The introduction of a slew of economic reforms and political initiatives by the Burmese government in the second half of 2011 have significant implications for the carriage of Burmese foreign policy. Indeed, the surprise announcement in September suspending construction of a major Chinese-funded hydroelectric dam... MORE

As the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) continues to emphasize the need to raise the quality of its personnel, analyzing the recruitment, education and training of the officer corps becomes all the more important for assessing Chinese military modernization, especially for the technology-dependent PLA Air... MORE

On November 16th, a two-week joint anti-terrorism exercise, Friendship-2011 (Youyi-2011), commenced between China and Pakistan. The exercise was the fourth instalment of the “Friendship” counter-terrorism series. The initial 2004 exercise took place in Xinjiang, China, near the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan, and marked the... MORE

Relations between China and the United States have taken a confrontational turn in the wake of a series of initiatives taken by President Barack Obama in his recent trip to Hawaii and Asia. While taking part for the first time in the East Asia Summit... MORE

On November 22, Chinese President Hu Jintao and the Central Military Commission (CMC) issued a directive creating a “Strategic Planning Department” (zhanlüe guihua bu). The new department will fall under the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) General Staff Department as the twelfth such unit (Xinhua, November... MORE

The heads of government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) have reiterated earlier promises to enlarge the grouping. Thus, the organization (currently including Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) has insisted on its global ambitions. SCO expansion would serve to strengthen its international status,... MORE

Often tagged as the second most lethal India-centric terror group based in the Pakistani Punjab, Jaish-e-Muhammad (Army of [the Prophet] Muhammad - JeM) is once again raising its head under the guise of charity in an apparent attempt to revitalize its fledgling stature in the... MORE

In the first weeks of November 2011, a series of independent events in the diplomatic, economic and security domains highlight how the new Peruvian government of Ollanta Humala is using the previous governments' initiatives to become a key partner for China in Latin America, deepen... MORE

In late June 2011, Henry Kissinger made a trip to Chongqing and allegedly told his flamboyant host Bo Xilai, the 63 year-old Party Secretary of the city, “As an intellectual visiting Chongqing, I saw the vision for the future by the Chinese leaders. I am... MORE

For the EU, and in particular the Eurozone, the last three months have been a never-ending trial by fire. Emergency summits have taken place almost weekly across the usual key parts of the EU power terrain—Brussels, Paris, Berlin and Rome. This turmoil managed to cause... MORE