On Wednesday, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work warned Beijing against declaring an exclusion zone in the South China Sea, calling any potential announcement as “destabilizing,” and vowing the United States would not recognize such a zone.
China has responded to its apparent loss of influence in Myanmar by unleashing an aggressive propaganda and organizing campaign aimed at countering Western influence and cultivating a pro-Beijing grassroots political base particularly among ethnic Chinese in Myanmar.
By defying international law using “traditional fishing grounds” as an excuse, China’s latest show of aggression in the South China Sea has only heightened tensions among its neighbors, and provided the region’s militaries an excuse to increase defense spending.
The U.S. State Department has issued a request for China’s navy to refrain from harassing fishermen of other countries in the disputed South China Sea.
When oppositions win by significant margin, the tendency is for sweeping changes. The previous regime’s leaders are investigated, arrested and prosecuted for corruption. Policies are thrown out the window and new constitutions are drafted. Myanmar has taken a different path.
In the face of perceived threats from Beijing, Vietnam has embarked on its greatest military build-up in decades, albeit starting from a low base following economic problems after the Vietnam War.
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Vietnam this week, the first by a Chinese president in ten years, drew mixed reaction among the Vietnamese.
A Chinese vessel was accused of sinking a Vietnamese fishing boat near the disputed Paracel islands on September 29.
Concern over potential misunderstandings and a possible escalation of tensions over territorial claims have led the U.S. and China to set up a military hotline along with rules of airborne engagement.
Local fishermen in the South China Sea have long gone unprotected when fishing in their own waters or in waters claimed by other countries. But this may soon change, following attacks this year on Vietnamese fishing boats.
The spate of Chinese island building and island claiming in the South China Sea has raised the question of what, if anything, can be done about it. The answer has a lot to do with a reappraisal of the role of island possessions, territories and countries in the world today.
As one of the godfathers of modern neoliberalism, it would be interesting to get Columbia University Professor Jeffery Sachs’ take on the recent government crackdown on protesting garment factory workers in Cambodia. The former Harvard economist once said “my concern is not that there are too many sweatshops, but that there are too few.” The […]
Until very recently, Ou Virak was President of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights. Being a human rights activist in Cambodia, a country with too many abuses in that category to possibly list here, is quite the daunting task. The government of Prime Minister Hun Sen and his ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) have notoriously […]
As ordinary Americans are continuously distracted by Holiday shopping deals, Dancing With the Stars, and things in their own, personal lives, the wealthy one percent class of elites that we hear so much about has kept its eye on the prize. Ordinary Americans might be wondering if the Dow Jones Industrial Average is at record […]
Oscar Wilde in his masterpiece The Picture of Dorian Gray stated that, “nothing is more essential than being young and beautiful.” Unfortunately, today, the political space of India and Bangladesh is neither young nor it can be categorized as beautiful. To better understand this argument, it is important to take into consideration the aspirations of […]