Does China really want to go to war with Taiwan? Read More »
A summit is an appropriate place to talk of mountains, and so Beijing’s description of the Russia-China partnership as, at the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Samarkand, ‘stable as mountains’ is appropriate, if not entirely true. China has thus far been one of Russia’s few credible allies as the latter’s war in Ukraine stretches
China and Russia: Moving mountains Read More »
The last-minute, unexpected withdrawal of Kiribati from the Pacific Island Forum has caught the region by surprise. As nations from Palau to Polynesia prepare for the 2022 edition of the summit, Kiribati’s sudden exit – and the stated rationale – has thrown into disarray the ‘unity’ of the Pacific community, at a time where this
Kiribati: Pacific Grim Read More »
The phrase “The Great Game” has become something of a lazy cliché when referencing anything to do with Central Asia. Regrettably, therefore, it has never been more apt than today. Much as it was during the days of empire, it is once again a hotbed of political and geopolitical struggle. Where aristocrats, warlords, tribesmen and
Central Asia – A House Built on Sand Read More »