Author: Nectar Gan

China keeps on ignoring Pakistan’s pleas to renegotiate power agreements
17Oct By Nectar GanNo Comments

China keeps on ignoring Pakistan’s pleas to renegotiate power agreements

The power sector of Pakistan continues to crumble under the ever increasing burden of Chinese debt. Islamabad attributes the mountainous debt to the faulty power purchase agreements (PPAs) it signed with the Chinese companies. According to recent estimates in Pak media, the country owes PKR 350 billion (around $1.27 billion) to the Chinese independent power producers (IPPs) and the liability has become a sore point in the bilateral relations. Further, the issue is being regularly raised in Pakistan’s negotiations with multilateral lenders, casting a shadow over the fiscal health of the country. The liability and its potential impact on state finances has also been a contentious domestic political issue. In 2020, a ‘leaked’ report of an internal committee formed by the Pak government ha
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At the Belt and Road Summit, China will introduce a new program for marine cooperation.
16Oct By Nectar GanNo Comments

At the Belt and Road Summit, China will introduce a new program for marine cooperation.

‘Major plan’ will cover sustainable use of marine resources, biodiversity conservation and climate change, official says Representatives of 130 nations and 30 global organisations will gather in Beijing for the forum that begins on Tuesday China will launch a new international maritime cooperation initiative at this week’s belt and road summit as it seeks to showcase its “blue economy” goals to the world. Beijing will mark 10 years of its infrastructure-led global development strategy at the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, which begins in the Chinese capital on Tuesday. Representatives of some 130 countries and 30 global organisations – including Chilean President Gabriel Boric and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban – will
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Taliban Will Attend China’s Belt and Road Forum in Rare Observation
16Oct By Nectar GanNo Comments

Taliban Will Attend China’s Belt and Road Forum in Rare Observation

Two-day event in Beijing will mark 10th anniversary of infrastructure scheme and may see talks on links to Afghanistan, plus possible mining projects The Taliban will attend China’s Belt and Road Forum, a two-day event that starts in Beijing on Tuesday. The forum will make the 10th anniversary of President Xi Jinping’s ambitious global infrastructure initiative, modelled on ancient Silk Road routes, which aims to boost global trade and enhance China’s international standing. It will also put a spotlight on Beijing’s growing ties with the regime that took over in Afghanistan in August 2021 after the departure of US troops from Kabul, which has not been formally recognised by any government. Taliban officials and ministers have at times travelled to regional meetings, mostl
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Israel-Gaza conflict: Opinion is divided over the Palestine issue as Chinese social media explodes in a verbal duel
14Oct By Nectar GanNo Comments

Israel-Gaza conflict: Opinion is divided over the Palestine issue as Chinese social media explodes in a verbal duel

Deadly Israel-Gaza conflict in the Gaza Strip has sparked fierce debate on Chinese social media, with even embassies caught up in the storm Shared sense of victimhood as well as national pride is driving support for the Palestinian cause among Chinese web users, analysts say The deadly Israel-Gaza conflict has sparked a war of words on Chinese social media, with the mix of online nationalism and anti-US sentiments reminiscent of reactions to the Ukraine war. As with the war in Europe, a sense of victimhood as well as national pride was driving support for the Palestinian cause among Chinese net users, apart from personal political leanings, analysts said. “Some of us should not be influenced by public opinion dominated by Jews and Americans,” Hu Xijin, former
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President Joe Biden ensures American investment does not fund Chinese military advancement
11Oct By Nectar GanNo Comments

President Joe Biden ensures American investment does not fund Chinese military advancement

The move of the United States to block and regulate high-tech U.S.-based investments going towards China will stymie the attempts by Beijing to upgrade the Chinese military. On August 9, 2023, President of the United States Joe Biden signed an executive order preventing the free flow of American technology to China. The order covers advanced computer chips, micro electronics, quantum information technologies and artificial intelligence. Senior American officials said the efforts stemmed from national security goals rather than economic interests. With this aim, the categories covered under the order had intentionally been kept narrow in scope. The order sought to blunt the ability of China to use U.S. investments in technology companies to upgrade its military. The U.S. has already ...
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How the Israel-Hamas conflict may alter the political climate in West Asia
11Oct By Nectar GanNo Comments

