Facebook-f Twitter Youtube

China

Iran Plays the Eurasian Card

The newly signed massive China-Iran agreement prompts as many questions as answers. One thing is clear: China has taken action at a time when the US is winding down its presence in Middle East and its relationships with Arab states have come into question.

Indonesia Set to Take on China and Claim Leadership of “Moderate” Islam

Indonesian president Joko Widodo’s recent cabinet reshuffle suggests that Indonesia may adopt a more critical attitude toward China and reinforce government support for efforts by Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the world’s largest Muslim movement, to reform Islam and position the Southeast Asian state as a key player in a battle with Middle Eastern rivals for the soul of Islam.

Biden’s Approach to the Indo-Pacific

While the new US president is likely to reverse many of Donald Trump’s foreign policy decisions, one area likely to remain untouched is the US approach to the Indo-Pacific region. Joe Biden will push for a reinvigorated set of alliances and building of confidence in US power among China’s neighbors. The nascent Trumpian Indo-Pacific strategy will take final shape under Biden.

Biden and Russia: Pressure, But Not Too Much

As the world awaits Joe Biden’s inauguration as president of the US, Washington’s relations with China are under primary scrutiny. However, ties with Russia are no less important, as the two states have numerous differences across Eurasia. Washington will have to apply a careful balance of pressure on Russia to keep it from growing closer to China, and Biden possesses the statesmanship and experience to accomplish this. US-Russia relations under Biden should be strikingly different from what they were during the Trump administration.

Will RCEP Change the Game in Asia?

In a move that could represent another step in Washington’s decline and China’s hegemonic ascent in Asia, 15 state ministers signed the RCEP free trade agreement on November 15, 2020. The question weighing on policymakers across Asia, Europe, and the US is whether the RCEP economic bloc will change the global economic balance of power.

The Quadruple Threat: North Korea, China, Pakistan, and Iran

The vast, uninterrupted territory that contains North Korea, China, Pakistan, and Iran has greater geostrategic importance today than ever before. Of the two outermost countries of that territory, an anonymous senior US administration official recently said that "Iran and North Korea have resumed cooperation in the framework of a project on long-range missiles that includes the transfer of core components."

The Era of Changing Supply Chains

The world is an increasingly unstable place. This is reflected in the way supply chains, a pillar of the globalized world, are changing. More and more countries are considering moving away from their dependence on China to the Indo-China region, which has a burgeoning population and rising economies. This process will accelerate as differences between the West and China multiply.

The India-China Rivalry Undermines the Emergence of a Multipolar World

India has initiated a grand strategic shift away from active engagement with China and toward its outright containment. This evolution was long in coming, but recent military clashes in the Himalayas have accelerated the process. India’s emerging strategy undermines the notion of a multipolar world championed by Moscow and Beijing, putting into question the degree to which the liberal world order is in decline.

India Has Few Options to Thwart Chinese Aggression

Despite military and political parleys between India and China to reach an understanding on their border dispute, the situation is careening toward a flashpoint. An estimated 50,000 Chinese PLA troops now control a combined area of about 1,000 square kilometers in India’s eastern Ladakh. India has few options with which to confront China’s unilateral redrawing of the LAC.

Accessibility Toolbar