Review – Kissinger On China
One surefire way to know that a bilateral relationship is of the upmost importance is for Henry Kissinger to devote an entire book to the topic. With world stability likely to hinge in good part on the nature of future of Sino-American relations, and China’s continued rise being almost inevitable, much is at stake.
The Dragon’s Teeth: The Growth of China’s Military
The massive expansion and technological maturation of PLA land-based aerial and ballistic forces indicates the rise of a “Fortress China” doctrine in Beijing. China sees national defense and regional security as a function of its own ability to control its local periphery.
The CCP at 90
The Chinese Communist Party is a unique force. None of the members who attended the first meeting would have dared imagine that less than a century later, membership would stand at 80 million, and was poised to become one of the major forces of the 21st century. The Party today is facing a new range of challenges, which are testing even its legendary capacity for adaptation and pragmatic change.
Are the Seas Becoming a No-Man’s Land?
The outlook for maritime Asia appears increasingly desolate. Should China rule the skies while the United States commands the depths, surface fleets on both sides — not to mention the merchantmen that transport the raw materials and finished goods that sustain our globalized economy — will be caught in the no-man’s land between.
The Importance of Sino-African Trade
The Chinese Communist Party has maintained political office and subsequent control in China since 1949. Chinese leaders now draw their legitimacy from the state’s amazing economic growth. China now looks to Africa for resources and offers African nations an economic model they can emulate that is vastly different than western standards.
END NATO
When Europe lay devastated after WWII and seemed menaced by the Soviet Union, a cross Atlantic military alliance was needed to preserve European freedom. Through a patchwork of military commands and an influx of American troops, a protective wall of security was created within which European recovery and democratization could take place. However, today, NATO is irrelevant and needs a respectful termination.
Taming the Dragon
For as much lip service as has been given to China as the nation to restore bipolarity to the world order, it seems more and more that the two countries are far too economically co-dependent to truly be opposite forces outside of their own bilateral relations. With 2/3 of its estimated $3 trillion currency reserves in US dollars, China had no choice but to raise its concerns and give the US a subtle economic slap on the wrist.
Nuclear Ambitions in Asia: The Paper Tiger Revisited
The final result of the growth of the PRC’s military capacity is, perhaps, that China’s nuclear perspective will be exported abroad. Countries in the region that are concerned for their security should realize this truth and take steps to avoid a nuclear escalation that would do little to deter the doctrinally-different military culture of the People’s Republic of China.
China, Information Technology, and the Arab World
The Chinese government has developed the world’s most extensive technical, organizational, and cultural systems for monitoring and filtering the Internet and other forms of communications such as SMS and voice calls. Many Middle Eastern and African countries have bought telecommunications equipment from China, and have tried to emulate its monitoring and filtering regime.
India, China, and Asia’s Growing Presence in the Middle East
The East Moves West confirms Geoffrey Kemp’s reputation as a scholar who combines a broad geopolitical vision with an extraordinarily detailed knowledge of the many bilateral relationships between so many Middle Eastern countries, on the one hand, and so many Asian powers, on the other. It will be of great value to policy makers, journalists, scholars and students.
