Archive for September, 2023

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor: White Elephant? – OpEd

Pakistan believed that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will be their “Alladin’s Lamp and the Genie will full fill all their wishes.” CPEC was to be believed to be a ‘Game Changer’ for Pakistan.Initially valued at $47 billion, the value of CPEC projects was worth $62 billion as of 2021. Since 2018 onwards, however, it has not been smooth sailing and […]

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Modi’s India Darker Side Emerges: What Happens Next – OpEd

For a long time, leaders and media from the West have given Prime Minister Modi’s India a pass or an easy time preferring to focus attention on the threat and deficiencies of China while lauding India as a bastion of democracy and model for the developing world. Thus the glaring reality and inconvenient facts of Modi’s governance since accession to […]

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China Presents Its Foreign Policy Blueprint – Analysis

Says China is benign and accommodative while its adversaries are notChina’s State Council Information Office has released the country’s blueprint for a better world entitled “Global Community of Shared Future: China’s Proposals and Actions”. Presented on September 26, the document projects a benign, accommodative and progressive image of China, contrasting it with its adversary countries which are dubbed hegemonic and […]

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China’s South China Sea Tactics Push Manila To Become More Assertive – Analysis

A bold move by the Philippine coast guard this week to publicly cut loose a floating barrier installed by China near a disputed South China Sea lagoon highlights how Beijing’s actions are fueling forceful responses, analysts say. It also could help rally other countries in the region to stand up to Beijing. “The current [Philippine] government understands the need to […]

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The Ethnic Violence In Manipur, India, Explained – OpEd

The ethnoreligious violence in the Indian state of Manipur between Meiteis and Kukis has been ongoing since May, but it was only in July 2023 when a video went viral in India showing two women being paraded naked that the world began to pay attention to the situation in earnest. One of the women was reportedly sexually assaulted after the […]

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Role Of Local Cadres In Militancy In Kashmir: Patterns And Trends – Analysis

In November 2022, a media report quoted unidentified Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) government sources to claim that five of Kashmir division’s ten districts—Kupwara, Ganderbal, Bandipora, Baramulla, and Anantnag have reported zero recruitment of local youths in terror outfits in 2022. The conclusion of the seven-day encounter in Gadole forests of Anantnag which resulted in the killing of four security force […]

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The Taliban’s Open-Ended Rule: Implications For Afghanistan And The World – OpEd

Two years after the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, the militant group continues to assert its rule, citing Islamic law as the source of its legitimacy. In a recent interview, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid reaffirmed the group’s commitment to an indefinite rule based on Sharia, dismissing questions about restrictions on women’s rights and education. As Afghanistan grapples with the implications of […]

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Taliban: 200 Anti-Pakistan Militants Arrested in Afghanistan

Afghanistan’s Taliban says it has captured 200 suspected militants for staging deadly cross-border attacks against Pakistan and has implemented other “concrete steps” to “neutralize” the terrorist activity, VOA learned from Pakistani officials privy to the process. The de facto Afghan rulers shared the details about the crackdown on the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, in bilateral talks they hosted last […]

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Chinese Politics since Hu Jintao and the Origin of Xi Jinping’s Strongman Rule: A New Hypothesis

What is the origin of Xi Jinping’s strongman rule? A “victorious Xi” thesis argues that Xi simply won his fight to gain power. But this raises the question of where Xi found the political support to do so. A “collective support” thesis suggests that centralized power was willingly given to Xi by the Chinese Communist Party’s collective leadership to overcome […]

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China Builds Roads, Provisions Its Ships In US Ally Micronesia – Analysis

George, who said he arrived on this lush island in Micronesia six months ago, lives with two other Chinese men and fierce guard dogs at an isolated site in the jungle that was used to make asphalt for a Chinese-funded road upgrade. He wouldn’t give his complete name when reporters from BenarNews and affiliate news organization Radio Free Asia visited […]

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