Southeast Asia
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18.01.2020
Intensity and Stability: The Development of Russian-Vietnamese Relations
Vietnam is one of Russia’s oldest and most reliable partners in Asia. Friendly relations were established back in the years of the Indochina Wars of the 1950s-1970s. At that time, the Soviet Union helped Vietnamese Communists to first get rid of the French colonialists, then to defeat the Western-ruled South Vietnam, which was backed by […]
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07.01.2020
Terrorism in Thailand: an Underestimated Threat
For most, the Kingdom of Thailand is nothing but a resort zone, a place of fun and relaxation. However, the country has many problems that international media rarely touch upon, all of their attention focused on the West, China, Russia and the Middle East as of late. One of these problems is separatism in the […]
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06.01.2020
Laos: West’s War on Asian Development
At face value, the Financial Times’ article, “Laos’s Belt and Road project sparks questions over China ambitions,” reads like a politically-motivated attack on infrastructure development in Asia. Because it is. The article’s subheading, “High-speed train line in one of Asia’s poorest countries may benefit Beijing more than locals,” alone contradicts the correlation between the development of […]
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14.12.2019
US Seeks Thai Opposition for Anti-China Alliance at ASEAN Summit
Why is the US talking “democracy, human rights and justice” with an opposition who lost recent elections, abuses human rights and works daily to undermine and evade justice? Time was precious at the 35th ASEAN Summit. Leaders from across Southeast Asia converged on Bangkok, Thailand to discuss economics, diplomacy, defence and a whole host of […]
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10.12.2019
I Never Saw a World So Fragmented!
It is amazing how easily, without resistance, the Western empire is managing to destroy “rebellious” countries that are standing in its way. I work in all corners of the planet, wherever Kafkaesque “conflicts” get ignited by Washington, London or Paris. What I see and describe are not only those horrors which are taking place all […]
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07.12.2019
West Seeks Control Over Asian Rivers
At first glance the human rights and environmental issues surrounding a proposed dam seem like serious objections to their construction. In some cases they may be. In other cases – these concerns are manufactured, promoted, and cynically exploited by foreign special interests who seek to impede dam construction and likewise impede the march forward of […]
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05.12.2019
Asia Unites Against US Coup Attempt
The nations of Southeast Asia have united in efforts to prevent a US-backed coup aimed at fellow-Southeast Asian state Cambodia. Through a combination of travel bans and detentions across the region in late October and early November, Southeast Asia may have thwarted attempts by Washington-backed opposition front, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), from “returning” […]
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30.11.2019
Leading International Players Reacting to the Presidential Election in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s presidential election, held on 16 November, was a noteworthy event in the Indo-Pacific. It was the focus of attention in nations that happen to be the key participants of the political game being played in the region. And their reasons are obvious. Along with a number of other island nations in the Indian […]
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27.11.2019
How Exactly did the US Lose the Trade War With China?
The ongoing trade war between the US and China has caused both countries economic damage, leading to lower exports for China (by almost 25%) and higher prices for consumers in the US, but economic and financial losses aren’t the most significant negative aspects. And, whereas both the US and China are beginning to signal a […]
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23.11.2019
How the US is Losing Itself out in the ASEAN
While the US continues to target China for its assertive policies in the South China Sea, the US still continues to lose itself out in the ASEAN region. This is a result not so much of the way the Chinese are expanding their political and economic reach, but mainly an outcome of the US’ own […]
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16.11.2019
Why Thailand is Buying Russian Helicopters
Beginning in 2011, the Kingdom of Thailand began replacing aging US helicopters not with newer US-built models, but with Russian and Italian systems instead. This includes Russian Mi-17 medium twin-turbine transport helicopters and several AgustaWestland AW149’s and AW139’s (for transporting VIPs). According to a January 2019 article in Jane’s 360: The RTA [Royal Thai Army] already operates […]
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14.11.2019
Regular ASEAN Summits and Prospects for Proposed RCEP Free Trade Agreement
The fate of the ASEAN Plus Six project has become a key issue at the annual ASEAN summits, the latest of which was held in Bangkok in early November. The proposed project would see the formation of the world’s largest free trade zone, made up of the Association’s 10 Southeast Asian member states (ASEAN itself), […]