By Donald Kirk SEOUL – The drama over United States and South Korean war games in the seas off the coasts of South Korea is about to enter its second act. The South Korean navy plans to stage military exercises next week in the Yellow Sea near where one of its ships was sunk in March with the loss of 46 sailors. The United States, after yielding to Chinese pressure not to send its own warships into the Yellow Sea, is holding out the option of also joining next week’s exercises. But the US will join regular // <![CDATA[// <![CDATA[ … Continue reading The (war) games go on

By Jens Kastner TAIPEI – Recently in Taipei, as yet another delegation from mainland China cut the ribbon to an investment fair and Taiwan’s hotel industry anticipated ever-rising numbers of mainland tourists, the island’s President Ma Ying-jeou had his eyes fixed on monitors. Shown on them weren’t the rosy graphs of the Taiwan bourse, nor was the president surrounded by economists and party officials. In the midst of Taiwan’s military top brass, Ma was inspecting a spine-chilling cyber-simulation of missile attacks on Taiwan by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). With increasing economic cooperation and people-to-people // <![CDATA[// <![CDATA[ //<![CDATA[ var … Continue reading China and Taiwan: in war we trust

By Sudha Ramachandran BANGALORE – Myanmar’s Senior General Than Shwe ended a five-day visit to India on Thursday having sealed several pacts that will boost security and economic cooperation between the two countries. A treaty on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters will enable India to get access to insurgents from its northeastern states who are taking sanctuary along the India-Myanmar border. The treaty will also boost bilateral efforts to combat terrorism and drug trafficking. India has also pledged a grant of US$60 million for the construction of a road linking its northeast with Myanmar, besides a grant of $10 … Continue reading India slips Myanmar a nudge and a wink

By Andrew J Bacevich “In watching the flow of events over the past decade or so, it is hard to avoid the feeling that something very fundamental has happened in world history.” This sentiment, introducing the essay that made Francis Fukuyama a household name, commands renewed attention today, albeit from a different perspective. Developments during the 1980s, above all the winding down of the Cold War, had convinced Fukuyama that the “end of history” was at hand. “The triumph of the West, of the Western idea,” he wrote in 1989, “is evident … in the total exhaustion of viable systematic … Continue reading The end of (military) history

By Sami Moubayed DAMASCUS – Saudi King Abdullah’s landmark visit to Syria on Thursday, his second since assuming the throne in 2005, mirrors Arab diplomacy at its finest hour. The king is worried – just like his Syrian host President Bashar al-Assad – about two critical files in the Arab world: Iraq and Lebanon. In Iraq, political rivalries have prevented creation of a cabinet for five months, signaling a political vacuum and security disaster in // <![CDATA[// <![CDATA[ //<![CDATA[ var m3_u = (location.protocol=='https:'?'https://asianmedia.com/GAAN/www/delivery/ajs.php&#039;:'http://asianmedia.com/GAAN/www/delivery/ajs.php&#039;); var m3_r = Math.floor(Math.random()*99999999999); if (!document.MAX_used) document.MAX_used = ','; document.write ("”); // // ]]>the weeks to come … Continue reading Hezbollah sees plot behind Hariri tribunal

By Kaveh L Afrasiabi Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad’s statement this week that “they have decided to attack at least two countries in the region in the next three months”, has sparked intense debate in Iran. Even some hardline supporters of the president, such as the conservative daily Kayhan, have taken issue with his statement by discounting the possibility of another US invasion at a time when the Afghanistan war is going badly for Washington and Iraq remains highly unstable. While the United States may have its hands full with two wars, the same cannot be said about Israel, especially if … Continue reading Ahmadinejad call to arms

By M K Bhadrakumar The season of diplomacy on the Iran nuclear issue is once again approaching. Another harsh winter has passed. Rhetoric has touched a point of diminishing returns. The logical conclusion of the sanctions packages of the United Nations Security Council, the United States and the European Union as well as the military buildup in the Persian Gulf ought to be the enforcement of sanctions through high-sea inspections of Iranian vessels. But that is a route fraught with dangerous consequences as Tehran will retaliate. Meanwhile, Tehran has offered a ladder for the US to climb down from the … Continue reading Persian message for Obama