Author: Stuart White

Science journals: China’s new tool in the South China Sea disputes
30Jul By Stuart WhiteNo Comments
Opinion

Science journals: China’s new tool in the South China Sea disputes

In the South China Sea, China has not only attempted to change facts on the ground but is also seeking to gradually change the world’s mind regarding its claims there.The nine-dash line, which we usually see in the maps, is a representation of China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea. The line itself is a collection of arbitrary dashes or dots without specific coordinates and China has not given any explanations regarding its precise delimitation or legal origin.Even though China’s claims of the nine-dash line has been openly rejected by Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, the United States, and more importantly, the arbitral award of the South China Sea tribunal in July 2016, the Communist party has disregarded the ruling and insists on its claims.Taking advantage of the fact that
Read More
Pakistan’s information war campaign against India needs attention
30Jul By Stuart WhiteNo Comments
Opinion

Pakistan’s information war campaign against India needs attention

Pakistan’s vicious information war campaign against India has been triggered by three incidents: The Balakot attack of February 2019, the return of the BJP government in the May 2019 elections and the August 2019 revision of Article 370.Pakistan’s longstanding assumption that the nuclear equivalence guaranteed that India would not retaliate against terrorist attacks was demolished by Balakot. The return of the BJP government to Centre signaled that India would continue to follow a muscular policy for the next five years. The abrogation of Article 370 demolished the centerpiece of Pakistan’s nationalism — “Kashmir banega Pakistan” (Kashmir will be Pakistan) — and raised apprehensions about India’s plans for Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK).These developments have forced Pakistan t
Read More
Where is Ehsanullah?
28Jul By Stuart WhiteNo Comments
Opinion

Where is Ehsanullah?

It was in January when the former spokesman of the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Ehsanullah Ehsan engineered an ‘escape’ from the security agencies’ custody, but until now, there seems to be no effort to recapture him  In fact, the government has barely mentioned him at all except to confirm his flight, which Pakistan’s Interior Minister Ijaz Shah did in the most offhand, cursory manner during a chat with journalists.Meanwhile, Ehsan, does not appear to have opted for a low profile. A Twitter account reportedly used by him has been fairly active. Among the more disturbing recent tweets from this account is a death threat against PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, saying that the latter would meet the same fate as his mother, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.On July 17, the P
Read More
Hegemony, not territory is China’s goal
27Jul By Stuart WhiteNo Comments
Opinion

Hegemony, not territory is China’s goal

China’s incessant aggressive behaviour in recent times have been raising question. It is fighting with India in the highlands of Ladakh. It has introduced a new security law for Hong Kong that eliminates basic civil rights. Chinese military jets are flying into Taiwan’s air defense space. It has raised a border conflict with Bhutan in a specific area. The sinking of a Vietnamese fishing boat in the South China Sea. It is caught up in territorial disputes in the same maritime area with not only Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia but also Indonesia. China is also meddling in Australia’s domestic politics, for the first time giving rise to critical voices against China in a country which until now has been extremely reluctant to criticize its most important trading partner.Is China shootin
Read More
So many questions
25Jul By Stuart WhiteNo Comments
Opinion

So many questions

For the nth time, Prime Minister Imran Khan was seen inaugurating the Bhasha Dam with the COAS and Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence in attendance. Now, since there is no urgent national security threat prompting them to be seen together to fortify the nation, we can only infer that they are signaling their continued resolve to remain on the “same page” amidst renewed rumours of an impending Minus-1 change in the political scenario. Therefore, it become pertinent to address a host of serious questions about governance and accountability not just to the handsome PM but also to the two powerful gentlemen.Why is the corruption inquiry against the PTI Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government in the BRT, Malam Jabba and Billion Tree Plantation cases not being vigorously pursued by NAB when i
Read More
Under pressure, expansionist China begins to wilt
23Jul By Stuart WhiteNo Comments
Opinion

