Whilst the world’s attention was recently focused on a relatively minor incident involving disputed islands in the South China Sea, the 4,000-km disputed border between India and China is quietly being beefed up militarily by both sides. In the words of M. Taylor Fravel, borders specialist with MIT, the border in question is “the most [...]

Over the past few years, China has become a major player in  Central Asia’s oil & gas and in Afghanistan’s mining sector. Its investments in the region are an important part of its worldwide FDI strategy. To date, China’s biggest purchases of gas come from Turkmenistan. In 2009 the Chinese president inaugurated a gas pipeline that stretches [...]

The frontline states in the fight against global terrorism, Pakistan and Afghanistan, are two poor, non-Arabic Islamic nations. Every week, regular soldiers belonging to the Pakistani army or the coalition forces in Afghanistan are being killed by Talibans, whose guerrilla fighting tactics have been branded by military analysts as daring and innovative. Could Pakistan’s nuclear facilities be [...]

Extending the war in Irak will probably be regarded by pundits as the biggest foreign policy blunder the US has made in recent memory. Much as a consequence of it, the war in Afghanistan has been fought with less resolve, enabling Al-Qaida and the Talibans to regain their strength and challenge the Western forces present there. Furthermore, [...]