Desperate for funding to fend off a financial crisis fuelled in part by mounting debt to China, Pakistan is playing a complicated game of poker that could hand Saudi Arabia a strategic victory in its bitter feud with Iran at the People’s Republic’s expense. The Pakistani moves threaten a key leg of the USD60 billion…
Pakistan is following the path first pioneered by Russia in cracking down against hostile International NGOs that pose a threat to national security. Pakistan took a page from the Russian playbook last week by ordering 18 International NGOs (INGOs) to discontinue their operations within 60 days on the presumed basis that their activities are endangering…
Over the past half century, critics have often predicted the fall of the House of Saud or emphasised the fragility of its rule. They were invariably proved wrong because the Saudi monarchy enjoyed limitless oil revenues, had the support of the US, and avoided becoming a front-line combatant in Middle East crises. Saudi strengths and…
On April 1, 2001, a United States spy plane on a regular reconnaissance mission over the South China Sea collided with a Chinese fighter jet, killing its pilot and leaving 24 American crew members, along with their plane, stranded on the island of Hainan for nearly two weeks of tension. Although Beijing and Washington managed…
At a time when the United States has intensified its confrontation with Russia based on claims that Moscow interfered in US and allied politics (i.e. the UK and prospective NATO members in Eastern Europe), the US openly meddles everywhere from Europe and Africa to the Middle East and Asia. This includes Southeast Asia where Washington…
Sino/US tensions risk boiling over into something much more serious than already. Washington considers China’s significant political, economic, trade, and military strength as a threat to US national security. Accusations by US officials against China, Russia, and other countries are all about wanting no nations compromising Washington’s hegemonic agenda – its aim for unchallenged control….
