Archive for ‘GeoPolitics’

06/05/2013

* Abbas and Netanyahu on separate China visits

China, the new peace-maker.

BBC: “Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are in China for separate talks with top officials.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas (left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (06/05/13)

Mr Abbas, who met President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Monday, said he would explain obstacles to talks with Israel.

Mr Netanyahu, who is visiting Shanghai before flying to Beijing later this week, was due to sign trade deals and discuss the issue of Iran.

The two men are not expected to meet while they are in China.

China would assist if they wanted to, a foreign ministry official said, but the two leaders were not expected to be in the same city at the same time.

Mr Abbas, who arrived in Beijing on Sunday, signed agreements on technical co-operation and cultural exchange with Mr Xi on Monday. The Palestinian leader was also expected to meet Premier Li Keqiang during his visit.

Speaking to Xinhua news agency ahead of the visit, he said he would update Chinese leaders on “what are the obstacles that block” dialogue with Israel, and would ask Beijing “to use its relationship with Israel to remove the obstacles that obstruct the Palestinian economy”.

Xinhua quoted him as saying: “It is very good that Netanyahu will visit China too because it is a good opportunity that the Chinese listen to both of us.”

Mr Netanyahu’s visit is the first to China by an Israeli leader in six years.

He was expected to meet business delegates in Shanghai before heading to Beijing. Israeli officials say he is expected to sign a number of trade deals.

He is also expected to raise the issue of Iran, which many nations including Israel believe is trying to build nuclear weapons – something Iran denies.

Beijing is one of the biggest buyers of Iranian oil, and has opposed unilateral Western sanctions on Tehran.

“China and Israel have both much to gain from enhanced co-operation, and that’s our goal,” Mr Netanyahu’s spokesman Mark Regev told AFP news agency.”

via BBC News – Abbas and Netanyahu on separate China visits.

03/05/2013

* Seven key messages from India to China

Let us hope some of these seven messages are heard by Indian policy-makers.

30/04/2013

* Experts baffled by China-India border stand-off amid improving ties

SCMP: “It’s more than 5,000 metres above sea level, cold, inhospitable, uninhabited, with hardly any vegetation or wildlife in sight. Welcome to the icy desert wastelands of Daulat Beg Oldi, a forgotten pit stop on the Silk Road catapulted to overnight geopolitical fame as two nuclear neighbours vie for its possession in a dangerous game of tactical brinkmanship.

For two weeks now, Chinese and Indian soldiers have been standing eyeball to eyeball, barely 100 metres apart, at this easternmost point of the Karakoram Range on the western sector of the China-India border.

Both sides claim the land as their own in an unusually public show of mutual defiance that threatens to unhinge some of their newfound comity in an otherwise fraught relationship, and cast a shadow on Premier Li Keqiang‘s visit to India next month.

The trouble began when Indian media started reporting a “deep incursion” on April 15 in which a platoon of about 30 Chinese soldiers entered the Daulat Beg Oldi area in the Depsang Valley of eastern Ladakh in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Shrill media reports of Chinese incursions are not uncommon in India, where Sinophobia has been wired deep into the national psyche since a drubbing by China in a border war in 1962. Every time such reports appear, New Delhi’s stock response is that it’s a misunderstanding caused by “perceptual differences”. This time is no different.

A group of activists protest on Saturday against an alleged incursion two weeks ago by about 30 Chinese troops in the Daulat Beg Oldi area in eastern Ladakh of Indian-administered Kashmir. Photo: AP

India and China do not have a real border marked out on the ground as they never got around to negotiating one. What they follow is an undemarcated Line of Actual Control (LAC), but each side has its own perception of where that line actually lies. As a result, it is not uncommon for patrols to stray into each other’s territory. Years of painstaking talks have gone into creating an elaborate mechanism to prevent such transgressions from snowballing, keeping the peace for 25 years.

