By Robert M Cutler MONTREAL – Headline stories have announced that China is no longer the largest holder of United States Treasury holdings. As Bloomberg News noted, for example, “China’s Treasury holdings peaked at $801.5 billion in May, and net sales in November and December were the first consecutive months of reductions since late 2007.” However, Chinese concern over US Treasury holdings is hardly new. Nine months ago, Premier Wen Jiabao publicly expressed worry over the safety of the country’s China’s Treasury holdings, and other officials have continued to air concerns about the increasing US fiscal deficit. It was known … Continue reading China diminishes US Treasury holdings

By Kazuhito Yamashita Japanese agriculture is in a freefall decline. In the years between 1960 and 2005, the share of agricultural output in gross domestic product (GDP) dropped from 9% to 1%, the food self-sufficiency ratio from 79% to 41%, and agricultural land, indispensable for food security, from 6.09 million hectares to 4.63 million hectares. Meanwhile, the ratio of part-time farm households, which derive more than half their income from non-farm employment, increased from 32.1% to 61.7%. The percentage of farmers over 65 years old also jumped from 10% to 60%. Gross agricultural output in 2006 was 8.5 trillion yen … Continue reading High rice prices feed Japan’s farming woes

By Brian M Downing In the past week, American, British and Afghan troops launched a major campaign around the southern Afghan city of Marjah in Helmand province – part of the counter-insurgency program begun in earnest last year. Shortly thereafter, far to the south in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, a major Taliban figure was taken into custody. The two events may help bring about a negotiated settlement. All go in Marjah Operations began near the central Helmand town with little prospect of a large-scale battle with Taliban bands that had operated freely there. The much-publicized buildup to the … Continue reading Two cities and the Afghan insurgency

By Zahid U Kramet Talks about the first high-level talks between India and Pakistan since the November 2008 terror attack on Mumbai began on a hesitant, yet proactive note. India was considering Pakistan’s proposal for a “composite dialogue” to bring long-term stability to the region, Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India Shahid Malik told an inter-ministerial meeting on February 10. And when Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani said a day later that the government believed it should not decline the Indian offer and resume engagement as soon as possible, the gate was opened for foreign-secretary level bilateral talks now scheduled … Continue reading India wants talks to focus on terror

By Bonnie S Glaser In recent weeks Chinese newspapers and television interview shows have been replete with condemnations of the US$6.4 billion package of arms sales to Taiwan by the Barack Obama administration. Chinese scholars and pundits have attributed numerous motivations to the United States for this sale, most of which are inaccurate. Understanding the reasons for the US sale of weapons to Taiwan may not diminish China’s opposition to them, but it is nevertheless important for assessing the broader US-China relationship and predicting future US policy decisions. Myth number 1: The United States opposes the warming trend in cross-strait … Continue reading Myths and US arms sales to Taiwan

Pakistan: Al-Qaida-linked militants arrested By MUNIR AMHAD (AP) ISLAMABAD — Pakistani authorities using U.S.-gathered intelligence arrested up to nine al-Qaida-linked militants in a series of overnight raids in the southern city of Karachi, officials said Thursday. The arrests follow the recent detentions in Pakistan of several Afghan-linked militant leaders, including the capture of the Taliban’s No. 2 chief Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, indicating that Pakistan may be stepping up its cooperation with the U.S. against extremism. Two Pakistani security officials said the raids in Karachi on Wednesday night were not directly related to Baradar’s arrest. They said eight or nine … Continue reading More Mullahs militants arrested!