In a Fortnight
With Allies Like These, Who Needs Rivals?: China Maintains Studied Ambiguity on Ukraine as Russia Claims ‘Concordance of Views’
In a statement that has been widely interpreted as signifying Chinese support for the Russian position on the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced on March 3 that the foreign ministers of the two countries had expressed “broadly coinciding views” in a... MORE
India Unsettled by Proposed China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Through Kashmir
On February 26, Pakistani officials announced a step forward in China’s plans to construct a transportation corridor through Kashmir to the Pakistani port of Gwadar. Gwadar Port Authority chairman Dostain Khan Jamaldini briefed the Senate’s Ports and Shipping committee after attending the second meeting of... MORE
Arrests in Guangdong Spearhead Effort to Clean up Innovation System—But Reveal Commitment to State-led Research
The firing and arrest of more than 50 officials “from the number one down to the grassroots” in the Provincial Science and Technology Department of Guangdong has been hailed in Chinese official media as a step forward in the fight against corruption—but, as they take... MORE
India-China Border Talks Shift From Resolving Disputes to Managing Them
The 17th round of India-China Special Representative Talks (SR Talks) on boundary disputes between the two countries concluded in New Delhi on February 11. China was represented by State Councilor Yang Jiechi, and India by National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon. An anodyne press release issued... MORE
China Examines Military Strategy
During the start of 2014, China’s official media have, by their own account, been undertaking a reexamination of Chinese military strategy, in response to a call issued by Chinese President Xi Jinping to improve “national defense and army-building” (Qiushi, January 16). Two major articles, published... MORE
Mixed Messaging Surrounds Latest South China Sea Moves
On January 1, new fishing regulations for the South China Sea, issued by the province of Hainan, went into effect, prompting objections from China’s territorial rivals in Southeast Asia, as well as the United States and Japan (Xinhua, January 10). Chinese spokespeople have sought to... MORE
Xi Evokes “New Left” Vision of China’s Future
Chinese President Xi Jinping honored the 120th anniversary of Mao Zedong’s birth on December 26, using the occasion to speak at length about the significance of the founder of the People’s Republic in Chinese and Party history (Xinhua, December 26). The speech was generally laudatory... MORE
Philippine Military Modernization More Urgent and Less Likely after Hurricane
Typhoon Haiyan, known as Yolanda in the Philippines, killed 5,719 and injured 26,233 and displaced more than four million people (ndrrmc.gov.ph, December 4; Manila Bulletin, November 20). This is more than 4% of the country's total population. To put this into perspective, by comparison, approximately... MORE
East China Sea Air Defense Moves: What for and Why Now?
China’s declaration of an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) covering the disputed Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands—as well as the greater part of the East China Sea, including sections of Taiwan’s and South Korea’s own ADIZs—demands explanation. The announcement, issued by China’s Ministry of National Defense (MoD) on... MORE
Taiwan Trade Agreements with Singapore, Japan, Should Calm Fears of PRC Economic Domination
For Taiwan, November has been marked by a burst of activity on the regional trade front. On November 7, Taiwan signed a free trade agreement with Singapore, a day after signing five smaller economic deals with Japan on e-commerce, pharmaceutical regulation, railways, patent recognition and... MORE