Tag: Central Asia
Eurasia takes shape: How the SCO just flipped the world order
Spectre of Syria haunts Afghanistan
The Moscow daily Vedomosti with links to the establishment has reported that Russia will give “limited military support” to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the event of attacks from Afghanistan, including weapons supplies, air support and deployment of special forces, but there are “no plans to deploy major ground forces” to the region.
Spectre of Syria haunts Afghanistan
[2014] China and the Middle East: More Than Oil
China and the Middle East: More Than Oil
While China’s heavy dependence on Middle Eastern oil is an established fact, less is known about China’s early efforts to establish broad energy ties with the Middle East. Back in 1983, before the Chinese economy really took off, the overseas construction arm of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) moved into the Kuwaiti market and later won an oil storage reconstruction project in 1995. Beijing also signed the Strategic Oil Cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia in 1999, which laid the foundation for Saudi Arabia to become and remain China’s largest oil supplier. In exchange for stable crude supply, China has courted Saudi investment for expanding its refining capacity. One example is China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation’s (SINOPEC) meeting with Saudi Aramco to discuss a stake in a $1.2-billion refinery in the Chinese city of Qingdao. The two sides further joined hands in a $3.5-billion venture in Fujian province that included greater refinery capacity.4
A hybrid war to replace Afghan ‘forever war’?
The British newspaper Daily Telegraph did some kite-flying in the weekend that London is considering open-ended deployment of a contingent of elite special forces to Afghanistan “ to provide training to Afghan units and deploy with them on the ground as advisers.”
A hybrid war to replace Afghan ‘forever war’?
The Troops Move, But the Wars Continue
Lawmaker floats another reason to stay in Afghanistan: Keep minerals from China
Putin Laid it All Out: “The So-called Policy of Containing Russia”
This past Wednesday, at a very important meeting with the FSB board, President Putin laid it all out in stark terms:
Putin Laid it All Out: “The So-called Policy of Containing Russia”
[2013] U.S. Geopolitics: Afghanistan and the Containment of China
U.S. Geopolitics: Afghanistan and the Containment of China
China’s fear is replicating the fall of the Soviet Union. When its borderlands, Central Asia and Transcaucasus, were lost, the Russian core shattered into three states: Byelorussia, Ukraine, and Russia. Should China loses its borderlands, Tibet and Xinjiang, the Chinese core may similarly shatter.
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 