Malaysia is another old time America’s ally to shift away from the US orbit following the Philippines. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak visited China on October 31-November 6 to sign 14 agreements totaling 143.64 billion ringgit ($34.25 billion), including a defence deal. Malaysia agreed to buy four Chinese littoral combat ships. Two will be built in China…
The big story in Asia IMO is the smaller powers trying to integrate with the PRC economically while keeping it at arms’ length militarily, but that doesn’t seem to drive the coverage I see. Perhaps as a function of that “salary depends on not understanding” Mark Twain crack, US diplos/generals/journos/wonks seem determined to ignore the…
If humanity ever suffers a Third World War, chances are good it will start in some locale distant from the United States like the Baltic or South China Seas, the Persian Gulf, or Syria, where Washington and its rivals play daily games of “chicken” with lethal air and naval forces. Far from enhancing U.S. security,…
The McMahon Line is notorious since India unilaterally—and with some help from the United States and zero agreement from the PRC—asserts that the McMahon Line is the indisputable boundary between India and the PRC in India’s Northeast. The McMahon Line is a hot-button issue for Tibetan nationalists as well, since Great Britain negotiated it directly…
Over the past decade, China has become increasingly bold, doing everything it can to act the neighborhood bully. Narcissistic, entitled and unwilling to bear any criticism, China seems to believe it can walk over almost anyone—mostly because no one has given them any reason to think otherwise. Nations have refrained from criticizing China too strongly, or…
India’s Gambit While sitting in Islamabad on September 30th, I received a call from a friend who said that the 19th summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to be held in Islamabad from November 9th-10th, 2016 had been ‘cancelled’ because India has pulled out, and that such will be all over…
