Toppling Assad in Syria: A Western Plot?

By Chris Lundry Indonesian Islamist site syabab.com featured a story on Syria’s embattled leader Bashar al-Assad which states that his looming demise is the culmination of a “Western Plot.” This “news” is fascinating for those who have paid even just a little attention to events as they unfold in Syria. Didn’t the US and the West equivocate for months as Assad murdered his own people? Was that part of the plan? Was part of the [...] Read more »

Another Twist to the South China Sea Dispute

By Chris Lundry Various news organizations reported this week that both Vietnam and the Philippines are refusing to stamp new Chinese passports with a map of China’s claim to the entire South China Sea (VOA report here). India has joined the fray as well, angered because the map shows disputed parts of the Himalayas in Chinese possession as well. Although the dispute has simmered for years, with a status quo of unresolved competing claims and [...] Read more »

U.S. Asia Policy: From Pivot to Pirouette to Pivot

by Norman Vasu* While the United States (US) government attempts to pivot towards Asia, China’s recent diplomatic and military moves suggests it is China who has the more robust and thoroughgoing strategy in the region. In effect, China’s latest moves leave the impression that the US pivot has become an aimless pirouette. At the foreign ministers’ meeting in July this year, China displayed how it has effectively become a de facto member of the Association [...] Read more »