What is different this time is that none of the standard operating procedures that comprise this peace mechanism seem to be working. These procedures include waving banners to alert the other patrol if it is on the wrong side of the LAC, and meetings between local commanders. This time, two flag meetings have been held but the stalemate continues. New Delhi insists Chinese troops have entered 18 kilometres into Indian territory and must leave. Beijing maintains its soldiers are on the Chinese side of the LAC and won’t budge. And, in an alarming show of strength, both sides have dug in, pitching tents to strengthen their claims.

The confrontation has sent diplomats into overdrive to calm tempers before Li’s India visit as both sides have set much store by the trip. Bilateral trade, barely about US$3 billion in 2000 following decades of shutting each other out after the war, has now reached nearly US$80 billion, making China India’s largest trading partner. The aim is to reach US$100 billion by 2015, with both sides looking for greater access to each other’s markets. They are also increasingly working together in other areas, ranging from environment to energy security.

Sino-Indian relations are developing very quickly. Li’s visit will be his first foreign trip after taking office, and is in a complete break with protocol, showing the importance China attaches to relations with India,” says Ma Jiali, an India expert at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations in Beijing.

Li’s choice of India as his first port of call had created a burst of goodwill in India for its symbolism. Going by protocol, it was Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh‘s turn to visit Beijing this year to reciprocate for former premier Wen Jiabao‘s tour in 2011.”

via Experts baffled by China-India border stand-off amid improving ties | South China Morning Post.

27/04/2013

* Turkey becomes partner of China, Russia-led security bloc

One day Europe may well come to regret not wqelcoming Turkey into the EU.

Reuters: “NATO member Turkey signed up on Friday to became a “dialogue partner” of a security bloc dominated by China and Russia, and declared that its destiny is in Asia.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan makes a speech during the Global Alcohol Policy Symposium in Istanbul April 26, 2013. REUTERS/Murad Sezer

“This is really a historic day for us,” Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in Kazakhstan’s commercial capital Almaty after signing a memorandum of understanding with Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Secretary General Dmitry Mezentsev.

“Now, with this choice, Turkey is declaring that our destiny is the same as the destiny of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) countries.”

China, Russia and four Central Asian nations – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – formed the SCO in 2001 as a regional security bloc to fight threats posed by radical Islam and drug trafficking from neighboring Afghanistan.”

via Turkey becomes partner of China, Russia-led security bloc | Reuters.

24/04/2013

* Ladakh incursion: India and China face-off at the ‘Gate of Hell’

China’s only unresolved land border!

16/04/2013

* China’s freeway to North Korea: A road to nowhere

Reuters: “A new stretch of China’s G12 expressway arcs toward the northernmost tip of North Korea, connecting one of the world’s most vibrant economies to probably its most stagnant. It is a symbol of China’s long-term goal of building economic ties with its unpredictable neighbor.

A woman stands in a gift shop in central Rason city, part of the special economic zone northeast of Pyongyang, in this August 30, 2011 file photo. REUTERS-Carlos Barria-Files

But the thin traffic along a highway lined with fallow fields in China’s Jilin province, two years after it was finished, shows how far there is to go and why plans for high-speed rail links to Chinese cities along the border look misplaced.

The problem for Beijing is twofold: getting Pyongyang to buy into the idea of economic reform and the reluctance of Chinese businessmen to venture into one of the world’s riskiest investment destinations.

While China is frustrated with Pyongyang over its threats to wage war on South Korea and the United States, its efforts to build economic links with North Korea from places like Jilin help explain why Beijing is unlikely to crack down hard on the reclusive state.

Since then-Premier Wen Jiabao went to North Korea in 2009 – just months after Pyongyang’s second nuclear test – China has sought to stabilize the Korean peninsula by stepping up its effort to steer the North toward economic reform. China is not about to give up that goal even though it’s under U.S. pressure to get tough after North Korea’s third nuclear test, on February 12.

“It’s not even shepherding anymore. It’s more of just inundating North Korea with all of these influences from the Chinese side where the idea is to essentially corrupt them, show them what it tastes like to make money,” said John Park, a North Korea expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Harvard Kennedy School.”

via Insight: China’s freeway to North Korea: A road to nowhere | Reuters.

