Australia-China tussle on May 2, 2020Even though China is Australia’s biggest trading partner, its relations with Canberra remains strained. As Australia is a US ally, China tends to regard its critical stance on its policies and actions as reflecting US interests, as in Australia’s call for an international investigation of COVID-19, which I will come to later. In other words, […]
China’s economic dilemma and the US on March 22, 2019China is set for a lower growth rate for its economy. Looking at the new official target growth range of 6 to 6.5 percent from last year’s actual growth rate of 6.6 percent, it doesn’t look too bad. However, two things need to be pointed out here. Firstly, it will be the lowest growth target […]
US-China contest on December 14, 2018The rise of populist nationalism, of which Trump’s election as the US President is the most vivid example, is changing the contours of global politics. Trump proudly calls himself as a “nationalist” out to make the US great again. Which, not so subtly says, that the US has been short changed both by its leaders […]
Murder in Istanbul on December 3, 2018It is unbelievable that the President of the world’s most powerful country, claiming to be the defender of universal human rights, would prevaricate on, what appears to be a clear case of murder of the dissident Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, in its Istanbul consulate by a hit team that was despatched to do the dastardly […]
Is Australia-China ties on the mend? on November 23, 2018There was palpable relief in Canberra after the recent official visit to Beijing of Australia’ foreign minister, Marise Payne, and her meeting with her Chinese counterpart. And why was this so important? It was because China had put Australia in diplomatic freeze for over two years, upset at Canberra’s criticism of China; particularly implying that […]
Trump phenomena on November 12, 2018There is an old Punjabi saying that if your granary is full, even your idiot sons will be regarded as smart. In a broader sense, even in a global context, power and wealth will tend to make the leader of a country taken seriously, irrespective of the general criteria for other people. Which brings us […]
Saudi puzzle on October 31, 2018Things were going so well for Saudi Arabia (until the murder of the Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi — more about this later), under the effective rule of its Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, that it was like the Prince had a magic touch. Earlier, a palace coup promoted him from deputy crown prince to […]
Trump targets Iran on October 23, 2018Even as the Trump administration in the US is trying to work out a solution to North Korea’s nuclear issue, it is already scrapping an agreement with Iran to limit/freeze its nuclear program. It is difficult to understand the logic, if there is any, behind what is going on in Trump land, which is the […]
Korean conundrum on October 9, 2018Are we anywhere near solving the North Korean puzzle? President Trump seems quite hopeful. Indeed, after his first summit in Singapore with North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, he declared that the nuclear threat was over. Notwithstanding that, the follow up visit by Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of the state, was cancelled then (though it […]
Does China need to slow down? on August 27, 2018Hugh White, a professor of strategic studies at the prestigious Australian National University, is reportedly of the view that the 21st century belongs to China, considering that it’s projected economic output will far outstrip that of the United States at $42 trillion for China to $24 trillion for the United States by about 2030. Whether […]