The China-Iran pact is a game changer – Part II

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani received China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Tehran, March 27, 2021 Part II: China positions itself on the right side of history  Part I: China neutralises the US campaign on Muslim Uighur issue  In an exclusive interview with Al-Arabiya last week, China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi …

The China-Iran pact is a game changer — Part I

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (R) and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) exchange documents during the signing ceremony of a 25-year cooperation agreement, Tehran, March 27, 2021. Part I : China neutralises the US campaign on Muslim Uighur issue  When China and Iran, two of the United States’ main adversaries in the contemporary …

This is how shingles of Indian interests in Myanmar overlap Russia and China’s

Refugees fleeing the attack by separatist Karen Liberation Army on Myanmar military outpost on Thai border, March 27, 2021  India did the right thing by dissociating from other “Quad” members to join the defence attaches of Myanmar’s neighbouring countries and attend the parade on Saturday in Naypyitaw to mark the Armed Forces Day — although pro-American …

China resents US presence in Afghanistan

Unidentified militia group shot down  helicopter with laser weapons in Wardak March 18 killing Afghan military personnel.  The “hidden agenda” of the war on terror in Afghanistan has been an open secret. The first inkling of its geopolitical character came when it transpired that even after installing a pro-US regime in Kabul in 2002-2003, Pentagon …

Russia, China to resist US but engagement is preferred option

State Councilor & Foreign Minister Wang Yi (second from right) and Russian FM Sergey Lavrov (L) held talks in Guilin, March 23, 2021 The US President Joe Biden’s “killer” remark about his “soulless” Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin was outrageous by any yardstick — even by his own long history of diplomatic gaffes. But Moscow won’t …

Talks in Alaska can be transformative for US-China ties

The testiness in the United States’ relations with China surged to the surface last week. The back-and-forth at the US-China talks at Anchorage, Alaska (March 18-19) marked a defining moment. The US readout was skimpy in detail while a more detailed Chinese account has appeared on the website of the State Council of China. The US …

Ten years on, Syria is almost destroyed. Who’s to blame?

Syria in ruins after ten years of conflict (File photo) In George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm, the ruling pigs led by Napoleon constantly rewrote history in order to justify and reinforce their own continuing power. The rewriting by the western powers of the history of the ongoing conflict in Syria leaps out of Orwell.  The …