Foreign Policy Blogs

China

U.S. Policy Toward China: New Maps to Navigate Islands and Banks?

U.S. Policy Toward China: New Maps to Navigate Islands and Banks?

Should the U.S. allow geopolitical rivalry to subsume economic matters?

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Beijing Asserts, Hanoi Beefs Up

Beijing Asserts, Hanoi Beefs Up

Here in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), the local government last week ordered its travel and tourism departments to draw up a feasibility study for tours to the Truong Sa (Spratly) islands, which Vietnam currently occupies.

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No Shangri-La in South China Sea

No Shangri-La in South China Sea

On Saturday in Singapore, U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter addressed the attendants at the 14th Shangri-La Dialogue, a high-level security forum, asserting China’s recent land reclamation in the South China Sea was “out of step” with international norms, and adding his opposition to “any further militarization” in the region.

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U.S. Confronts China Over Airspace in South China Sea

U.S. Confronts China Over Airspace in South China Sea

I had not given much thought to the flight plan of the airline I recently booked to go back to the U.S. from Vietnam, but recent events in the airspace over the South China Sea prompted an online search. As I discovered, my commercial flight will be flying not far from where a U.S. surveillance plane was warned on Wednesday to leave by a Chinese radar operator.

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Will ASEAN Renounce China’s Reclamation Efforts in the South China Sea?

Will ASEAN Renounce China’s Reclamation Efforts in the South China Sea?

This week, leaders from 10 Southeast Asian nations will gather on the Malaysian resort island of Langkawi for the 26th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit.

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What a Hillary Presidency Means for China

What a Hillary Presidency Means for China

With the announcement of a presidential bid by Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton on April 12, many are starting to question what impact another Clinton in the White House would have on the world’s largest nation, China.

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The Robust Force for Peace in the South China Sea

The Robust Force for Peace in the South China Sea

On Mischief Reef, in the South China Sea just off the coast of the Philippine island of Palawan, Chinese workers are busy dredging sand and creating an island on top of partially-submerged coral reefs.

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Will China’s New Bank Undermine the World Bank?

Will China’s New Bank Undermine the World Bank?

While these institutions have made some headway in meeting the infrastructure needs of Asian countries, some critics of the World Bank and ADB argue they are slow and bureaucratic, and impose stifling environmental and social constraints which deter investment.

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Hanoi’s New Year Message to Beijing

Hanoi’s New Year Message to Beijing

On Feb. 19, Chinese from around the world welcomed the year of the sheep, also celebrated as the year of the goat or ram.

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China’s Investment in Africa Faces Challenges in Madagascar

China’s Investment in Africa Faces Challenges in Madagascar

With the recent U.S. “pivot to Asia,” some analysts argue the U.S. is losing interest and influence in Africa, resulting in China overtaking the United States as Africa’s largest trading partner.

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China Blasts U.S. over Torture Report

China Blasts U.S. over Torture Report

On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee released its findings of a 6,200 page report detailing a secret CIA program of detention and torture implemented under President George W. Bush.

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Another Vietnamese Fishing Boat Attacked

Another Vietnamese Fishing Boat Attacked

Last Thursday, a Vietnamese wooden fishing boat returning to the central province of Quang Ngai was badly damaged following attacks from three Chinese vessels near the Paracel Islands, which the Vietnamese call the Hoang Sa.

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Xi’s Anti-Rightist Campaign

Xi’s Anti-Rightist Campaign

Xi Jinping is starting to act a lot like Mao Zedong — strong, assertive, patriotic, man of the people — and willing to promote or condone the same techniques Mao used for controlling the masses through party propaganda.

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Beijing Seeks to Improve Relations with Hanoi

Beijing Seeks to Improve Relations with Hanoi

Lately, it seems China’s aggressive foreign policy stance toward territorial disputes in the South China Sea is backfiring, especially in Vietnam. Last month, Vietnamese officials offered India two oil-exploration blocks in the disputed South China Sea waters, which Vietnam calls the East Sea, which drew strong condemnation from Beijing. In turn, India promised to sell […]

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Conflict in the East and South China Seas: A Wikistrat Simulation

Conflict in the East and South China Seas:  A Wikistrat Simulation

Last week saw yet another meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) which was hosted by Myanmar President Thein Sein on Nov. 12 and 13. ASEAN nations had initially hoped for further progress on territorial issues related to the East and South China Seas, yet once again came away with little agreement from Beijing.

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