Tag: South East Asia

As relations with US deteriorate, China seeks to improve relations with Vietnam
Politics

As relations with US deteriorate, China seeks to improve relations with Vietnam

As relations with the United States continues to worsen every day, China has moved to improve its relations with Vietnam and other South East Asian neighbors.According to media reports, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi sought to placate an increasingly hostile Hanoi in a virtual meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Binh Minh. This came a day after his deputy, Luo Zhaohui, tried to reassure China's neighbors that it wanted regional peace and stability.Beijing also said it finalized talks for a free-trade pact with Cambodia.China's state run Global Times reported that the 12th meeting of the China-Vietnam Steering Committee for Bilateral Cooperation was held via video link on July 21.Wang was quoted as saying that since the COVID-19 outbreak, China and Vietnam have given full play to...
China leverages Tibetan Plateau’s water wealth
Opinion

China leverages Tibetan Plateau’s water wealth

While the international attention remains on China’s criminal activities in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, Beijing is also quietly focusing its attention on the waters of rivers that originate in the Chinese-controlled territory of Tibet.For a long time now, China has pursued a broader strategy to corner natural resources. This has driven its expanding presence in places like Africa and Latin America. China’s newer obsession is freshwater, whose growing shortages are casting a cloud over Asia’s economic future.Peace and security in Asia both hinge on China’s willingness to embrace rules-based cooperation, which includes ceasing activities that threaten to turn internationally shared river-water resources into a Chinese political weapon.Most of Asia’s great rivers originate on