Asia-Pacific Archive

The Philippines was rocked by typhoon Haiyan on Friday—reportedly one of the strongest on record—that is so far estimated to have killed at least three people and caused an unknown amount of damage.* Last month, a similar disaster struck India when the cyclone Phailin hit the country’s east coast from the Bay of Bengal, causing widespread flooding and killing an estimated 14 people. Both incidents are notable for far worse outcomes avoided through careful preparation—the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of citizens in the path of both storms limited their human toll. As Phailin approached in mid-October, India evacuated some […]

Last week, a U.S. drone strike killed Hakimullah Mehsud, the leader of Pakistan’s sociopathically violent Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) movement. The organization has murdered thousands, often relying on indiscriminant suicide bombs; has trained terrorists to attack the United States; and has remained closely aligned with al-Qaida. No one among the civilized will lament Mehsud’s passing. But because the United States did it, Pakistan has responded with outrage. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan called the U.S. action “a conspiracy to sabotage the peace talks” with the TTP—even though almost no one thinks those talks had much chance of success. Islamabad lodged a […]

Turkey’s decision to buy a Chinese-made air-and-missile defense system has aroused undue anxiety about Ankara’s ties with Beijing. While the purchase of the untested Chinese system is unhelpful from the perspective of NATO interoperability as well as Turkey’s protection, Ankara and Beijing see the deal primarily as a business transaction rather than as a precursor to closer security ties. The Chinese firm simply offered better co-production, technology transfer and pricing terms than did the competitors. Turkey’s acquisition program aims to establish a national air-and-missile defense system that can intercept incoming ballistic missiles inside the atmosphere. On Sept. 26, after years […]

In April, the China National Nuclear Corp. (CNNC) announced the export of two ACP-1000 reactors to Pakistan, plans subsequently confirmed by the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission in June. In addition to reaffirming China’s commitment to one of the most important aspects of its “all weather” strategic relationship with Pakistan, the move also heralded an expansion of Chinese nuclear exceptionalism, underpinned by China’s growing confidence in its domestic industrial and international financial strength. While the deal is clearly in direct contravention of China’s commitments as a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), it remains to be seen if other NSG […]

The abrupt about-face on Syria, the global humiliation resulting from the U.S. government shutdown, the continuing fallout from revelations about National Security Agency activities, strong statements emanating from Riyadh that Saudi Arabia is re-evaluating its relationship with the United States—all of these have fed into a narrative that the United States is losing the ability to set the global agenda. The perception that President Barack Obama has been weakened led Forbes magazine to drop him to the No. 2 spot on the list of the world’s most powerful people, with Russia’s Vladimir Putin leapfrogging him to take the top position […]