Showing 1 - 9 of 9
America's Myanmar policy is simply all wrong
Oped, Brahma Chellaney, Published on 15/07/2023
» A recent joint statement by US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi "expressed deep concern about the deteriorating situation in Myanmar" and called for a constructive dialogue to aid the country's transition toward an inclusive federal democratic system. Unfortunately, the US-led sanctions policy has undercut this goal and made a bad situation worse.
Of debt and bondage with Beijing
Oped, Brahma Chellaney, Published on 26/11/2022
» Recently released details of Kenya's 2014 loan agreement with China to finance a controversial railway project have once again highlighted the predatory nature of Chinese lending in developing countries. The contract not only imposed virtually all risk on the borrower (including requiring binding arbitration in China to settle any dispute), but also raised those risks to unmanageable levels (such as by setting an unusually high interest rate). With terms like that, it is no wonder some countries around the world have become ensnared in sovereignty-eroding Chinese debt traps.
Beijing's South China Sea grab
News, Brahma Chellaney, Published on 18/12/2018
» It has been just five years since China initiated its major land reclamation in the South China Sea, and the country has already shifted the territorial status quo in its favour -- without facing any international pushback. The anniversary of the start of its island building underscores the transformed geopolitics in a corridor central to the international maritime order.
India faces difficult choice in the Maldives
Asia focus, Brahma Chellaney, Published on 26/02/2018
» The Maldives -- that beautiful Indian Ocean country comprising more than 1,000 coral islands -- is known the world over as a tranquil and luxurious travel destination. But the country is now being roiled by a political crisis so severe that international advisories are cautioning against travel there.
China's creditor imperialism shackles poor countries
News, Brahma Chellaney, Published on 27/12/2017
» This month, Sri Lanka, unable to pay the onerous debt to China it has accumulated, formally handed over its strategically located Hambantota port to the Asian giant. It was a major acquisition for China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) -- which President Xi Jinping calls the "project of the century" -- and proof of just how effective China's debt-trap diplomacy can be.
China's grand plan for its Pakistani outpost
Asia focus, Brahma Chellaney, Published on 30/05/2016
» Like a typical school bully, China is big and strong, but it doesn't have a lot of friends. Indeed, now that the country has joined with the United States to approve new international sanctions on its former vassal state North Korea, it has just one real ally left: Pakistan.
Order of influence in the balance
News, Brahma Chellaney, Published on 25/01/2016
» China's ambition to reshape the Asian order is no secret. From the "one belt, one road" scheme to the Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, major Chinese initiatives are gradually but steadily advancing China's strategic objective of fashioning a Sino-centric Asia. As China's neighbours well know, the country's quest for regional dominance could be damaging -- and even dangerous. Yet other regional powers have done little to develop a coordinated strategy to thwart China's hegemonic plans.
Sri Lanka heads for 'Chinese election'
News, Brahma Chellaney, Published on 15/08/2015
» Sri Lanka’s parliamentary election on Monday promises to shape not only the country’s political future, but also geopolitics in the wider Indian Ocean region, a global centre of trade and energy flows that accounts for half of the world’s container traffic and 70% of its petroleum shipments.
A silk glove for China's iron fist
Asia focus, Brahma Chellaney, Published on 09/03/2015
» For years, China has sought to encircle South Asia with a "string of pearls": a network of ports connecting its eastern coast to the Middle East that would boost its strategic clout and maritime access. Not surprisingly, India and others have regarded this process with serious concern.