In late July, Washington imposed sweeping Section 301 tariffs targeting 60 trading partners that it alleged had failed to ban imports from China’s Xinjiang region. In this interview, Victor Gao argues that Beijing should turn the situation to its advantage by routing rare-earth exports through a Xinjiang-based hub. Guancha: In late July, the United States rolled out the so-called “forced […]

Key Takeaways:On the Taliban’s fifth anniversary in power, the author says fighting has intensified in Badakhshan: NRF (Ahmad Massoud), AFF (Gen. Yasin Zia), smaller local groups, and a brief revolt by former commander Juma Khan Fateh.The province matters because it is Tajik-majority, mineral-rich, and borders Tajikistan, Pakistan, and China via the Wakhan; attacks near Zebak, Kuran wa Munjan, and Faizabad […]

Key Takeaways:China and Indonesia held a brief Aug. 12 passing exercise east of Taiwan—Beijing’s first joint naval activity with a foreign military in those waters—which Taipei sees as an attempt to normalize Chinese presence, not a change in the military balance.Jakarta calls it routine diplomacy by a ship already transiting home from Vladivostok; analysts say the value for Beijing is […]

Alors que la guerre américano-israélienne contre l’Iran entre dans son sixième mois, l’attention se tourne vers la Chine et sa position dans ce conflit. Cependant, les calculs de Pékin ne se limitent pas à déterminer qui gagne et qui perd, mais portent davantage sur les répercussions de la guerre sur l’énergie, le commerce, la stabilité et l’équilibre des pouvoirs au […]

Key Takeaways:TTP-linked violence in Pakistan has intensified in 2026, with at least 128 incidents and 559 fatalities recorded by late August (higher than the corresponding period in 2025); Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remains the main theatre, but attacks and arrests now also occur in Balochistan, Punjab, and Sindh, showing expanded reach.Despite successive large-scale military operations and a partial National Action Plan, TTP […]

Trump was an idiot for starting the war, but it is the US military that lost it. It makes my skin crawl whenever I hear someone recite the mantra – “the US has the greatest military in the history of the world”.

Key Takeaways:Ongoing Baloch insurgency and high levels of militant violence in Balochistan continue to threaten Chinese mining investments, particularly the long-running Saindak Copper-Gold Project operated by China Metallurgical Group Corporation.Insecurity primarily disrupts logistics and supply routes rather than the mine itself, raising risks of operational interruptions, higher costs, and potential production threats despite increased Pakistani security deployments.The situation highlights broader […]

L’ordre mondial émergent n’évolue pas vers une nouvelle guerre froide de deux blocs rigides, mais vers une concurrence fluide entre des réseaux stratégiques rivaux, les puissances moyennes façonnant de plus en plus l’équilibre des pouvoirs en refusant de s’aligner en permanence avec l’un ou l’autre camp.La nouvelle géographie du pouvoir mondial Beaucoup supposent que la nouvelle guerre froide pourrait commencer […]

Six years after the abrogation of Article 370, official statistics tell a story more complicated than either its critics or its defenders admit. This article draws on data and analysis originally published in The Hindu’s data journalism report, “Did reducing Jammu and Kashmir to a UT and abrogating its special status make a difference?” by Sambavi Parthasarathy, Pon Vasanth B.A., […]

This article examines the intensifying political violence, enforced disappearances, and structural repression in Balochistan through a literary-political lens. Drawing on Baloch oral tradition, collective memory, and recent patterns of militarisation, it argues that the crisis in Balochistan has entered a new phase marked by expanded coercion, gendered violence, propaganda campaigns, and economic paralysis. The essay situates these developments within a […]