The Pentagon’s decision to downscale its footprint in Africa makes Russia’s military efforts there more important than ever. A Pentagon spokeswoman announced that the US will withdraw hundreds of troops from Africa in the next few years in order to focus more on directly challenging Russia and China, taking care to explain that this supposedly …
Continue reading The US “Leading From Behind” in Africa Lets Russia “Lead From the Front”
Constructivism criticism from one’s own supporters is oftentimes the most effective way for a country, project, or global vision to improve its shortcomings before they become unmanageable, and it’s with this in mind that such an approach must be urgently undertaken when it comes to China’s Silk Road. China’s Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) is …
Continue reading Constructive Criticisms of China’s Silk Road
The dogs of war – cold, hot, trade, tariffs – bark while the Chinese caravan plies the New Silk Roads. Call it a leitmotif of the young 21st century. At the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing, President Xi Jinping has just announced a hefty US$60 billion package to complement another US$60 billion pledged …
Continue reading It’s Africa’s Choice: AFRICOM or the New Silk Roads
The New Silk Roads, formerly One Belt One Road, then Belt and Road Initiative, were launched almost five years ago by President Xi Jinping, first in Astana (the Silk Road Economic Belt) and then in Jakarta (the Maritime Silk Road). Way beyond the acronym purgatory – and the “lost in translation” factor that neither name …
Continue reading The New Silk Roads Are Just Pieces in a Giant Puzzle
It has been described as China’s ‘Private Army.’ Fueled by growing demand from domestic companies involved in the multi-trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative, independent security groups are expanding in the country. In 2013, there were 4,000-registered firms, employing more than 4.3 million personnel. By 2017, the figure had jumped to 5,000 with staff numbers hovering …
Continue reading China’s ‘Private Army’ Prowls the ‘New Silk Road’
The US’ Hybrid War on OBOR doesn’t stop at the military phase but importantly continues into the informational domain in order to undermine China’s New Silk Roads through the planting of Trumpist “time bombs” in strategic transit states that can only be neutralized by a comprehensive perception management strategy that breaks from the centralized model …
Continue reading The Infowar Phase of the US’ Hybrid War on One Belt–One Road
Leaked Chinese military documents purport that the People’s Liberation Army will seek to expand its presence across the world in order to defend its Silk Road interests. The Japan Times was the first outlet to report on the plans that putatively circulated in Chinese circles back in February and which implored the state to concentrate …
Continue reading China’s Military Interests Along the Silk Road Stretch from Sea to Shining Sea
China’s pioneering initiative to institutionalize trade rules and dispute mechanisms for its New Silk Road is especially impactful in making the World Trade Organization irrelevant in and of itself, but when combined with Trump’s recent moves away from this globalist body, it has the effect of dealing what might be a deathblow to the group …
Continue reading It’s Not Just Trump, China’s also Making the WTO Irrelevant
The Polish-led “Three Seas Initiative” aims to streamline a North-South Corridor from Norway to Greece through the creation of the “Via Carpathia” trade route that would prospectively link with the “Baltic Ring” in order to connect the Arctic Ocean with the Mediterranean Sea. The southeastern Polish village of Jasionka hosted the latest forum on the Polish-led …
Continue reading The Three Seas’ “via Carpathia” will Complete the Arctic-Mediterranean Corridor