16/04/2013

* China, India, Singapore could join new Arctic Circle forum

Reuters: “China, India, Singapore and other countries far from the Arctic Circle could be part of a new global forum to widen the discussion about the fate of the planet’s Far North, Iceland President Olafur Grimsson said on Monday.

Map of the Arctic with the Arctic Circle in blue.

Map of the Arctic with the Arctic Circle in blue. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The non-profit forum, Arctic Circle, will hold its first meeting in Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital, in October.

Such a gathering is needed, Grimsson said, because, while most countries have a stake in the melting of Arctic ice, only eight – Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States – are members of the Arctic Council, an intergovernmental group set up in 1996.

Some non-Arctic countries can observe the deliberations, but they have no formal voice on the Council about sustainable development and environmental protection in the region.

The Icelandic leader said he had discussions about the Arctic this year with officials from China, India and Singapore. The first agenda item of these discussions was when these countries would get a seat on the Arctic Council.

The Arctic Circle forum will be “an open, democratic tent where everybody who wants to participate will actually be welcome,” Grimsson said at an event at the National Press Club.

He said concerned citizens, representatives of non-governmental organizations, scientists, researchers can join governments and corporations to be part of this discussion.

And while it may take a while for the Arctic Council to decide which countries might become permanent observers at its meetings, these same countries can send representatives to the Arctic Circle to make the case for inclusion.

He also mentioned that China and Iceland announced a new free trade agreement on Monday.

Arctic sea ice is a key indicator of climate change and a powerful global weather-maker. Last year, Arctic sea ice melted to its lowest levels on record, authorities have said.

Besides making global sea levels rise and influencing world weather, the ice melt means new water routes are opening between Europe, Asia and North America, a trend that will have a profound impact on global shipping.

Last year, as summer sea ice shrank, the first Chinese icebreaker made the trip from Shanghai to Iceland via the Northern Sea Route along the Russian coast.

By mid-century, the quickest way to get goods from Asia to the U.S. East Coast might well be right over the North Pole, according to a University of California-Los Angeles study.”

via China, India, Singapore could join new Arctic Circle forum | Reuters.

14/04/2013

* China Makes Inroads in Nepal, Stemming Tibetan Presence

NY Times: “The wind-scoured desert valley here, just south of Tibet, was once a famed transit point for the Tibetan yak caravans laden with salt that lumbered over the icy ramparts of the Himalayas. In the 1960s, it became a base for Tibetan guerrillas trained by the C.I.A. to attack Chinese troops occupying their homeland.

Prayer wheels at a temple in the Mustang area of Nepal. The Chinese are trying to restrain the flow of disaffected Tibetans fleeing to Nepal and to enlist the help of the Nepalese authorities.

These days, it is the Chinese who are showing up in this far tip of the Buddhist kingdom of Mustang, northwest of Katmandu, Nepal. Chinese officials are seeking to stem the flow of disaffected Tibetans fleeing to Nepal and to enlist the help of the Nepalese authorities in cracking down on the political activities of the 20,000 Tibetans already here.

China is exerting its influence across Nepal in a variety of ways, mostly involving financial incentives. In Mustang, China is providing $50,000 in annual food aid and sending military officials across the border to discuss with local Nepalese what the ceremonial prince of Mustang calls “border security.”

Their efforts across the country have borne fruit. The Nepalese police regularly detain Tibetans during anti-China protests in Katmandu, and they have even curbed celebrations of the birthday of the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, according to Tibetans living in Nepal.

via China Makes Inroads in Nepal, Stemming Tibetan Presence – NYTimes.com.

11/04/2013

* China’s ‘Going Out Strategy’ and the implications for agricultural and forestry resources in Africa

CPI: “China is shifting the global political economy which has significant implications for natural resource management. The so-called Western powers, which have dominated global natural resource institutions for centuries, may be about to witness a new mode of resource governance. Although not always perceptible, even our relationship with nature has been modified and shaped in some way due to classifications and instruments of European order. The ‘Columbian Exchange’ (the widespread exchange of animals, plants, culture and human populations following the voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492) signified a stage of voyages of discovery which helped create the British Empire and fostered the commodification and exchange of plants through global value chains of influence. The voyages of exploration were in part derived from a need to expand territory and acquire natural resources. In the late 1660s, books such as Silva and French Forest Ordinance signified a shift in thinking and attitudes towards the unforeseen consequences of economic development over conservation. Forestry was starting to be recognised as a science. At that time, the power of the nation rested largely on the ability of nations to continue ship building; resources such as timber therefore were vital to the continuation of that power.

