With the recent removal of term limits that a Chinese president can serve, possibly paving the way for Chinese president Xi Jinping to move towards lifetime rule, bluster by China against Taiwan has increased...
Concern with Chinese spying efforts or otherwise undue influence is on the rise globally, as can be observed in a number of recent incidents. But due to the fact that “western” and “non-western” countries are often thought of in separate mental frames, one has seen few connections made between such incidents in international media. Notably, countries with a history of colonization have been more quick to make the accusation that China is a "neo-colonial" power, while western countries without such histories seem to lack a conceptual vocabulary to describe Chinese influence...
With reports that China may seek to acquire a military base in Pakistan, with hopes to build naval and air facilities in Jiwani, this would be the second of China’s overseas military bases. This first of China’s overseas military bases was built in Djibouti, as acquired originally in December 2015, and likely points to ambitions by China to build a global network of military bases not unlike America's global network of bases...
Donald Trump's recently concluded Asia trip was the site of much bizarre spectacle and pageantry, with Asia Pacific leaders going out of their way to tickle Trump’s ego. This illustrates that Asia Pacific leaders hope to keep Trump pacified through flattery, even when they could otherwise benefit from an American loss of face on the world stage...
Evaluations of Trump’s Asia trip remain ambiguous, with Trump’s unorthodox means of conducting diplomacy leading to difficulties evaluating whether his trip advanced or compromised American interests in the Asia Pacific. However, an early evaluation suggests that while no fundamental shift in the status quo of the Asia Pacific has yet occurred following Trump’s trip, China’s position has been strengthened due to the image that the irregularities of Trump’s actions present to the international world...