How the Israel-Hamas conflict may alter the political climate in West Asia

With no end in sight, questions arise about the root causes of this catastrophic conflict and its implications for the region’s fragile stability. The quiet of the early Saturday morning on October 7 was harshly broken by thousands of rockets that streamed across Israel’s skies from Gaza, even as hundreds of Hamas militants crossed the heavily guarded border to attack Israel on several fronts. All told, Israel experienced incursions from 22 locations, with Hamas forces penetrating up to 25 km inside Israeli territory. The incursions occurred by land, sea, and air: many militants used motorcycles, trucks, and boats to get into Israel, while some even used paragliders to fly into Israeli space as part of the assault. Explosions took place across the country—from Ashkelon to Tel Aviv a
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Chinese checkers: Timor-Leste leans on China, takes wind out of Australia’s sails
5Oct By Nectar GanNo Comments

Chinese checkers: Timor-Leste leans on China, takes wind out of Australia’s sails

Timor-Leste, a nation that sits astride Southeast Asia and South Pacific has cleared the air on its relations with China and denied reports about its discussion with Beijing on military cooperation. However, it has given a broad hint that it has leaned heavily on China by upgrading its diplomatic ties to comprehensive strategic partnership with Beijing. Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta in an interview with Reuters said his country has not discussed military cooperation with China and that Australia and Indonesia can “sleep at peace” as the island nation would not be a security concern to its neighbours. Lying just 680 km away from Australia, Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, created a ripple in the strategic and diplomatic corridors of Canberra and Jakarta last week when
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Two Taiwanese Politicians Are Charged with Using China as a Trigger to Affect Future Elections
4Oct By Nectar GanNo Comments

Two Taiwanese Politicians Are Charged with Using China as a Trigger to Affect Future Elections

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Prosecutors in Taiwan have indicted two leaders of the island’s tiny Taiwan People’s Communist Party on accusations they colluded with China in an effort to influence next year’s elections for president and members of the legislative assembly. Party Chairman Lin Te-wang and Vice Chairman Chen Chien-hsin were accused on Tuesday of violating the Anti-Infiltration Act and the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act after having accepted funds and other benefits from China’s ruling Communist Party, the official Central News Agency said. It wasn’t clear whether the two men were in Taiwan when the indictments were issued. Taiwan will elect a new president and legislators in January, and Beijing is suspected of seeking to boost the chances of politicians favoring politic
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As China’s campaign against corruption enters its second decade, heads are still rolling.
2Oct By Nectar GanNo Comments

As China’s campaign against corruption enters its second decade, heads are still rolling.

Xi Jinping’s graft-busting drive is now seeing officials who were personally appointed by the leader being brought down Corruption busters have tacitly admitted that the problem remains deep-rooted in Chinese society, raising questions about whether it can ever be eradicated China’s anti-corruption drive has entered its second decade with more high-profile casualties, prompting questions about the systemic nature of the problem and the fact that the Communist Party has yet to find an effective cure to eradicate the disease. Tens of thousands of officials have already been brought down since Xi launched the campaign on coming to power in 2012, and the latest crackdown has snared senior figures he personally selected for promotion. At least 36 senior cadres – officials of
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Which Mohamed Muizzu is the pro-China president-elect of the Maldives?
2Oct By Nectar GanNo Comments

Which Mohamed Muizzu is the pro-China president-elect of the Maldives?

The opposition candidate beats the incumbent, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, who is considered pro-India. Voters in the Indian Ocean archipelago of Maldives on Saturday elected opposition leader Mohamed Muizzu as the country’s president, giving him 54 percent of the votes, according to preliminary results. Muizzu, candidate for the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), roundly defeated incumbent President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and is set to be sworn in on November 17. The president-elect is widely seen as sympathetic to China’s interests in the country, and less favourably disposed towards India, Maldives’s giant neighbour and traditional security and economic partner. Solih, who is viewed as pro-India, accepted the resul
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