Under pressure, expansionist China begins to wilt

China’s has brazenly challenged Japan in the East China Sea, grabbed territory in the South China Sea, laid claims to Indonesian islands 1500 kms away and encroached upon territory in eastern Ladakh. It has repeatedly threatened Taiwan with invasion, throttled democratic rights in Hong Kong, and threatened Australia with economic retribution and cyber-attacks.For the first time, the Quad, in a concrete show of solidarity, reacted with alacrity to the Dragon’s unethical and premeditated expansionist agenda.The US dispatched two modern aircraft carrier battle groups to the SCS area. It agreed to supply more sophisticated weapons and equipment to Taiwan. In continuation of the reciprocal trade war, the US raised the stakes for the Chinese by taking effective steps at ‘de-coupling’ in sensitiv
Read More
Andaman & Nicobar Islands can be centre point of connecting strategic line of maritime hubs to tackle China
23Jul By Stuart WhiteNo Comments
Opinion

Andaman & Nicobar Islands can be centre point of connecting strategic line of maritime hubs to tackle China

While the world is grappling with the coronavirus pandemic, China is not leaving any opportunity to take over territories and off late, its aggressiveness can be seen at the East China Sea, South China Sea and the Indian Ocean.One way to tackle Chinese maritime aggression could be by fully equipping ports and islands in a way to make them strategic outposts which would help monitor the naval activities combining it with an integrated surveillance network which would give all the countries tactical leverage in the various regional seas.Chinese aggression in the international waters was witnessed this year in several instances. In April, a Vietnamese fishing vessel in the South China Sea was sunk by a Chinese ship, a stand-off between a Chinese survey ship and Malaysian oil exploration ship ...
Read More
After Galwan backlash, China beats peace drum
20Jul By Stuart WhiteNo Comments
Opinion

After Galwan backlash, China beats peace drum

It seems China is trying to discover the virtues of peace after its actions in Galwan valley. Recently, Chinese ambassador to India Sun Weidong, in a videographed message, proffered pastoral nuggets of diplomatic wisdom - trust and cooperation between the two countries, the need to move forward and to build on what has been achieved over the last 70 years. Although that’s fine, he missed the point that the unprecedented violence in Ladakh flows from China’s pattern of behaviour over many decades.If we break down his message, he said, “Suspicion and friction is the wrong path. We need mutual respect, treat each other as equals, be open and inclusive.” The ambassador is clearly putting the onus on India for the “suspicion and friction”. It suits his narrative to overlook China’s behaviour pa
Read More
The slow poison of Osama: A man, an organization, and the spreading of terror
19Jul By Stuart WhiteNo Comments
Opinion

The slow poison of Osama: A man, an organization, and the spreading of terror

Since Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan fondly remembers the founder of al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, as a “martyr”, it only makes sense to remember him.Osama bin Laden’s Syrian mother was one of the many wives of his millionaire Yemeni father. While his brothers went to the West for higher education, Osama preferred going to Jeddah’s Abdel Aziz University where his fondness for Islamic studies was spurred by two charismatic teachers, Muhammad Qutb and Abdallah Azzam — the first an Egyptian, a brother of the great Ikhwan leader, Syed Qutb and the second, a Palestinian who merged the Qutb doctrine of jahiliyya (ignorance) with modern jihad against the West.In 1980, Osama came to Peshawar to conduct jihad against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.By 1984, Osama got used to spending a lot of t
Read More
Pakistani media mogul’s bizarre arrest shows how media freedom is being squeezed
17Jul By Stuart WhiteNo Comments
Opinion

Pakistani media mogul’s bizarre arrest shows how media freedom is being squeezed

The country’s most prominent media mogul Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman is detained and incarcerated. The image-conscious Prime Minister Imran Khan ignores a letter from United Nations officials about the detention. The media tycoon is held for over 100 days without charge; five bail hearings are postponed, and the bench assigned to hear his case is changed three times in as many months.Even for a nascent democracy such as Pakistan, under military rule for much of its existence, the bizarre arrest and ongoing detention of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman is novel and tragic.The owner-editor of Jang, Pakistan’s most powerful media conglomerate, was arrested on March 12. The move was so unexpected that he didn’t obtain pre-arrest bail when responding to a summons by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) office
Read More