For decades, most Southeast Asian economies climbed the income ladder by pursuing a growth strategy based on ramping up investment in export-oriented manufacturing and services, relentlessly upskilling their domestic workforces, and leveraging technological advances. Today, the ASEAN+3 countries — the… Read More ›
Kaitlyn Lin has had the song “Fate” running through her head for over a decade. She has finally been able to perform and record the piece and is now releasing it to the world. While some people seem to fall… Read More ›
America is furious, both of them. Conservatives are fed up with restrictions against a virus that has no symptoms. Liberals are fed up with Conservatives not entering panic mode with them. If you don’t believe in God, you will believe… Read More ›
Hong Kong is a very big deal. The images of protesters tearing down towers equipped with Chinese face recognition technology tell the world some of what’s at stake in their clash with China’s dictatorship. But there’s much more. More than… Read More ›
A new study by a think tank warns the U.S. has lost its military supremacy in the Indo-Pacific region, with China being able to launch and win a military conflict even before American forces are able to respond. The University of… Read More ›
We are not headed to a Second Cold War. We are not at risk of heading to a Second Cold War. We are traveling at trans-warp speed toward the First Flash War. It will start and end quickly, laying the… Read More ›
Reuters reported on Nov 16 that the “U.S. military will withdraw hundreds of troops focused on counterterrorism operations in Africa over the next several years to support the Pentagon’s increased focus on countering threats from China and Russia, officials said… Read More ›
Trump visited China in friendship and peace. His granddaughter sang in Mandarin. Her video was played at a high profile state banquet. Everyone seemed happy. In South Korea, President Moon, likely to go down in history as a failed diplomat-wannabe,… Read More ›
Scientists are warning of another “devastating” loss of coral due to a spike in sea temperatures. They say 40% of coral has died at the Dongsha Atoll in the South China Sea. Nothing as severe has happened on Dongsha for… Read More ›
Forbes recently wrote that the leading power in East Asia will be Japan, not China. While this is probably true, Australia should not be forgotten as already being the de facto leader in the greater Asia-Pacific region, and could be… Read More ›
Taiwan has a new Sheriff. Former President Ma, whose regime pursued secret talks with China, wanted to visit Hong Kong just after leaving office. Remember, on the books, Taiwan is still at war with China. Since 2003, former Taiwan presidents… Read More ›
China is speeding up efforts to design and build a manned deep-sea platform to help it hunt for minerals in the South China Sea, one that may also serve a military purpose in the disputed waters. Such an oceanic “space… Read More ›
China is deploying weapons. The US is responding with pressure—mostly economic, some political, always involving alliances. Money and trade are atop the list. China’s unusual manipulation of its money is documented and under more scrutiny than ever. According to Chinese… Read More ›
Yujiapu is one of the most impressive ghost cities in China. An almost empty agglomerate of half-finished buildings and skyscrapers modelled on Manhattan’s skyline. Many say it’s one of the most scary landmark of China’s failed ambitions: a ghost city… Read More ›
As elections push forward in Taiwan and Malaysia, China faces it’s own political issue: Military reform. The report from Reuters demonstrates two things. Firstly, we see that China’s military does, in fact, need reform. This is evidenced by the 300k… Read More ›
A day which shall live in infamy. While the world pauses to remember the day the US was provoked into entering WWII, the headlines paused over China the week before. All eyes, including Thailand’s, are on violence from the Mid… Read More ›
In the recently reported war games, the Pentagon probably did not consider the largest army in the world: America’s hunters. Most states have an army of hunters larger than most countries. And, if we combine that with all the bullets… Read More ›
Long the place that makes stuff and doesn’t consume much, China is set to redress the balance. And thus, some say, rescue the troubled global economy. But it’s a stretch to think that Beijing’s plan — shifting the export-driven country… Read More ›
The US navy is preparing to send a surface ship inside the 12-nautical-mile territorial limit China claims for its man-made island chain, an action that could take place within days but awaits final approval from the Obama administration, according to military… Read More ›
Forty-three years after Richard Nixon made his famous visit to China, that country has seemingly decided to take a page from the former U.S. president’s Treasury Department. As China lowers the value of the yuan, the country’s economic policy makers… Read More ›
The following is based on a translation of a report on a Chinese news site: A report on news.sohu.com expresses China‘s concern that India, the largest country in South Asia, still fails to show any clear interest in China’s Silk… Read More ›
The simple selfie stick is turning into a wand of prophetic political propensities due to untiring efforts of its major user…the present Prime Minister of India. In his latest social message to his country people, Narendra Modi, urged parents to… Read More ›
In colonial texts about China, the ruling mandarins were often described as inscrutable—cunning, and full of intricate stratagems born of the world’s oldest bureaucracy. The opacity of its Communist leaders helped perpetuate some of those stereotypes, but they are truly… Read More ›
The India–China relationship has always been troubled, but the visuals of Prime Minister Modi’s visit to China were certainly heartwarming. President Xi returned Mr Modi’s gesture of breaking the protocol to receive him. That aside, 24 deals were signed between… Read More ›
China’s total debt quadrupled between 2007 and 2014, which was about one-third of the $57 trillion in debt added globally during that period. Can this possibly be safe? To answer this question, the McKinsey Global Institute devotes an entire chapter… Read More ›
The following is based on a translation from Chinese media: CCTV says in its report today that there has been renewed effort by the Chinese government to restart the 10-year idle Pan-Asia Railway Network Agreement, thanks to China’s One Belt,… Read More ›
