Opinion – Page 12 – The Singapore Post

Is China losing faith in its own troops?

18Sep

By Stuart WhiteNo Comments

Is China losing faith in its own troops?

In August, a rather strange visit took place in the shadow of the Himalayas. Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister visited Tibet Military District and surrounding areas on August 14, and met with the top Communist Party official in Tibet, Wu Yingjie, as well as the chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) government, Qizhala.Before commenting on the nature and implications of the visit, it is important to understand briefly the major reasons why politicians visit any province. Even in China which abhors conventional democratic politics, the mechanics of politics that equate to grabbing, and holding on to power, are the same.There are three major reasons why a politician may visit an area: if it is a campaign season, a home province or to motivate the local population during times of disas

India confident in standing solo against China in any border dispute: EFSAS

15Sep

By Grace TsoiNo Comments

Conflict, Opinion, World

India confident in standing solo against China in any border dispute: EFSAS

A Europe-based think tank that India, post the June 15 Galwan valley clash, has shown the confidence of standing solo against China in any future border dispute.Several negotiations have taken place between India and China since the clashes in Eastern Ladakh. Though they have yielded some results as troops of both countries started pulling back, Chinese troops are still present in the Depsang Plains region, Gogra, and the Fingers region along the Pangong Tso.The European Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS) said: "In the initial phase of disengagement at Pangong Tso, the Chinese moved back from Finger 4 to Finger 5, but continued with their deployment on the ridge line. India is insisting that China move back from Finger 5 to its old position on the Finger 8 spur. In the face of repe...

What is China’s military aspiration for Gwadar?

11Sep

By Stuart WhiteNo Comments

Conflict, Opinion, Singapore, World

What is China’s military aspiration for Gwadar?

For a long time, Pakistan’s Gwadar port has long been touted as the site for a Chinese base suitable for People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) operations, however, it is not inevitable that Gwadar will become a PLAN base.The Chinese Communist Party pursues a “strategic strongpoint” concept whereby strategically sited foreign ports containing terminals and commercial zones operated by Chinese firms can be used by its military.These “strongpoints” offer the potential for China to form a network of supply, logistics and intelligence hubs, and there is a nascent network along the perimeter of the Indian Ocean.Gwadar is important to Beijing for two reasons. First is establishing direct transport links to the Indian Ocean via the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). For this reason, China doe

Xi’s intellectual warriors are outgunning “realists” of Deng Xiaoping era

9Sep

By Stuart WhiteNo Comments

Opinion, Politics

Xi’s intellectual warriors are outgunning “realists” of Deng Xiaoping era

Chinese leader Xi Jinping's legion of intellectual warriors are on a high, trying to fish out from the mainstream "realists" – people who have followed former leader Deng Xiaoping's pragmatism to spur Beijing's rise. The "China Dream" project, of railing the "civilisation state" on a path, which would lead to the recovery of China's glorious past is apparently at the heart of Xi's aggressive Wolf Warrior diplomacy.It is the idea of the "Middle Kingdom," where China and its people are at the centre of a global system, of which a number of semi-independent "tributary states" are the moving parts, which appears to fire Xi's worldview."The fact that the Chinese regard themselves as superior to the rest of the human race, and that this belief has a racial component, will confront the rest of th

What’s blocking China’s highway to global dominance?

31Aug

By Stuart WhiteNo Comments

Opinion

What’s blocking China’s highway to global dominance?

China is synonymous with authoritarianism, overpopulation, manufacturing, expansionism, and patent infringement. However, the most recent addition, besides concentration camps for Uighurs is the Belt Road Initiative (BRI).The BRI was announced by the Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, as an Economic and Maritime Silk Road. This multi-faceted project assimilates infrastructure connectivity, investment and trade cooperation, financial integration, cultural exchange, and regional cooperation between Asia, Europe, Africa, and Latin America. The projected cost of the BRI could reach a gargantuan $1.2–1.3trillion by 2027 as predicted by Morgan Stanley, making BRI the most expensive and expansive International infrastructure project ever taken.The antecedents of the modern-day BRI could be tra

