China closely watching as Burma evolves from a socialist winter

China closely watching as Burma evolves from a socialist winter

Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — A new dawn has come to Burma. At long last the political pariah state, also known as Myanmar, has ushered in a new civilian government in which Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has a strong if not formal hand at the democratic […]

Panama Papers implicate relatives of Xi, other top China leaders

Panama Papers implicate relatives of Xi, other top China leaders

Special to WorldTribune.com The Panama Papers have impacted officials at the top of China’s hierarchy which has spent the past year purging top rivals of President Xi Jinping on charges of corruption. At least three of the seven people on the Communist Party Politburo Standing Committee, the Chinese Communist Party’s most powerful committee, including Xi […]

What’s stalling Xi Jinping’s grandiose imperial dream? No money

What’s stalling Xi Jinping’s grandiose imperial dream? No money

Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, EastAsiaIntel.com Remember the “One Belt One Road” (OBOR), a multi-trillion-dollar intercontinental project that underpins President Xi Jinping’s ambition to catapult China to super-power status? The “Silk Road Economic Belt” links China with Central Asia, Turkey and all the way to Eastern Europe through a series of high-speed railways, highways […]

Moscow need not apply: China’s new Central Asia military alliance

Moscow need not apply: China’s new Central Asia military alliance

Special to WorldTribune.com by Geostrategy-Direct Chinese PLA’s chief of staff has officially proposed a Central Asia military alliance that excludes Russia. The proposal was advanced by Gen. Fang Fenghui last month in Kabul, Afghanistan. President Ashraf Ghani spoke positively about the proposal after Gen. Fang promised $70 million in military aid. Beside China and Afghanistan, […]

Indonesia deploys F-16s to islands after maritime incident with Chinese ‘thieves’

Indonesia deploys F-16s to islands after maritime incident with Chinese ‘thieves’

Special to WorldTribune.com Indonesia’s defense minister called China’s intruding coast guard vessels “thieves” and vowed to deploy U.S. F-16 fighter jets to the Natuna islands. “Natuna is a door, if the door is not guarded then thieves will come inside,” said Ryamizard Ryacudu, a former army chief of staff. “There has been all this fuss […]

U.S. admiral cites evidence of new strategic Chinese land reclamation

U.S. admiral cites evidence of new strategic Chinese land reclamation

Special to WorldTribune.com Newly-detected activity by China around a disputed reef in the South China Sea is likely another attempt at land reclamation by the Chinese, the head of U.S. naval operations said. Adm. John Richardson said on March 17 the U.S. has seen new Chinese activity around Scarborough Shoal in the northern part of […]

Signs of a schism: Xi’s ruthless power grab challenged at National People’s Congress

Signs of a schism: Xi’s ruthless power grab challenged at National People’s Congress

Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, EastAsiaIntel.com The apparent leitmotif of this year’s meeting of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the top advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), consists of ways and means to resuscitate the Chinese economy. However, political issues – particularly differences among members of the Politburo Standing Committee […]

Washington’s growing China problem is becoming impossible to ignore

Washington’s growing China problem is becoming impossible to ignore

Special to WorldTribune.com By Sol W. Sanders The U.S.’ confrontation with an increasingly powerful and incipiently aggressive China is getting much more complicated. There is no question of its high priority among the U.S.’ foreign policy issues. But were you a Chinese strategist attempting to measure an American opponent’s intentions, the contradictory U.S. positions might […]