The year 2005 is shaping up to be significant for Sino-Indonesian relations. In April, during a state visit to Indonesia by Chinese President Hu Jintao, the two sides agreed to establish a “strategic partnership,” a status China has accorded to only three countries: the United... MORE

A series of radical changes have taken place in Central Asia since the beginning of this year. Termed by some as the “color revolutions,” these political shifts have been discussed alternately as “regime changes” on the one hand, and extremist-fueled turmoil on the other. Whatever... MORE

In the spring and summer of 2005, the Chinese government successively announced that Central Huijin Company (China State Administration of Foreign Exchange Investments) will recapitalize Galaxy Securities (Yinhe Zhengquan), Southern Securities (Nanfang Zhengquan), Huaxia Securities, Shenyin Wanguo Securities, and Guotai Jun’an Securities. [1] Besides brokerages,... MORE

The People’s Liberation Army is on course to become a much more potent and aggressive force, enabling Beijing to better achieve the ambitious diplomatic and security goals set forth by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s Fourth-Generation leadership. And while the Pentagon’s just-published annual assessment of... MORE

The 2005 Department of Defense Annual Report to Congress on “The Military Power of the People’s Republic of China” is to be commended for providing context, up-to-date information, and some new details about the complex subject of the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) modernization program. [1]... MORE

While many traditional security analysts remain fixated on the destabilizing effects of the China-Taiwan relationship and growing animosity between Beijing and Tokyo, other less visible challenges are rapidly emerging which could portend political instability for the Communist Party and the country as a whole. At... MORE

The conventional view on China is that the PRC has entered the realm of global politics and is currently vying with the United States for superpower status. China has enjoyed dramatic economic growth in recent decades, ever since Deng Xiaoping initiated his reform program more... MORE

The operation is code-named “Treasure Hunting Ship;” the target is a major piece of U.S. energy real estate. The $18.5 billion cash offer is the largest corporate expansion ever in Chinese history. The strategy is to play the free market game with a lobbying effort... MORE

Sino-Singaporean relations have entered a more complex and complicated phase of development, thanks to a new strategic dimension that has arisen in the Asia-Pacific. After the tumultuous feud of August 2004 and the common will of both sides to make up, relations appeared to have... MORE

Despite the sheer size of China’s military forces, the country’s power projection capability is currently quite small for operations outside its land borders. It is quite capable of launching land based attacks on its periphery, but its naval and sea assets, despite their size, do... MORE