria is over two years old with no end in sight. As matters stand, the future holds either continued bloody stalemate or a successor regime dominated by anti-Western radicals. The time has come to force a more favorable decision.
Patriarch Kirill calls feminism a “
very dangerous phenomenon”
U.S. releases Russian blacklist
Flashpoint: Iran's Azeris;
Economic uncertainty, and food insecurity, in Iran;
Number of Presidential hopefuls continues to grow
These days, American policy toward the Middle East tends to be dominated by two regional crises.
The first is the long-running showdown with Iran over its nuclear program. Despite mounting Western financial pressure, the Islamic republic shows no signs of changing course. To the contrary, Iran’s leaders have defiantly tightened their fiscal belts and redoubled their efforts to cross the nuclear Rubicon. Meanwhile, negotiations between Tehran and the West have concluded predictably, without any tangible progress on bringing the Iranian regime’s nuclear ambitions to heel.
The apprehension of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev ends a five day reign of terror in the Boston area. Taking him alive allows authorities the opportunity to find answers to critical questions surrounding the deadly April 15 Boston marathon bombing. Most important of this is, why did Dzhokhar and his brother Tamarlan allegedly do it?
China bolstering security at DPRK border;
Chinese overseas fishing massively under-reported
Western thinking about freedom and democracy is marked by a set of optimistic assertions, which include the following:
First, the global advance of freedom and democracy marches ever-onward. Second, economic and political freedoms in a particular nation walk hand in hand, each reinforcing the other. Third, the more a society (particularly its middle class) enjoys economic growth and the higher living standards that normally come with it, the more citizens will push for greater political freedom.
Taiwan fears Chinese cyber army;
Russia to sell China Su-35, Lada-class subs  
Chinese warship likely to visit India;
India mulls more changes to defense acquisition;
Pak delegation in Sri Lanka
Secretary of State John Kerry made news recently by referring to the venue of the latest nuclear talks with Iran as the fictional country of "Kyrzakhstan." That off-the-cuff comment was a telling indicator of the general lack of concern for Central Asia that prevails in official Washington.
Iran training pro-Assad militias;
While the U.S. and Jordan train the FSA...;
...Israel raises questions about UNFIL
DPRK border guards fleeing to China in larger numbers;
Critical eye on Sino-Russian trade
No change to Chinese family planning policy;
Chinese youth recruited into “
Red Army of the Internet&rdquo
With international pressure over its nuclear program mounting, and the recent collapse of its latest round of negotiations with the West, this might seem like a strange time for Iran to pick a fight with its neighbors. Yet on at least one front, that is exactly what it appears to be doing. Recent days have seen a marked downturn in the already-troubled relationship between the Islamic Republic and Azerbaijan, its neighbor to the northwest.
Russia to establish bases in Afghanistan Putin eliminates regional elections
On the surface, the Cyprus crisis was about money, but actually it was the result of conflicting political cultures: European, Greek Cypriot and Russian. The fissures exposed during the March 2013 crisis will leave a legacy of mistrust and enmity far beyond the eastern Mediterranean island that staged the drama. The underlying problem was that Europe had accepted a non-European entity (Cyprus) into its institutions and then failed to enforce upon it Europe’s standards of financial governance. Russian money became fuel for the catastrophe, but was not itself the cause. Money laundering and bank insolvency are both deplorable but are not the same thing.
Aqim sets sights on Tunisia;
Hamas to choose next leader;
Afghanistan, Tajikistan talk econ ties
Exiled former tycoon found dead;
HIV among leading causes of death in Russia
Last week the Chinese Foreign Ministry all but confirmed that it plans to sell its longtime ally Pakistan a new 1,000-megawatt nuclear reactor. The deal, reportedly signed in February, is a cause for concern in Washington. Though nominally a U.S. ally, Pakistan already has the world's fastest-growing nuclear-weapons arsenal and one of the world's worst nuclear-proliferation records. It is a country perpetually under threat from religious fanaticism, political instability and economic mismanagement.
Years from now, historians may well write that the decline or upswing in the American empire of liberty occurred during the Obama presidency. They will either write that the Obama administration’s self-fulfilling prophecy and rhetoric of decline was overcome by the overwhelming greatness of the United States or that the ultimate downfall was caused by the conditions created by this White House.
Late last month, computers in Seoul became the latest victims of the growing number of cyber-intrusions now taking place worldwide. Approximately 32,000 computers belonging to South Korean banks and broadcasting stations were shut down by an unknown perpetrator, strongly suspected to be the notoriously unpredictable Stalinist regime in North Korea.
Arrow 3 reaches new heights;
Britain to partner with U.S. on sea-based defense;
North Korea's mobile missile threatens U.S.
Nuclear states divided on India joining NSG;
Musharraf returns to Pakistan;
China confirms new nuclear deal with Pakistan;
India, U.S. expand space cooperation;
Pakistani military may target TTP in Tirah Valley
Field of presidential candidates takes shape...;
...as regime stacks the electoral deck;
Nuclear collusion with North Korea...;
...but dimming economic prospects elsewhere in Asia
"Put yourself in their shoes," President Obama said of the Palestinians, imploring his Israeli audience in Jerusalem to work for peace. "Look at the world through their eyes.
Islamists fill security void in Egypt;
Ansar Dine added to list of terrorist organizations;
Saudi Arabia accuses Shi'ites of being Iranian spies
China to help finance IPI pipeline;
Uncertain future for China-Vatican ties
The financial crisis in Cyprus is, among other things, a stress test in relations between Europe and Russia. Thus far, neither has performed very well.
Relations between Washington and Moscow are currently in a sterile phase, and are likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. Europeans, on the other hand, like to claim they are much more effective in understanding and managing the Russians. But are they?
The largest gathering of billionaires in the world;
Chinese warships set new precedent in Korean waters
Controversial missile defense shield scrapped;
Hundreds of NGOs searched
Egypt rejects IMF loan;
Zawahiri's brother wants a salafist Egypt;
Chechen jihadists flock to Syria
India to counter Chinese investments in neighborhood;
Turkey, Pakistan hold joint drill;
Tensions continue between Pakistan, India
President Obama's first journey to Israel as president comes amid earth-shattering change in Middle East, much of it for the worse. The Arab Spring, which once raised hopes of freedom and dignity, has diverged onto the dark path of Islamist authoritarian rule. In Syria, tens of thousands of people have died in a bitter civil war that might have recently seen its first use of chemical weapons. And Iran continues its march toward nuclear weapons capability, heedless of international condemnation. Obama's effort to seek peace between Palestinians and Israelis is in tatters.
PLA denies hacking charges;
China blocking VOA broadcasts into Tibet
Moscow to trade bailout money for information;
Kremlin warns UK against arming Syrian rebels
Beijing to target carbon dioxide emissions;
Xi Jinping meets with KMT leader
Russia’
s population finally on the rise? Not so fast...;
Corruption plagues Olympic preparations
The passing of Hugo Chavez last week shouldn't have come as much of a surprise to most observers. The death watch for the long serving Venezuelan strongman had been in effect since at least mid-2011, when he confirmed longstanding rumors by publicly announcing that he was being treated for an aggressive form of cancer.