Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 218

Why is China risking US sanctions by arming Russia? Survival

US secretary of state Antony Blinken fired a warning salvo towards China during a G7 foreign ministers’ meeting on the Italian island of Capri on April 20. The US’s top diplomat said that China is a “prime contributor” of weapons-related technology to Russia, and was fuelling what is the “biggest threat to European security since the end of the Cold War”.As Blinken detailed further when he landed

Fresh Tensions In Vietnam-China Ties Over New Baseline Announcement By China In Gulf Of Tonkin – Analysis

China’s recent maritime activities leading to disputes with Philippines have caught the attention of analysts who are busy dissecting China’s long-term intentions and future course of direction. This is a serious issue as these impacts on the security and stability in the region. There are internationally governed rules for conducting maritime trade but China has often violated with impunity

The environmental cost of China's addiction to cement

The use of concrete exploded to fuel China's rise. Now the costs of this weighty material are being counted.China's cities are sinking – apparent victims of their own success. Large swathes of the country's population now live in major cities that are subsiding at more than 3mm (0.1in) per year, according to a recent study. Some areas are sinking by more than 45mm (1.7in) each year, such as parts

In Retrospect: What Happened When China Tried To Take Taiwan in the 1950s?

In 1950, the PLA launched a series of amphibious operations, most notably resulting in the capture of Hainan island in the South China Sea. However, a landing in Kinmen was bloodily repulsed by Nationalist tanks in the Battle of Guningtou, barring the way for a final assault on Taiwan itself. Then events intervened, as the outbreak of the Korean War caused President Truman to deploy the U.S.

Torbjørn Færøvik: Valgets kval for Indias muslimer

Hver morgen ved soloppgang strømmer tusener av muslimer til Jama Masjid, den største moskeen i Delhi. For de indiske hindunasjonalistene er den som en torn i øyet, for muslimene et uunnværlig gudshus i en vanskelig tid. «Allah er stor», runger det fra helligdommen i gamlebyens hjerte.Moskeen har plass til 25 000 mennesker og ble reist på 1600-tallet under mogulkeiseren Shah Jahan. Han ønsket å

Delhi’s Dilemma: A Growing Economy and Growing Unemployment

India’s glass is half-full – and half-empty. The good news is India is the fastest-growing major economy in the world, on course to overtake Germany and Japan in the next five years in aggregate GDP. It will become the third-largest global economy after the United States and China. However, there is a concern that the benefits of fast GDP growth are being undermined by low job growth and an

Herders on front line of India’s Himalayan dispute with China say they’re losing grazing land – and a way of life

High in the Himalayas, the people of a remote northern Indian territory fear their way of life is under threat from the changing climate, looming development – and border tensions with China. At stake, they believe, is the future of Ladakh, one of the world’s highest elevation regions, where indigenous tribes maintain nomadic traditions on sprawling plains hemmed in by mountains punctuated by

From China’s Past: The Panchen Lama’s Letter to Premier Zhou Enlai

The 70,000 Character Petition is a report, dated 18 May 1962, written by the Tenth Panchen Lama and addressed to the Chinese government, denouncing abusive policies and actions of the People's Republic of China in Tibet. It remains the "most detailed and informed attack on China's policies in Tibet that would ever be written."For decades, the content of this report remained hidden from all but

US and Ally Begin Major Military Exercise on 'China's Doorstep'

More than 16,000 troops will take part in the U.S.'s largest military exercise with the Philippines as tensions simmer between the U.S. ally and neighboring China. The 39th edition of Balikatan, or "shoulder to shoulder" in Tagalog, kicked off on Monday and will be held around Palawan and Batanes, two Philippine provinces near South China Sea hotspots and China-claimed Taiwan. Under the

Protesting Spanish professor 'warned university' over Confucius Institutes

A university professor who gatecrashed the opening ceremony of a new Confucius Institute at Spain's Seville University last week tried to warn the school authorities for years that the language and cultural centers have been linked to the Chinese Communist Party's influence operations, she told RFA Mandarin in a recent interview.Journalism professor Mar Llera jumped onto the dais along with a