As South Sudan’s referendum on independence draws nearer, the international community is preparing for the possible division of Sudan into two independent states. With signs of growing tensions and several issues still to be resolved by negotiations—notably agreements on the demarcation of a north-south border... MORE

At the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) meeting in Hanoi in July, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi―fuming at the temerity of 12 countries who had raised the contentious South China Sea dispute―stared at his Singaporean counterpart and thundered “China is a big country and other countries... MORE

Vice-President Xi Jinping’s brief visit to the western-China metropolis of Chongqing earlier this month has given important clues about the “crown prince’s” political orientations and his relations with key Chinese Communist Party (CCP) factions. After his induction into the Central Military Commission (CMC) last October,... MORE

China’s naval presence on the global stage is expanding. While counter-piracy and escort operations in the Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea have significantly contributed to the Chinese navy's growing profile, foreign port visits by its naval vessels to the Gulf region are emerging as... MORE

Residents in the Kurram Agency of tribal northwest Pakistan believe that the Pakistani military has once again postponed military operations in North Waziristan Agency after its plan to shift the so-called “moderate Taliban” (including the notorious Haqqani Network) was exposed and severely criticized by some... MORE

The crisis on the Korean Peninsula has marked a new dimension of the media, once again confirming Marshall McLuhan’s observation that “the media is the message.” In this case, it was the international press offering global coverage to WikiLeaks releasing US State Department cables. These... MORE

On November 22, the Russian government expected to bask in the light of a successful NATO Summit in Lisbon. President Dmitry Medvedev attended while NATO had produced a new Strategic Concept that treated Russia as a partner and not as a problem. European missile defense... MORE

On November 3, the Global Times reported that “some 1,800 naval forces and at least 100 warships, submarines and combat aircrafts [sic]” of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) “Marine Corps” held a live-fire exercise called “Jiaolong-2010” (Dragon-2010) in the “disputed South China Sea” (Global Times,... MORE

Since 2007, in large part due to aggressive Russian posturing, the Arctic region has become a bone of contention among members of the Arctic Council as well as a subject of international concern. While the signing of the Russo-Norwegian treaty on September 15 put an... MORE

Taiwanese voters cast their ballots on November 27 under the shadow of an unexpected and mysterious gunshot on the eve of five special municipality elections. These five municipalities are home to 60 percent of Taiwan’s 23 million people. In the lead up to the elections,... MORE