On Aug. 1, local government officials in China’s Xinjiang province alleged that the ringleader of a deadly attack in Kashgar had been trained in Pakistan. The accusation has injected some sourness into a bilateral relationship often described as “sweeter than honey.” In fact, contrary to the sappy rhetoric, China-Pakistan ties have rarely been trouble-free — and the points of tension long predate what happened in Kashgar. One example is the plight of Pakistan-based Chinese nationals. According to estimates gathered from Pakistani and Chinese media sources, about 35 Chinese workers were kidnapped, killed or maimed in the country between 2004 and [...]
In the course of a conversation with Michael Cohen yesterday evening, we agreed that the greatest existential threat the U.S. faces right now is the political paralysis in Washington that might keep the U.S. from enacting the course corrections needed to avoid financial and strategic insolvency. But if the U.S. is its own worst enemy, I noted, how is that so very different from the rest of the world today? Almost everywhere I look, I see countries that are through their own policy failures or strategic shortsightedness creating the greatest challenges they now face. So, which country is not its [...]
The biggest defense news from the past week concerned the beginning of sea trials for China’s first aircraft carrier, Varyag. A former Soviet/Ukrainian hulk and the sister ship of the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, Varyag finally set sail after a long process of refurbishment. The ship, which may now go by the name Shi Lang, will likely only serve as a training carrier, but her embarkation on trials has generated great consternation among observers of the Asian naval scene. Officials from both the United States and Japan have asked China to explain its need for an aircraft carrier, as [...]
