Geopolitics / Asia

• Proposed Kazakh-Indian Pipeline a Long Shot at Best

  Oilmen are undoubtedly the capitalist world’s most hardy risk takers. There is no region too unsettled, nor government too corrupt, to dissuade them from their mission to drill for the ‘black gold.”But such ambitions occasionally run afoul of geopolitical realities, and a recent proposed pipeline is due to become the poster child for ambition overtaking reality.During March 5-6 Kazakh Foreign Affairs Minister Erlan Idrissov, formerly the Kazakh ambassador to the United States, visited New Delhi, where he received a warm welcome. Idrissov held talks with Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, where they reviewed their bilateral relationship, which now includes…

• North Korean "Insanity" Part of Geopolitical Game

  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may be colorful, but he isn’t crazy. There is logic behind the intensified war rhetoric, and while it may be convenient for the American public to believe that they are about to be attacked unprovoked by the unhinged dictator of an eerily isolated country, the truth of the matter is that the US and its allies have been doing some offensive posturing that has Pyongyang very much on edge.   North Korea on Tuesday threatened to attack the US and South Korea with “lighter and smaller nukes”. This threat has prompted South Korea to threaten to…

• North Korea: Preparing for War

  The latest in the North Korea drama is the release of a video portraying US President Barack Obama and American troops going up in flames. But it’s not just cheap and cheesy rhetoric by a new leader who wants to be taken seriously: North Korea is preparing for a war because the US has been preparing for an offensive. Earlier this month, we were regaled with a similar video, this time portraying a US city being attacked by North Korean missiles. Before that, in December, North Korea launched a satellite, and its official news agency declared a “Nationwide preparation for…

• China Decides that South China Sea Oil is a National Asset

  While the Western press is fixated on both recent North Korean nuclear tests and Beijing’s recent skirmishes with Japan over the Senkaku (“Diaoyu” in Chinese) islands, other maritime issues have developed further south, where China is involved in sovereignty disputes over the Spratly islands’ 750 islands, islets, atolls, cays and outcroppings with the Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei.Beijing is bolstering its claims with ancient Chinese maps, despite the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea," designed to ease tensions over the archipelago.Now, no less an authority than the U.S. government’s Energy Information Agency has…

• India Enters the Fray as the South China Sea Dispute Continues

  Although the Xi Jinping administration is now secure enough in its transition to power to put nationalist jingoism back in the box from whence it came, recent events suggest that China will continue to tow a hard line in regards to its military and economic rights in the South China Sea.Earlier this week, Chinese media sources reported that police authorities in Hainan province will be authorized to search and seize foreign vessels operating in Chinese waters starting next year. The announcement prompted an immediate response from the Philippine government, which condemned the move and requested a clarification as to what…

• EXCLUSIVE: Beijing Sinking Teeth into Western Turf in Asia

  Representatives from Russian energy company Gazprom met this week with Kazakh officials to discuss the natural gas potential in the region. Gazprom said delivering gas from Kazakhstan to members of the Commonwealth of Independent States topped the agenda. In nearby Turkmenistan, meanwhile, Western supporters of a $9 billion natural gas pipeline are pressing their case as part of a broader economic initiative for the region. Gazprom, through its joint venture in Kazakhstan, aims to exploit the 116 trillion cubic feet of estimated natural gas reserves there. With little international support of their own for the project in Turkmenistan, Western powers…

• Myanmar: New Frontline for East-West Oil Rush

  Welcome to Myanmar, formerly Burma. A gateway to the Indian Ocean for China and the home of massive oil and gas wealth that is an important element of America’s Asia policy and China’s energy policy. It is also run by a brutal military junta (renamed), is rife with sectarian violence, and has just seen an entire community burned to the ground at a key hub of Chinese operations. Some might say Myanmar is no longer a military junta. But here we remind you that the new “reformist” government is led by President Thein Sein, who also enjoyed the “prime ministerial”…

• Is Pakistan's Paranoia Pushing it Into a Nuclear War with India?

  The possibility of a nuclear war between Pakistan and India grows every day.  If the Pakistanis do not bring under control the terrorist groups in the country and resolve the conflicts with India, it is not a matter of if it will happen, but when.There have been few achievements to celebrate in the sixty-five year history of Pakistan and that has made the success of the nuclear program central to the national identity.  This is especially true for the military that receives a quarter of the budget and is the only strong national institution. Development of the weapons started in…

• Duel in the East China Sea

  With Bin Laden and Gaddafi out of the picture, the geopolitical headline is now shifting to Asia/China.  The most recent excitement came from a 3-way bitter territorial feud over eight small and uninhabited islands in the East China Sea.    Historically, these uninhabited islands are rich fishing grounds with military strategic importance.  It was also discovered in 1968 that there could be oil and gas reserves under the sea near the islands.  It is estimated that the East China Sea region may hold as much as 160 billion barrels of oil.  Today, these islands have different names depending on whom you…

• Chinese-Japanese Senkaku Island Dispute - Vital U.S. Strategic Interest or Not?

  As the U.S. repositions its military forces to assume a great role in the Western Pacific, the state Department has taken a position to defend the contested Senkaku islands, which most Americans have never heard of.In a rare display of solidarity, both Taiwan and China dispute Japan’s claim over the archipelago. At present, the dispute is apparently being handled by water cannons, with the Japan Coast Guard on 25 September spraying with water cannon 75 Taiwanese fishing boats, according to Taiwan's government-owned Central News Agency, were joined by 12 Taiwanese government patrol boats in approaching the islands’ territorial waters, After…