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| Kyrgyz deal a Silk Road turning point |
| 19.07.10 20:20 |
Asia rising |
| Central Asia arrived at a turning point last weekend far removed from the history of Genghis Khan riding out to conquer the world, as it sought peacekeepers from Europe. Russia, which has provided security to the region for the past century and more is stepping aside - unable or unwilling, and possibly incapable of performing that role anymore. |
| M K Bhadrakumar |
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| China breaks the Himalayan barrier |
| 30.04.10 23:33 |
Asia rising |
| Two veteran diplomats, one from China and the other an American, trudge their weary way from their respective capitals to the remote Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan to witness as "observers" a gathering of eight leaders from South Asia agonizing over the stasis of their 25-year old regional forum. |
| M K Bhadrakumar |
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| Chinas rail goals raise regional doubts |
| 17.04.10 10:14 |
Asia rising |
| Beijings plan to build a high-speed railway network across Asia and Europe through Central Asia is its key project for the continent. A reflection of the rise of China on the global stage, the proposed network will connect 17 countries and comprises three major routes linking Kunming in China with Singapore via South Asia; Urumqi in northwest China and Germany through Central Asia; and Heilongjiang in northeast China with southeastern Europe via Russia. |
| Roman Muzalevsky |
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| A neo-con Yankee in Karzai′s court |
| 20.05.09 21:45 |
Asia rising |
| The neo-conservatives have all but been vanquished. But the Barack Obama administration in the United States is making a solitary exception in the case of Zalmay Khalilzad. He is back on the Washington circuit, repeating an amazing trapeze act which has few parallels in the chronicles of political opportunism. |
| M K Bhadrakumar |
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| Russia, China on comradely terms |
| 01.05.09 16:46 |
Asia rising |
| Westernism is giving way to Orientalism in Moscow′s outlook, if the past week′s happenings are any guide. As Russia′s ties with the West deteriorate, an upswing in its strategic partnership with China becomes almost inevitable. |
| M K Bhadrakumar |
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| China breaks its silence on Afghanistan |
| 25.02.09 13:37 |
Asia rising |
| In the violent, lethal environment in which he lived and survived to eventually lead Beijing′s march towards socialism with Chinese characteristics, Deng Xiaoping had great reasons to be cautious. In regards to China′s international approach, Deng had this to say: "Observe calmly; secure our position; cope with affairs calmly; hide our capacities and bide our time; be good at maintaining a low profile; and never claim leadership." |
| M K Bhadrakumar |
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| Weakest link in US-China ties endures |
| 25.12.08 12:24 |
Asia rising |
| Noting improvements in cross-Taiwan Strait relations since May 2008, Admiral Timothy Keating, commander of the US Pacific Command which is responsible for preserving security, stability, freedom and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region, remarked recently that he could now sleep well most nights. A direct result of warming cross-Taiwan Strait relations is that the likelihood of a US-China military clash over Taiwan has greatly diminished. However, military relations remain the weakest link in the ever-expanding US-China bilateral ties. |
| Zhiqun Zhu |
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| All roads lead out of Afghanistan |
| 23.12.08 21:13 |
Asia rising |
| The measure of success of president-elect Barack Obama's new "Afghan strategy" will be directly proportional to his ability to delink the war from its geopolitical agenda inherited from the George W Bush administration. |
| M K Bhadrakumar |
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| Strange storm brews in South Asia |
| 02.12.08 13:43 |
Asia rising |
| No sooner had the guns fallen silent and the terrorist carnage ended in Mumbai than a keen three-way diplomatic tussle began involving India, Pakistan and the United States. The two South Asian nuclear powers are locked in race to get the US on their respective side. For the US, though, it is no longer a matter of acting as a fair-minded, neutral mediator. Today, Washington is a full-fledged participant with its own stakes in the South Asian strategic power equations, thanks to the war in Afghanistan, which is critically poised. Indeed, the South Asian brew couldn't be more strange. |
| M K Bhadrakumar |
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| The Russians are coming |
| 13.11.08 22:28 |
Asia rising |
| The secretary general of the Commonwealth of Independent States' Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Nikolai Bordyuzha, recently announced the planned formation of an international force in Central Asia that "should be prepared to repel any threat". |
| Sultan-Khan Zhussip |
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| The rise (and fall?) of petro-states |
| 29.10.08 13:07 |
Asia rising |
| Even before armed hostilities between Russia and Georgia ended in August, the ultra-nationalist mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov, began investing colossal sums in changing the ethnic geography of the Georgian breakaway state of South Ossetia in favor of Russia. In one public speech to Ossetians, he exuded the confidence and chutzpah that has come to symbolize the Russia of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev. Smug with the knowledge that oil and gas revenues had raised his country's international stature, Luzhkov wooed his Ossetian audience with a startling claim, "Russia needs nothing. It has everything. It is the wealthiest country." |
| Sreeram Chaulia |
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