The Maldives: Investments Undermine Democracy
With large investments in local infrastructure and tourism, China has become a key player in Maldivian politics
Courtesy: Gateway House
Courtesy: Gateway House
Courtesy: Gateway House
Sri Lanka: Debt-trapped
China has replaced India as Sri Lanka’s biggest economic partner. It is gaining control of Sri Lanka’s ports, which can give it leverage over India’s external trade
Courtesy: pakchina.pk
Gwadar: challenged strategic asset
Gwadar has lain in relative obscurity since 1958 when Oman sold it to Pakistan. It was only 50 years later that the Chinese ‘rediscovered’ it. Pakistan and China have much to learn from the British experience of this strategic asset
Courtesy: Chen Zhengbao, Liu Xin
Han Zheng, apparatchik with qualifications
Han Zheng is soon to run the world’s second largest economy. While he has the wherewithal for the task, he has limited autonomy granted him by President Xi Jinping
Courtesy: AP (Courtesy of The Asian Age)
The unchanged U.S.-Pakistan dynamic
Logistical support for this mission, movement of heavy equipment, fuel and other supplies, needs connectivity via Pakistan.
Courtesy:
Presentation on ‘Rohingyas: Geopolitics, Morality and International Law’
The following presentation was given by Ambassador Rajiv Bhatia at an event hosted by Working Group on Alternative Strategies on 4 January 2018 The Issue: Vital Elements Two dates and a few numbers are worth recalling here: 25 August 2017 when Read more
Courtesy: Independent
Trump’s NSS and Great Power competition
The camaraderie that Trump and Xi projected in November 2017 generated unease. At year end, Trump’s National Security Strategy did away with the multipolar niceties, but the challenges remain: for the U.S., it’s promoting rule of law while opting out of multilateral bodies. For China, it’s taking stock of how its image corresponds to reality
Courtesy: Gateway House
Myanmar: Resisting Chinese Primacy
While most Asian countries studied by Gateway House are moving toward greater dependence on China, Myanmar is moving in the opposite direction. For decades, China has been one of the few countries willing to do business with Myanmar, sanctioned by Read more
Courtesy: Gateway House
Bangladesh: Controlling Financial Infrastructure
China’s investment in Bangladesh’s stock exchange gives Beijing a chance to shape the financial architecture of the most vibrant economy in India’s neighbourhood
Courtesy: Avas.mv
For Maldives, it is ‘China First’ now
Maldives, India’s smallest neighbour, is rapidly coming under China’s ambit of influence: two of nine cooperation agreements that the two countries signed recently are a cause of much concern. The India-Maldives bilateral needs some careful nurturing