China and Russia have already ditched the US dollar in their vast energy trade. Now China is leveraging Saudi Arabia to also abandon the greenback for oil sales. No wonder, it seems, that US policies are increasingly lashing out. US global power depends on its presumed economic prowess and military force. With its economy in long-term decline,…
To one watching the advance of Chinese science and technology, or to me anyway, several things stand out. First, the headlong pace. Second, the amount of it that appears aimed at making China independent of the West technologically and getting the United States off Beijing’s back. Third, the apparent calculated focus. It looks like intelligent…
There is a relation between the China-India border conflict and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the United States, experts told Sputnik. Delhi wants to win Washington’s support against China, especially in South Asia. On June 27, the Chinese Foreign Ministry accused Indian border guards of crossing into its territory from the state of Sikkim on India’s northeastern border…
Introduction China has begun construction of the first Type 075 Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) at the Shanghai based Hudong Zhonghua Shipbuilding Company. Construction most likely started in January or February of this year, with some satellite imagery and digital photos appearing online of at least one pre-fabricated hull cell. The Type 075 will be the…
Pakistan is renewing a 2011 call to the People’s Liberation Army Navy to construct and operate a naval base on its coast, according to a Pakistani diplomat. Islamabad needs an “equalizer” against India, the emissary noted in comments published at the Asia Times. “Previously, it was the US and Saudi Arabia… Now, it’s China,” he said. A recent…
Will the New Silk Roads, a.k.a. Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) ever manage to cross the Hindu Kush? Temerity is the name of the game. Even though strategically located astride the Ancient Silk Road, and virtually contiguous to the US$50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) – a key BRI node – Afghanistan is still mired…
