Until very recently, the dusty African territory of Djibouti was best known to the wider world for its inhabitants’ habit of chewing khat. Each day, as the heat of the afternoon mounts, the men of Djibouti gather in sociable groups, wad a few leaves of the East African shrub Catha edulis into their cheeks, and…
The Chinese constitutional amendment allowing Xi Jinping the possibility of further presidential terms — staying in power long enough to bring “national rejuvenation” combined with the Russian election re-confirming Vladimir Putin in the presidency have assured consistency and continuity for the Russia-China strategic partnership way into the next decade. This will facilitate the interaction between…
From a telephone conversation with the Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen to the recent signing of the Taiwan Travel Act (TTA), US President Donald Trump has signalled his administration is amending Washington’s long-held China policy. The TTA encourages exchange visits between US and Taiwanese officials at all levels. In December, Trump signed the National Defence Authorisation…
Amid fears of a potentially devastating trade war between the US and China, Washington has urged Beijing not to implement the ban on US garbage and recyclable materials that Asia’s giant threatened to impose last July. In an effort to battle the “illegal foreign garbage” influx into China, last July China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection…
Recent inter-communal riots in Sri Lanka have highlighted the problem of religious extremism, particularly among Asia’s Buddhist population. But the Buddhist nationalist point of view has been largely ignored in favour of a discourse which demonises Buddhists as aggressors and portrays Muslims as innocent victims. The reality is far more complex. Part I A state…
The Trump administration has opened a trade war against China by announcing that tariffs will be imposed on up to $60 billion worth of Chinese exports to the United States. It has also launched a treasury investigation to devise measures to prevent Chinese investment in industries with technologies that the US regards as strategic. President…
