Biden bullies China. But it won’t work
The balloon affair can be regarded as a defining moment. It exposes that while China was approaching Blinken’s visit in good faith with the purpose of finding constructive ways forward, Washington didn’t view things the same way
Vietnam sees shared future with China
The anti-corruption drive by Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has upturned the apple cart of the West
Russia’s gas union eyes Pakistan, India
Russia’s “gas union” in Central Asia signals that the time has come for regional states in South Asia to respond with a unity of purpose
Syria’s power dynamic is shifting
On the one hand, there is a strategic “pull” toward a greater possibility of Damascus, Moscow, Tehran and Ankara working together to push US forces out of northeast Syria. On the other side, the power dynamic with Russia may be shifting in Ankara’s favor lately
Trump, Biden and the tale of US secrets
In US public perception, both Trump and Biden appear to have mishandled government secrets and now have a special counsel looking deeper into what they did wrong
Sweden hustled into military pact with US
The US and NATO assumed that it would be easy to convince Turkey to let Sweden enter NATO. However, Erdoğan kept shifting the goal post and refined his conditions
Biden’s existential angst in Ukraine
It is becoming increasingly clear that the US is fighting in Ukraine to preserve its global hegemony
India’s got the BRICS blues
Being an acolyte of the US-led “rules-based order,” India faces the specter of isolation as Lula takes over as Brazil’s president and the center of gravity in BRICS is poised to shift to the left of center