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South Park had officially launched “the China issue” into the mainstream American consciousness
The latest episode of South Park jumped on the NBA-China saga at an unbelievable speed and weight. This is also the grimmest and most violent South Park episode I have ever seen (and South Park had not been shy of showing extreme violence on their show…) But in my opinion, the NBA-China saga and this…
Renaming NAFTA and not changing anything substantial is not a victory.
Written by Dan Murawski, Edited by Wyatt Mingji Lim.Cover Photo from Getty Images Being from Michigan and working in the finance department for one of the largest auto suppliers, I know a bit about how the industry works and I can tell you that there is a substantial amount of goods that are imported before…
The Inevitable Fate of Hong Kong and the Slippery Slope for China
As the protest rage on in Hong Kong since it started in March 2019 at the point of writing of this article, its probably nigh time for me to address the grim future that’s to come, which in my opinion, is inevitable. THE HONG KONG PRIDE (OR EGO) Hong Kong returned to China in 1997…
Ending the Arab-Israeli conflict: An exercise in futility?
With Israel seemingly embroiled in constant conflict with its neighbors, one might come to conclude that a permanent peace is implausible in that corner of the Middle East anytime soon. But could an elusive peace be just over the horizon? The Camp David Accords, that resulted in a treaty of peace between Israel and Egypt…
Thai Junta’s Election Victory: What does it mean for the country political future?
The election of General Prayuth Chan-o-cha, for what has essentially become a second term for the Junta’s administration, might have come as a surprise to many. However, given the results of the 2019 national election, the Junta’s return to power was rather obvious. While many news outlets often categorise the winners of the 2019 election…
To South Korea, Is Japan Actually A Military Threat?
Having a deep interest in all things related to the military (from history, equipment, tactics, doctrine, organization and so on) since elementary school, as a child I sometimes wondered how a modern total war between South Korea and Japan would look like. Growing up in the Korean community, hearing comparisons – and at times derogatory…
The perpetual failures of Opposition Parties in Singapore
Tan Cheng Bock’s announcement to enter Opposition Politics has created all sort of “whirlwinds” in Singapore politics. Right at the back of the “excitement” that surrounds the victory of Pakatan Harapan over the Barisan Nasional next door over in Malaysia – gave Opposition politicians and their supporters much to be excited and hopeful. However, I…
Unravelling the water dispute mystery between Singapore and Malaysia
THE MATHS 1000 gallon = 4.54609 m3 malaysia sell raw water at 3 sen per 1000 gallonmalaysia buy treated water at 50 sen per 1000 gallonsingapore spend 2.40 ringgit to treat per 1000 gallonsingapore lost 1.90 ringgit per 1000 gallon Malaysian water tariff is currently at:80 sens per cubic meter /3.60 ringgit per 1000 gallon(0-20…
Asia Times: Why Suu Kyi can’t and won’t democratize Myanmar.
Why Suu Kyi can’t and won’t democratize Myanmar Is Myanmar headed towards more representative and less military-steered democracy? On February 6, Myanmar’s parliament voted to establish a new preparatory committee to deliberate amending the country’s military-drafted 2008 constitution, which gives the armed forces an outsized “leadership role” in politics. If you do not understand the…
Reconsidering the Individual Weapon Optic
The individual weapon optic has seen considerable evolution in the 21st century. Optics are one of the areas in small arms that have seen consistent and considerable innovation, where most other aspects of firearm technology have stagnated or remained relatively constant. Most western militaries use a weapon optic of some sort of another on the…
2018 “A Year of What the Heck” Review
2019 is upon us, looking back, the past year has been full of surprise in term of geopolitics and defense policy. As an inside note, I often joke that 2018 is the ‘year of what the heck’ where world leaders take for the strangest turn possible. So before we step forward into the rest of…
ChannelNewsAsia: Canada arrests Huawei CFO, to extradite her to US
Canada arrests Huawei CFO, to extradite her to US (Updated: ) Share this content WASHINGTON: Canada has arrested Chinese telecoms giant Huawei’s global chief financial officer in Vancouver, where she is facing extradition to the United States, Canada’s Department of Justice said on Wednesday (Dec 5). The arrest is related to violations of US sanctions,…
Haaretz: Palestinians Seek Emergency Arab League Session Over Israel’s Warming Ties With Arab States
Palestinians seek emergency Arab League session over Israel’s warming ties with Arab states Palestinian Authority officials are seeking emergency sessions of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation over Israel’s increasingly close ties with some Arab countries and what is seen as the normalization of relations with Israel. The Palestinian delusion about their…