Asia has a China problem. Beijing has just initiated its biggest cut in bank reserve requirements since 2008, a move that underscores just how worried it is about its economy. But the cut is also a stark wake-up call for neighbours that have gotten… Read More ›
More than 11,000 soldiers from the Philippines, U.S. and Australia began joint drills in the South China Sea, as the Philippines’ military chief called China’s building work on disputed reefs “worrisome” and a source of friction with its neighbours. The… Read More ›
When viewing China as a corporate conglomerate attempting a hostile takeover, with the goal of complete market monopoly in every sector, Asia’s conflict only starts to make sense. But the problem goes deeper. According to credible, anonymous reports, there are… Read More ›
China recently announced its military budget this year would increase by 10 per cent, to about $US141 billion ($180bn), marking the 21st consecutive year in which its military spending has grown by a double-digit increment. It is now the second… Read More ›
Africa Brings New Trade and Challenges to World Economies. China and India’s new-found interest in trade and investment with Africa—home to 300 million of the globe’s poorest people and the world’s most formidable development challenge—presents a significant opportunity for growth… Read More ›
Propaganda turn of the tide. For years, Chinese have attended international circles, promulgated their talking points, and convinced others to unwittingly do the same. But, recent reports explain that having traffic lights and convincing drivers to stop at them are… Read More ›
The economic turbulence in China has another hidden layer to it – losing jobs to Southeast Asia as multinational companies relocate their manufacturing units to those countries as a way to enhance cost efficiency. “I definitely think Southeast Asia is… Read More ›
Three trends spanned the Pacific this week: journalism, entrepreneurs, and 2016 elections. News of ISIS spreads across Asia Pacific, including videos of a man being burned alive. China barks at century-old Taiwanese government leaders about standing up to the young… Read More ›
Between complacency and confrontation there is a responsible way forward that keeps the Asia-Pacific a big enough place to accommodate the vital interests of both Beijing and Washington. The heavy lifting will have to be done by the United States…. Read More ›
The Russian Far East has always been a strategically important region to Russia because of its rich mineral resources and access to the Pacific Ocean, though it is largely neglected and underdeveloped compared to other regions in Russia. More than… Read More ›
The following are the views of the original author, and not necessarily those of China Daily Mail: Apart from their frantic dredging and island-building in the South China Sea, China is now also building an air and naval base in… Read More ›
In 2013, China’s Communist Party, led by Xi Jinping, silenced human rights defenders and popular internet voices, while also setting new austerity rules for party members. This year, the crackdown became even more expansive, as Xi worked overtime to oust corrupt officials and jail moderate… Read More ›
After his successful charm offensive in central and eastern Europe, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang directed the same offensive at South East Asia. According to a Reuters report, the Chinese government’s mouthpiece Xinhua said in its report yesterday that Li has… Read More ›
China’s reemergence as a wealthy and powerful nation is a fact. In recent decades its rise has been unprecedented, moving from the tenth-largest economy in 1990, to the sixth-largest economy in 2001, to the second-largest economy in 2010. According to… Read More ›
China may be Asia’s economic powerhouse but it won’t become the region’s dominant power, according to a new report. “In examining the factors that go towards the development of Chinese national power-and its ability to use it to achieve national… Read More ›
After two years of waxing poetic at home about a “China Dream,” Xi Jinping wants to enchant the entire Asia region—and is dangling $1.25 trillion to make sure he does. “China’s development will bring huge opportunities and benefits to the… Read More ›
Asia needs ASEANisation not Pakistanisation of its continent Speculations over the alleged bipolar world of tomorrow (the so-called G-2, China vs. the US), should not be an Asian dilemma. It is primarily a concern of the West that, after all,… Read More ›
As far back as January 2012, I pointed out “China’s desire to establish an East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere,” which Japan shed a lot of blood to establish decades ago, but failed. ASEAN plus China, Japan and Korea (APT – ASEAN Plus… Read More ›
Traffic at the Maritime Self-Defence Force base at Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, is typically dominated by Japanese and U.S. warships, but in July it saw an unusual variety of vessel. An Indian frigate and destroyer docked en route to joint exercises… Read More ›
The snowball has begun. In the past, the escalation might be seen as linear. This week, that changed. Though the curve is slight, it’s clearly curving. Beijing and Hong Kong are mutually paranoid; Beijing is paranoid of the West and… Read More ›
The United States must respond more aggressively to China’s territorial claims in Asia, an influential U.S. Republican said on Thursday, warning that failure to do so would bring “death by a thousand cuts.” Mike Rogers, chairman of the U.S. House… Read More ›
India under the leadership of Narendra Modi may be able to ease the symbolic tension between China and Japan, and also rise quickly to join them to co-lead a new age of politico-economic vicissitude in East-to-South Asia in the wake… Read More ›
Foot binding, the cruel practice of mutilating the feet of young girls, was once pervasive in turn-of-the-century China, where it was seen as a sign of wealth and marriage eligibility. For a millennium—from the 10th to 20th centuries—the practice flourished… Read More ›
In Vietnam, roughly 160,000 members of the Cham ethnic minority, whose forebears dominated the South China Sea for more than a millennium, are quietly watching on the sidelines of the escalating conflict in the waters they may have a historical… Read More ›
