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: Government of South Africa/ Flickr
South Africa leads BRICS, IORA in 2018
Internal political constraints dog it currently, but if overcome, South Africa can be a good chairman to BRICS and IORA in 2018. It also has a tough balancing act to perform between two great Asian powers, China and India
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: Indian Navy
A case for the Quad’s reappearance
A noticeable feature of 2017 was China’s aggressiveness, which it deployed openly to advance its interests in the eastern rim, Southeast Asia, Central Asia and South Asia. This could well be the impetus for the consolidation of a broad front of China-wary nations in 2018
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