The twenty- first century is witnessing a different mode of power. Empire has given way to new forms of cultural imperialism, or as Nye terms it: ‘soft power’, where culture itself is used as a tool to create influence. ‘Hard’ military power and colonisation are inefficient or ineffective at securing natural resources in an increasingly globalised world, therefore more peaceful methods need to be used. International development has for some time served the purpose of mutual exchange whereby relationships have been based predominantly on a Western notion of ‘conditionality.’ Development assistance is exchanged for a level of compliance with widely shared Western values.

As China leads a new geopolitical trend in ‘South-South’ cooperation, the implications for global governance are vast. China’s new demand for natural resources has, like developing nations before them, led to expanding their boundaries beyond their own nation and engaging in exploitation of other nations. The outward expansion of industry and natural resource management was officially launched in 2001 in a package of initiatives known as the ‘going out strategy’. Since its launch, China’s mode of development based on ‘no strings attached’ financial assistance and ‘non-interference’ in internal affairs as a development strategy (rather than a Western mode of ‘conditionality’) has attracted attention and criticism. After all, Western democratic neoliberal thought has always focused on shared values, even when the planet sits in its own capitalist ruins. That is not to condone human rights abuses, oppressive dictatorships or arms trade, but to recognise that the West has itself turned a blind eye to such issues, or else paid more attention to the plight of certain citizens when natural resources have been involved.

China’s success as the ‘world’s factory’ has led to a new demand in overseas natural resources – particularly oil, timber and minerals.  This has resulted in many new formed partnerships between China and Africa. One such example is the establishment of the Centre for China-Africa Agriculture and Forestry Research (CAFOR), in late 2012, in partnership with the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR) and Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University (ZAFU). The project proposes to train high level professionals, improve global agriculture and forestry technology and secure China’s influence on African national policy making for international agriculture and forestry development strategies. Moreover, the centres will provide an opportunity for Sino-African agriculture and forestry culture exchange through the development of agricultural and forestry resources traditionally associated with China: tea and bamboo.

Although bamboo is largely associated with Asia, bamboo species are native to Africa. With the global population set to increase by 0.9% per year to 8.2 billion in 2030, according to FAO, there is a pressing need for substitute timber resources. Whilst the global bamboo economy is estimated at US $10 billion (which is set to double in the next five years) according to the World Bamboo Organisation, institutions to facilitate sustainable supply chains suited to the specific management characteristics of the plant are still lacking. Globally there has been a recent surge in interest in the plant in face of resource deficits, however China’s involvement in Africa would signify the first move to actively define and develop modern forestry institutions inclusive of bamboo. This not only has significant implications for Chinese focused trade and investment, but also institutionalised practices within the timber industry, which have been largely driven by Western interests.”

via China Policy Institute Blog » China’s ‘Going Out Strategy’ and the implications for agricultural and forestry resources in Africa.

10/04/2013

* Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Mourns U.N. Peacekeepers Killed in South Sudan

WSJ: “Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh paid tribute to the five “brave soldiers” who died Tuesday morning in the deadliest attack on the United Nations in South Sudan since the country’s secession in July 2011.

The five Indian soldiers, including a lieutenant colonel, were part of a group escorting a convoy of U.N. civilian staff and contractors. They came under attack near the settlement of Gumuruk in Jonglei state, South Sudan. Around 200 armed men attacked the convoy. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, in which two U.N. staff and five civilian contractors were also killed.

The dead Indian troops have been named as Lieutenant Colonel Mahipal Singh, Shiv Kumar Pal, Hira Lal, Bharat Singh and Nand Kishore.

Nine others, including four Indian soldiers, were injured in the attack, according to reports.

via Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Mourns U.N. Peacekeepers Killed in South Sudan – India Real Time – WSJ.

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