A Russian-made submarine arrived in Vietnam’s Cam Ranh Port Tuesday, the fourth of six Kil0-class submarines that Russia is delivering as part of a $2.6 billion deal the two countries signed in 2009, Thanh Nien News reported. The submarines are part of a Vietnamese effort to deter China’s military amid an ongoing dispute over the […]
Zhang Wenmu [张文木] is a major fixture of the Chinese foreign policy debate. Unlike many of his colleagues in the Beijing foreign policy scene, he does not frequent seminars and workshops with Western counterparts. He has remained noticeably apart from the “jet-set” of Beijing talking heads that are racking up thousands of airline miles with […]
Russian Arctic offshore energy efforts are in a period of unwelcome pause, and the flight of Western companies in the face of sanctions imposed by their home countries has left the future of these efforts up in the air. But this state is unlikely to last for long. Western firms have left incredible opportunity in […]
The United States is making a “fatal mistake” by antagonizing both China and Russia and forcing the two primary opponents closer together, says Duowei News, a US-based Chinese political news website. Washington turned against Moscow following the start of the Ukraine crisis in February this year, leading the European Union and Japan in imposing heavy […]
Recently, tensions over maritime disputes in the South China Sea seem to have surpassed even those caused by the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands. China and Vietnam are embroiled in their worst political conflict in decades over an oil drilling platform near the Paracel Islands. The resulting anti-China protests in Vietnam brought China-Vietnam relations to a temporary halt. […]
Chairman Mao’s “little red book” is no longer a fashion accessory in Beijing, but China’s leaders seem to be drawing inspiration from one of its aphorisms: “There is great disorder under the Heavens and the situation is excellent.” Judging by the calculatedly risky steps they have taken — like moving a gigantic drilling rig deep […]
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry travels to Asia this week for talks with Chinese and South Korean officials. But he will not be visiting Japan, which is moving closer to Russia and India amid uncertain relations with Washington. Japanese paratroopers are training to defend disputed islands in the East China Sea, as China increases […]
According to this report, the recent decision by Chinese leader Xi Jinping to prosecute retired security tsar Zhou Yongkang’s son Zhou Bin for corruption is the “leading impetus” that has led to a fracturing of loyalties in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) between those advocating immediate strikes against Japan and those cautioning a more strategic […]
ussian President Vladimir Putin has pledged to expand military supplies to Vietnam, a move that looks set to raise concerns from Beijing as tensions over the South China Sea linger. In the latest sign of deepening military ties between the former allies, Putin made the announcement yesterday during a one-day state visit to Vietnam. While […]
(Reuters) – The Philippines’ legal challenge against China’s claims in the South China Sea is gathering pace, emerging as a “proxy battle” over Beijing’s territorial reach. Manila has assembled a crack international legal team to fight its unprecedented arbitration case under the United Nations’ Convention on the Law of the Sea – ignoring growing pressure […]