When Chen Bingcai said China had US$3 trillion in foreign reserves during a forum in Nanning on the One Belt One Road project for Asian journalists earlier this year, he was trying to show that his government had a large enough piggy bank to undertake the gargantuan project. “We can utilise the US$3 trillion which […]
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the sun famously never set on the British empire. A commanding navy enforced its will, yet all would have been lost if it were not for ports, roads, and railroads. The infrastructure that the British built everywhere they went embedded and enabled their power like bones and veins in […]
China’s ninth defense white paper published on May 26 openly declared that overseas military bases will be necessary to carry out the New Economic Silk Road Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (“Belt and Road”) initiatives, according to Chinese political analyst Mao Yulin in an article for Duowei News, a media outlet operated […]
The Boao Forum for Asia, an annual economic dialogue held in China’s Hainan Province, was an especially high-profile meeting this year; Chinese President Xi Jinping himself delivered the keynote address. The reason for the special emphasis was clear: Beijing selected the Boao Forum as the venue to deliver the first in-depth explanation of China’s vision […]
As China once again offers ASEAN states billions of dollars and promotes another treaty for “Good Neighborly and Friendly Cooperation” (which sounds an awful lot like the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation), Southeast Asian nations should consider how China perceives ASEAN and what goals it hopes to gain from its interactions with the bloc. By […]
Philippine President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino and Chinese President Xi Jinping met for the first time and shook hands last November 21 in Beijing. It was a historic occasion because the two countries had been locked in territorial disputes over islands and reefs in the West Philippine Sea ( South China Sea) for the past few […]
MANILA – The Department of Foreign Affairs dismissed Wednesday views that China’s Maritime Silk Road plan excludes the Philippines. The Silk Road Economic Belt and the Maritime Silk Road aims to build infrastructure across the region to bolster trade among the nations. DFA spokesperson Charles Jose said the Chinese embassy has already clarified the matter. […]
The US, Australia and Japan have renewed vows on tripartite security cooperation and urged peaceful resolutions of maritime disputes, an allusion to China’s territorial rows with its neighbors. This developed as Beijing continues to advocate a dual-track approach for the settlement of disputes in the South China Sea, and rejects all external interference. Meeting in […]
China has denied excluding the Philippines from its planned revival of an ancient Maritime Silk Road, which aims to build infrastructure across the region to bolster trade among nations. “The media report of ‘China bypassing Philippines in its 21st century Maritime Silk Road’ is incorrect,” the Chinese embassy in Manila said in a statement, referring […]