Showing 1 - 4 of 4
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.
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.
A water war in Asia?
Asia focus, Brahma Chellaney, Published on 05/12/2016
» Tensions over water are rising in Asia -- and not only because of conflicting maritime claims. While territorial disputes, such as in the South China Sea, attract the most attention -- after all, they threaten safety and freedom of navigation, which affects outside powers as well -- the strategic ramifications of competition over transnationally shared freshwater resources are just as ominous.
Capitalism not always route to democracy
News, Brahma Chellaney, Published on 12/03/2016
» As US President Barack Obama prepares to embark on a historic visit to Cuba this month, the future of the communist-ruled island is the subject of widespread speculation. Some observers are hoping that the ongoing shift toward capitalism, which has been occurring very gradually for five years under Raul Castro’s direction, will naturally lead Cuba toward democracy. Experience suggests otherwise.