In the latest round of high-level personnel changes in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), more appointments of key posts appear to be going to younger and more professionally trained military officers. These changes, which involve top positions in the PLA’s four general headquarters, major regional... MORE

The retired former chief of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI), Lieutenant General Hamid Gul, is one of the most controversial political figures in Pakistan. Despite his once extremely close ties with the American Central Intelligence Agency during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, Gul has since... MORE

Tajikistan has agreed to cede a fraction of its territory to neighboring China in a bid to settle a border dispute that dates back more than a century. On January 12, the lower house of the Tajik parliament voted to ratify the 2002 border demarcation... MORE

Fear of a Taliban resurgence is rising among the people of the Swat valley, less than one year after the Pakistan army cleared the picturesque area (Dawn [Karachi] Feb 26, 2009). Many in Swat believe the Tehrik-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM - Movement for the Enforcement of Islamic... MORE

Since being inaugurated in 2001, Turkey’s annual hosting of its "Anatolian Eagle" aerial military exercises at Konya air base in the central Anatolian region of Konya have been central to its efforts to preserve military preparedness and to enhance relations with the air forces of... MORE

Promoting social equality and justice has been the single most oft-stated commitment that the Chinese leadership has made to its people the past year. In an interview with China National Radio late last month, Premier Wen Jiabao vowed to "render society more fair and just."... MORE

China's defense-industrial complex is emerging from the shadows of its troubled past. While weaknesses and limitations in the Chinese defense industry remain, in recent years it has produced a wide range of advanced weapon systems that has markedly enhanced the country’s military capabilities and demonstrated... MORE

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