What made ‘Pakistan’s Independence Day’ the most controversial day for its people

31Aug

By Stuart WhiteNo Comments

Business, Opinion

What made ‘Pakistan’s Independence Day’ the most controversial day for its people

Certain nationalist groups in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Gilgit Baltistan have announced that they will not celebrate Pakistan’s Independence Day on August 14. Instead, they will be observing a Black Day.Since righteous voices are usually met with brutal repression and it is too risky to have such observance in Pakistan, it has been decided that the discontent be demonstrated through a series of car rallies across Europe, America and Canada highlighting forced disappearance, extrajudicial killings and ongoing persecution and manhunt of nationalists and political as well as human right activists in Pakistan.The decision to mark August 14 as a Black Day comes as a shock to many as it is in stark contrast to the perceived mindset of people who had previously claimed to be bound toget

30Aug

By desk teamNo Comments

Business, Opinion, World

MRT urged to rethink Korat trams

MRT urged to rethink Korat trams Businesses and investors in Nakhon Ratchasima have asked the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRT) to review the electric tram blueprint for the province over concerns about cost-efficiency. The chairman of Nakhon Ratchasima Chamber of Commerce, Chatchawal Wongjorn, said the MRT would be better off using rubber-tyred people-movers rather than conventional trams which run on fixed tracks, as it would significantly cut down on construction costs. The savings would allow the MRT to build three lines simultaneously, as opposed to just one, which would not be enough to spur the province's economic growth, said Mr Chatchawal. Over 600 representatives of government units, the private sector, academic institutions as well as community leaders yesterday...

30Aug

By Stuart WhiteNo Comments

Opinion

Pakistan’s ideological insecurity

Pakistan is suffering from ideological insecurities, and the developments over the past few weeks are proof enough. It all began when Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan stated in the National Assembly that Osama bin Laden was a martyr. Later, a ruling party legislator accused Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) leader Khawaja Asif of blasphemy for asserting that all religions were equal.Then, the minority Hindu, Sikh and Ahmadi communities were targeted. In July, the construction of the first Hindu temple in Islamabad, possibly the first temple in Pakistan since 1947, had to be halted when several clerics and even politicians objected to its construction with Muslim taxes in an ‘Islamic Republic’.An elderly Ahmadi man, Tahir Ahmed Naseem, was shot during the hearing of a blasphemy case aga

Why India revoked Kashmir’s special status one-year ago

28Aug

By Stuart WhiteNo Comments

Opinion

Why India revoked Kashmir’s special status one-year ago

A year ago, on August 5, Indian President Ram Nath Kovind revoked Article 370 of the Indian constitution which protected Kashmir’s special status and in order to dissuade protests, Indian security forces imposed a curfew on Kashmir.Both Pakistan and many human rights groups reacted with outrage. Electronic billboards in Islamabad ticked off the days, hours, and minutes since India had imposed a curfew, never mind the hypocrisy of Pakistan as it did the same to Gilgit-Baltistan. Meanwhile, human rights groups’ consistent refusal to recognize that an end to terrorism is a precursor to rights improvement blunted their moral authority.Prior to India’s decision to change Kashmir’s status, Pakistan-based terrorists regularly crossed into Kashmir and India, more broadly, to attack both security a

26Aug

By Stuart WhiteNo Comments

Business, Opinion, Politics

## Pitiful state of Pakistan ##

In July 2018, Pakistan was accused by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) of not doing enough to counter terrorism and subsequently was put on FATF’s grey list. It is only after FATF’s approval that millions of dollars in grants and aid are given to countries combating terrorism.The next session of FATF, which has seen delays due to COVID 19 pandemic, is due again shortly. Pakistan’s recent admission and subsequent denial of designated global terrorist Dawood Ibrahim, who is accused by India of the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb attacks that claimed the lives of more than 250 and wounded 900 innocent civilians, is testimony to the pitiful state Pakistan has got herself into. Not only that, this demonstrates Prime minister Imran Khan’s desperation for seeking financial aid (admitting that Dawoo

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