Foreign Policy Blogs

Asia & Pacific

Updates about recent posts

When India-Pakistan came close to a N-war After Gen Aslam Beg’s claims about the Pakistani Air Force being ready to attack India’s nuclear facilities in 1990, two US researchers said that Pakistan is ramping up its India-specific nuclear capability. According to them Pakistan has upgraded its nuclear arsenal both “quantitatively (from 60 weapons last year […]

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Libya's 40 Years & Pakistan

While flipping channels, I noticed the difference between the coverage on Pakistani channels and BBC and CNN. The local channels are reporting about the 40th anniversary of Libya’s so-called revolution. And of course, BBC and CNN were reporting about the elections in different parts of the world. I couldn’t help, but notice that Pakistan’s channels […]

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How to Humble an Empire

“I hope we learn to be more humble, to listen more. Because what we are in the end, or should be, are actions that speak for themselves, that speak for us”, Says Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Michael Mullen, the highest-ranking officer in the US Armed forces in respect to our dealings with […]

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When India-Pakistan came close to a N-war

Pakistan’s former army chief Gen. Mirza Aslam Beg has said that late Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto had asked the Air Force (PAF) to be ready to attack Indian nuclear facilities in 1990. The PAF was to mount an attack if India targeted Pakistan’s nuclear installations with the help of Israel and United States. It […]

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Update: Sino – Burmese Border Crisis

Update: Sino – Burmese Border Crisis

In an update to Friday’s post on the Myanmar-Chinese border conflict, it appears the Burmese military has successfully routed the Kokang Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) in Kokang, a predominately ethnic Chinese militia in the Kokang region of the Shan State.  This attack by central government forces was a violation of the 20 year […]

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Asif Ali Zardari – President of Pakistan

Every time I write something about Asif Zardari, Pakistan’s current president, I get tons of e-mail condemning me for ‘supporting’ him. So, once again, I have to clarify something from the start. I am not a supporter of Zardari. However, if one looks at the history of President’s in Pakistan, Zardari will stand out as […]

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SE Asian Week-end Roundup 8-28-2009

SE Asian Week-end Roundup 8-28-2009

– Strong 2nd Quarter economic growth was shown in the economies of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.   Singapore did especially well,  recovering  from the worst recession in its history.  The rebound in these states is  attributed to government stimulus, financial reforms, and strong industrial fundamentals.    However, exports still drag, largely due to weak […]

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New Twist in Pakistan's Politics

I have been studying, talking about, discussing, speaking about and writing about Pakistani politics for about 20 years and I have to admit that I still don’t have a clue about who runs the show in Pakistan. However, now, I have started to understand why almost every Pakistani is obsessed with the role of intelligence […]

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Hostility Grows Stale – India Pakistan & Partition Today

Muhammad Ali Jinnah, better known as the founder of Pakistan when India was divided in 1947 is making headlines today with controversy surrounding ex-Indian Parliamentarian Jaswant Singh’s recent book: India – Partition – Independence. Immediately following the books release, Singh was expelled from his position in the Bhartiya Janata (BJP) party,  protests wherein the book was […]

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DRDO scientist claims nuclear tests were unsuccessful

The former project director of India’s 1998 nuclear tests has created a controversy by claiming that the tests were not entirely successful and did not yield the desired results. According to media reports K Sanathanam has also recommended that India conduct additional nuclear tests for security and strategic needs. “We can’t get into a stampede […]

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Maldives & India to increase defense cooperation

Maldives & India to increase defense cooperation

India and Maldives recently decided to expand defense cooperation between them. India is set to install a maritime surveillance system and provide two Coast guard helicopters in the near future. In 2006 it gifted a fast attack craft (INS Tillanchang) to Maldives’ Coast Guard. Defense and security cooperation also involves assistance in defense and police […]

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How the Philippines Stays Afloat and a Thai's Military Update

How the Philippines Stays Afloat and a Thai's Military Update

– Asia Times has an article on how the Filipino economy has stayed afloat due to the prodigious amount of   remittance it receives.  In a sense, Filipinos are to parts of East Asia and the Middle East what Mexican and Central Americans are to the United States or to a lesser extent, Former Soviets […]

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Pakistan's Business Minded President Secures Energy Deals

Former leaders from Ayub Khan, Benazir Bhutto, and General Musharraf tried to address the issue of growing energy consumption and diminishing supplies which is now legitimately deemed  a “crisis” in Pakistan. President Zardari had his hand in addressing this crisis last week during the quarterly visit to Beijing where he discussed China’s assistance on energy […]

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Indonesian Hotel Bombings and Obama Assassination Plot Confusion

Indonesian Hotel Bombings and Obama Assassination Plot Confusion

Today, the head of the Indonesian police, Chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri, stated that there was no assassination plot against Obama, contradicting August 20th statements by Indonesian Center for Intelligence and National Security analyst Dynno Chressbon.  Other analyst have been critical of  Chressbon’s contention that Jihadis had planned to assassinate Obama at the National Airport, because […]

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Water Shortage in Pakistan

Quoting from a 2005 World Bank study, the Center for Research & Security Studies has identified the coming crisis of water in Pakistan. This report, which is titled Pakistan Will Cry for Water, describes how Pakistan is changing from ‘water scarce’ country to ‘waster stressed’ country. The report goes on to describe that lack of […]

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