Nikkei: The party turns sour for Xi
https://asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/The-party-turns-sour-for-Xi A powerful article. Highly recommended for you guys to read. I shall not add any more comments on this for now. Cover Photo: © Reuters
Hindustan Times: Why Amnesty was wrong to strip Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi of top honour
Why Amnesty was wrong to strip Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi of top honour The vilification of Aung San Suu Kyi continues unabated. Whether it is Amnesty International or United States vice-president, Mike Pence, no one, it seems, can wait to signal their virtue by throwing an egg at her face. The author is exactly…
SinoInsider: Fang Fenghui’s Expulsion, Meng Hongwei’s Arrest, and the Factional ‘Soft Coup’
Click on the link to read more: Politics Watch: Fang Fenghui’s Expulsion, Meng Hongwei’s Arrest, and the Factional ‘Soft Coup’ In analyzing the timing of the announcement and the political background of the two generals, we believe that the expulsion of Fang Fenghui and Zhang Yang from the CCP is connected with the recent purge…
SinoInsider: The World is Trapped in Red China’s Matrix
By Don Tse and Larry Ong Summary Chinese Communist Party has long carried out influence operations to survive and dominate. Decades of CCP influence activity has created a “Red Matrix,” or an informational environment that is pro-China and missing critical knowledge about the Party and its operations. The Soviet Iron Curtain served to “block out”…
And it’s not even a trade war, and China is destined to lose
In my previous article on the soybeans ( http://defensepoliticsasia.com/why-china-import-soybeans-from-the-us/ ), we could already see that China had no choice but to import soybeans from abroad; and most notably, from the United States. China, throughout history, had always been a civilisation that opts for self-sufficiency over depending on any outside countries/import/resources. As part of the Chinese psyche,…
RT: Russia’s Su-57 jet gets hypersonic missile that can shoot down enemy aircraft ‘300km away’
Russia’s Su-57 jet gets hypersonic missile that can shoot down enemy aircraft ‘300km away’ A hypersonic anti-aircraft missile with a range of over 300km will be part of the arsenal of the Su-57, Russia’s most-advanced multipurpose fighter jet. The weapon is meant to take out high-value targets with impunity. The Su-57 is Russia’s first 5th-generation…
Iran’s Enemies Strike Back
Bilahari Kausikan shared this awesome article on his facebook, so we decided that it would be a good read for DPA readers. Log into Facebook Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know. Sept. 26, 2018 By George Friedman Iran’s Enemies Strike Back The government in Tehran…
NIKKEI Asian Review: Russia flaunts China ties with massive Far East war games
https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-Relations/Russia-flaunts-China-ties-with-massive-Far-East-war-games Russia is gearing up to carry out its biggest war games in nearly four decades, inviting China to showcase their growing military cooperation amid the countries’ increasing friction with the U.S. The Vostok-2018 exercises, slated for Sept. 11-15 in the Russian Far East, will be the country’s largest since Soviet-era games in 1981, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu…
The Telegraph: Japan and North Korea held secret meeting
Japan and North Korea held secret meeting as Shinzo Abe ‘loses trust’ in Donald Trump As Mr Abe prepares to seek his third term as prime minister, the decades-old abduction issue remains a major stumbling block in normalising diplomatic relations between Japan and North Korea. Tokyo officials, who refused to comment on reports of the…
Freight Waves: Five years in, China’s Belt and Road looks like a giant debt trap
Five years in, China’s Belt and Road looks like a giant debt trap – FreightWaves Gwadar Port in Pakistan, strategically located on the Arabian Sea. ( Photo: Wikipedia ) There’s a provocative quote attributed to the second President of the United States, John Adams, that’s been circulating on the internet lately. “There are two ways…
Washington Post: Facebook blocks accounts of Myanmar’s top general, other military leaders
Facebook blocks accounts of Myanmar’s top general, other military leaders SINGAPORE – When Facebook officials heard that a damning U.N. report would again make a link between hate speech on the social media site and atrocities in Myanmar, they knew they had to act, a person familiar with their thinking said. Without consulting the Myanmar…
SCMP: Many Chinese companies ‘will go bankrupt’
Original Article: Many Chinese companies ‘will go bankrupt’, if US delivers on tariff threats, court newspaper warns In an opinion piece published on Wednesday by People’s Court Daily, Du Wanhua, deputy director of an advisory committee to the Supreme People’s Court, said that courts needed to be aware of the potential harm the tariff row could cause. “It’s…