A Chinese coast guard ship fires a water cannon at a Vietnamese vessel.Image Credit: AP News (16 May 2014) Over the last two weeks remarkable things have happened in the South China Sea. I assume that the readers of The Stage have read the relevant news reports; I will not copy them here. At the […]
The famous “nine-dash line” that marks China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea Source: “Q&A: South China Sea Disputes.” BBC News. 15 May 2013. Earlier this afternoon The House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific held a hearing devoted entitled “America’s Future in Asia: From Rebalancing to Managing Sovereignty Disputes.” […]
Using data from a recent World Public Opinion survey, Ezra Kleen crafts the following graphic:
“Jai Hind!” So said the President of the United States this week in an address to a joint session of the Rajya Sahba and Lok Sahba. It is about time. I have criticized the Obama Administration in the past for episodes of diplomatic ineptitude and cultural insensitivity. President Obama’s stay in India does not qualify […]
In case you missed it: Chinese firms have brokered a deal to construct two nuclear reactors for the Chashma Nuclear Complex in Pakistan. Pakistan, and in particular, Punjab (the state in which the complex can be found) suffers from chronic energy shortages. After a series of rolling black outs this April, the Punjab Chief Minister […]
Suggestion the first: “In general, the Chinese rarely resort to such high pressure tactics. They usually do not make demands for action, only demands that actions not be taken, which is one reason many countries have good relations with them.” –Michael D. Swaine and Tiffany P. Ng. “China”, Is a Regional Strategy Viable in Afghanistan? […]
The nuclear fuel-swap deal between Turkey, Brazil, and Iran has been received with quite a bit of hostility in America. Yet few sources (save perhaps the New York Daily News) have reacted with as much hostility to the deal as the White House. Take a few choice words offered by Secretary Clinton at a recent […]
A collection of articles, essays, and blog post of merit. A lot of good material has been published this week. I am a bit on the busy side, so the usual long winded responses will be replaced in favor of one-sentence summaries. THE REPUBLIC How Trillion Dollar Deficits Were Created New York Times. 9 June […]
Earlier this week Sublime Oblivion linked to a smart quantitative breakdown posted over at the Russian Strategic Forces Blog concerning the new START treaty. Included was this useful table: RUSSIA July 2009 Old START 2010Actualoperationally deployed launches (total launchers) ca. 2020New STARToperationally deployed launchers (total launchers)[estimate] ca. 2020New START warheads[estimate] ICBMs SS-25 176 171 SS-27 […]
A collection of articles, essays, and blog post of merit. There are quite a few this time, so I thought it would be best to organize them by topic. GRAND STRATEGY New Delhi, Washington: Who gets what? Ashley Tiller. Times of India. 30 January 2010. I do not know how I missed this essay when […]
