In The News

China Comes to Thailand

Richard S. Ehrlich August 3, 2011
China’s size and increasing economic might at times could be intimidating for other nations in Southeast Asia, including Thailand, despite their complex connections since ancient times. “Beijing is simultaneously increasing its military and cultural influence in Thailand, trying to wean Bangkok away from Washington and other foreign governments while expanding China's own reach southward,”...

Sorry, Pakistan: China Is No Sugar Daddy

Urmila Venugopalan July 22, 2011
China may be in no hurry to replace $800 million in suspended US aid to the Pakistani military. After the decision from the US president, Pakistani generals anticipated that China, an ally and the country’s largest defense supplier, would be willing to counter US influence and step in with funding. In exchange, Pakistani generals could help combat Islamic militant activity along China’s border...

East Africa Famine Threatens Regional Stability, USAID Chief Says

Joshua Hersh July 20, 2011
Unrelenting drought in East Africa has put the region at risk for major famine. “Aid workers in East Africa have spent months gearing up for the looming crisis, thanks in part to an early-warning system operated by USAID [US Agency for International Development] that first predicted a round of devastating crop failures and food shortages late last year,” reports Joshua Hersh for the Huffington...

Hillary Clinton Warns Africa of “New Colonialism”

Matthew Lee June 13, 2011
After a brief decline in foreign direct investment in 2009, due in part to global recession, Asian firms and governments increasingly target Africa with investment and infrastructure support, aiming to exploit the continent’s oil, minerals and other rich natural resources. In recent years, Chinese firms have led in foreign direct investment in several African nations. Expressing concern about new...

From Abbottabad to Worse

Christopher Hitchens June 10, 2011
A rise of extremism signals a society that is deeply insecure and troubled. In a provocative essay for Vanity Fair, Christopher Hitchens blasts Pakistan for refusing to confront forces that weaken the nation, including the failure to resolve the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, strip extremist elements from the military and intelligence service, or quell hatred for the US while accepting billions...

India Must Tread Carefully in Africa

James Lamont May 31, 2011
Since the mid-17th century, spurred by colonialism, Indians have crossed the Indian Ocean for jobs and trade in the nations of eastern and southern Africa. Yet once-isolated China quickly caught up during the past two decades, forming deep connections over commodities trading, economic development and political summits, explains James Lamont in the Financial Times,. During a May trip to Ethiopia...

Something Dramatic

B. Raman May 20, 2011
Pakistan’s military is furious about the US conducting surprise raids in Pakistani territory. The deep mistrust between two allies was revealed after the US killed Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad without notifying Pakistani counterparts. US analysts question whether Pakistanis helped shield bin Laden, a fugitive since the 9/11 attacks in 2001, and US politicians threatened to reduce military aid....