On November 23rd, 2020, South Korea pointed out the “10th anniversary of North Korea’s deadly artillery strike on the South Korean island on the border”, which killed two marines and two civilians, with more than a dozen injured. During a memorial ceremony at the Seoul National Cemetery, Defense Minister Suh Wook vowed to protect peace and prosperity…
Politics
Eastern Asia - South Korea
30.11.2020
Joe Biden will Militarize US Middle East Policy
Joe Biden, the US president-elect, won the elections on the promise of ‘re-setting US foreign policy.’ An important area of US foreign policy has always been the Middle East for both geo-political and geo-economic reasons. Under the Trump administration, the US got out of JCPOA, sanctioned Iran and even engaged in a limited military conflict. It pursued…
Middle East
30.11.2020
The United States is Seeking to Take Control of the Elections in Kyrgyzstan
Hopelessly bogged down in its influencing of the Ukrainian crisis, which did not go as expected in Washington, the United States has been actively trying to defocus Russia’s attention in recent years by organizing riots in other CIS countries. One of them is Kyrgyzstan, which is vulnerable to external interference…
Central Asia - Kyrgyzstan
30.11.2020
US is Losing in the Militarily Race against Russia and China
The Trump administration, pursuing its adventurous policy and inciting hostility towards Russia and China, has recently repeatedly tried to demonstrate “intimidation” to Moscow and Beijing. Some times this took the form of a concentration of more and more armed forces near the borders of “two strategic adversaries” declared by Washington. One could also…
USA in the World
30.11.2020
Update on the Issue of Gilgit-Baltistan in the Context of the “Kashmir Problem”
The former principality of Kashmir was among several hundreds of territories with varying degrees of autonomy on the Indian subcontinent, and in its environs, that became part of British India in the 19th century, the de facto heir to which is modern-day, completely independent Republic of India. But in terms of territory, the latter…
Southern Asia - India
29.11.2020
Trump is Speeding Up the Creation of an Anti-Iranian Power Bloc
In preparation for Joe Biden administration’s possible arrival entering the White House, Donald Trump took additional steps to complete the creation of a regional power bloc with the leading role of Israel and Saudi Arabia under full US control to complicate Biden’s actions in building a new policy in the Middle East. Undoubtedly, the urgency…
USA in the World
28.11.2020
Where Will the Crisis in Ethiopia Lead?
In Africa, more and more conflicts are moving from previously “sluggish” stages to “hot.” This trend is confirmed by the recent events in Mozambique along with development of Morocco’s situation with the integration of Western Sahara recognized by several states of the world as the territory occupied by Moroccans, the recent attempt of a military coup in Mali…
Africa
Economics
27.11.2020
The World’s Centre is Reverting to Asia
The Asian Times writer Pepe Escobar is one of the most widely read and respected commentators in the English language, although he himself is a Brazilian and therefore always writing in a foreign language. In part because of the location of his major media outlet, Singapore, and in part because Asia is clearly where Escobar sees the future of the world, he has…
Southeast Asia
27.11.2020
Relations Between China and South Korea: The Economic Aspects
Having scrutinized the political aspect of relations between the PRC and the ROK, let us briefly examine the economy’s state of affairs. First, a few general numbers. Over 28 years of diplomatic relations, trade between the two countries has grown 40 times, and in 2019 amounted to $ 243 billion 400 million. In the first seven months of 2020…
Eastern Asia - South Korea
23.11.2020
RCEP Agreement Signed; Without India
Contrary to the skepticism of the author a year ago, on 15 November of this year, during one of the (video) summits based on ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations that include ten countries), the Agreement on the creation of a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) was signed. This completes the long-term process of forming…
Southern Asia - India
20.11.2020
The China Moment
China has achieved the almost impossible – a free trade agreement with 14 countries – the ten ASEAN, plus Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, altogether 15 countries, including China. The so-called Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP, was in negotiations during eight years – and achieved to pull together a group of countries for free trade, i.e. some 2.2 billion people…
Eastern Asia - China
20.11.2020
The RCEP: How the Pact Signals US Downfall
The signing of a 15 member trade pact, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), is a watershed moment not only for the proponents of a post-American ‘Asian Century’, but also a major even in the history of US-China economic competition, a power-struggle that certainly has major implications for global political and economic system. RCEP…
Eastern Asia - China
18.11.2020
The Secret Agenda of the World Bank and IMF
The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) work hand in glove – smoothly. Not only are they regularly lending huge sums of money to horror regimes around the world, but they blackmail poor nations into accepting draconian conditions imposed by the west. In other words, the WB and the IMF are guilty of the most atrocious human rights abuses…
USA in the World
17.11.2020
The RCEP Deal Signed on Sunday Represents a New Era In World Trade Relations
A major treaty was signed on 16 November 2020 and it has been barely noticed by the western media. The treaty in question was between 15 predominantly Asian states, with two exceptions being Australia and New Zealand. It is called the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership with (RCEP). The signatories…
Southeast Asia
Society
27.11.2020
The Elections in the United States: a Middle Eastern Perspective
“Donald Trump – the true face of the United States”, “The Arabs and the new American Administration”, “Biden, Arabs, and the Gulf”. These and similar headlines are interspersed in the flow of materials that have appeared in the Middle Eastern media about the situation with suspending the results following the American elections…
Middle East
23.11.2020
The Murky Foreign Actors Behind US Election Fraud
Amid documented stories of “ordinary” US election fraud for the November 3 Presidential voting, including false ID, dead voters voting and suspicious one-sided mail in votes in key Democrat-run states, more evidence points to the role of highly sophisticated foreign actors, in concert with elements of the US deep state bad actors, making a brazen…
USA in the World
18.11.2020
The Return of Syrian Refugees, A Priority to Whom?
The armed conflict in Syria caused the most severe material and moral damage in this country’s history. According to some published media estimates, the total amount of direct material damage caused to Syria’s infrastructure resulting from the war is $ 4.5 billion, indirect damage – about $ 28.6 billion. According to a report by the Qatar-based Syrian Human Rights…
Middle East - Syria
17.11.2020
The World is on the Brink Yet Again
It’s all so sensational, I am sure there is no journalists or playwright who can begin to express how messed up the world is today. In America, a president acts like a petulant adolescent. In Europe, a league of nations cannot cope with anything, at least not effectively. Even a global pandemic has not been able to galvanize humanity onto a single course of action. Instead…
Europe
15.11.2020
The Earth’s Population is Shrinking - the Only Thing Increasing is the Number of Billionaires
Just recently, it was possible to see a substantial number of reports in various media outlets predicting the growth of the birth rate throughout the world. These projections for many countries were explained by increased migration flows, and specifically reports spoke about a spike in the total…
Europe
13.11.2020
What’s Not Being Said About Pfizer Coronavirus Vaccine
Bill Gates is actively financing and promoting new untested vaccines supposed to keep us at least somewhat safe from a ghastly death from the novel coronavirus and supposedly allow us to resume somewhat “normal” lives. The Pharma giant Pfizer has now announced what they claim were spectacular results in initial human tests…
USA in the World
13.11.2020
Terrorist Incidents in France: Response from the Middle East
Events in France, where a series of fatal armed attacks on civilians took place, have caused quite a stir in the Middle East. In local media and social networks, controversy is raging about the assessments and consequences of these incidents, their impact on the balance of power in the region, and relations between the West and Islam. At the official state level…
Middle East
