Tag: South&Central Asia

White House Scoffs at Beijing’s New Map, ‘False Maritime Claims’

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WASHINGTON —  The United States will continue to push back against Beijing’s “false maritime claims,” said John Kirby, the National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, in response to China’s newly released 2023 map that has drawn the ire of India, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and the Philippines. In an interview with VOA White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara on Friday, Kirby spoke about expectations for President Joe Biden’s upcoming trip to the G20 summit in New Delhi, followed by a visit to Hanoi, where the U.S. is expected to upgrade…

China’s Xi Likely to Skip G20 Summit in India, Sources Say

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NEW DELHI/BEIJING —  Chinese President Xi Jinping is likely to skip a summit of G20 leaders in India next week, sources familiar with the matter in India and China told Reuters, a development that would dash chances of a meeting there with U.S. President Joe Biden. Xi’s absence also could be a shot at host India, according to some analysts, who see it as a signal China is reluctant to confer influence on its southern neighbor that boasts one of the fastest growing major economies as China’s slows. Two Indian…

India Protests Chinese Map Claiming Disputed Territories

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India said on Tuesday that it had lodged a “strong protest” with China a day after Beijing released the 2023 edition of its standard map showing Aksai Chin — an area of Kashmir mostly controlled by China — and the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh within Chinese territory. The map was released Monday on the Chinese Ministry of Natural Resources standard map service website, just days after the two nations agreed to work to ease tensions at their disputed border. The map also includes Taiwan and the South China…

India’s Modi, China’s Xi Agree on Efforts to De-Escalate Border Tensions

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NEW DELHI —  India’s prime minister and China’s leader agreed Thursday to intensify efforts to de-escalate tensions at the disputed border between them and bring home thousands of their troops deployed there, according to an official from India’s foreign ministry. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of a Johannesburg summit where the BRICS bloc of developing economies — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — invited six other countries to join the group, including Saudi Arabia and Iran. India’s Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan…

Convoy of Chinese Engineers Attacked in Pakistan’s Gwadar: Militants

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Quetta, Pakistan —  Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) separatists attacked a convoy carrying Chinese engineers to the Beijing-financed Gwadar Port in Pakistan’s southwest on Sunday, the group said. Various Baloch militant groups have claimed attacks on projects linked to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project in the past, with thousands of security personnel deployed to counter threats against Beijing’s interests. “BLA Majeed Brigade today targeted a convoy of Chinese engineers in Gwadar. The attack is still ongoing,” the separatist group said in a statement. Security sources confirmed an attack, but there…

Philippines Summons Chinese Ambassador Over Water Cannon Incident

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MANILA, Philippines —  The Philippine government summoned China’s ambassador Monday and presented a strongly worded diplomatic protest over the Chinese coast guard’s use of water cannons in a weekend confrontation with Philippine vessels in the disputed South China Sea, officials said. The tense hours-long standoff occurred Saturday near Second Thomas Shoal, which has been occupied for decades by Philippine forces stationed onboard a rusting, grounded navy ship but is also claimed by China. It was the latest flareup in long-seething territorial conflicts in the South China Sea involving China, the…

Is China Responsible for Pakistan’s Debt Problem?

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ISLAMABAD —  Pakistan and China are marking a decade of economic cooperation with much fanfare these days as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, popularly known as CPEC, completes 10 years. Experts say while the mega-project helped Pakistan develop much-needed infrastructure, the less-than-generous loans from Beijing coupled with Islamabad’s mismanagement has kept the project from turning Pakistan’s economy around. Estimated to be the largest partnership of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a global investment and infrastructure project, CPEC launched in 2013 with more than $45 billion in planned investments. Over time,…

Rohingya Refugees Wary as China Develops Plan for Repatriation   

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Rohingya refugees living in squalid and sprawling camps in Bangladesh are casting a skeptical eye on a Chinese initiative to facilitate their return to Myanmar, where they were subjected to a campaign of murder and burning by the same military forces that now rule the country. “We want to return home. However, under this pilot scheme, the Myanmar military will confine us in camps. They won’t allow us to go back to our homes and villages,” Aung Myaing, a Rohingya relief volunteer at the Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar,…

Does Pakistan Have a Chinese Debt Problem?

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Pakistan and China are celebrating as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the centerpiece of Beijing’s global Belt and Road initiative, completes 10 years. The investment project has grown to over $60 billion and provided Pakistan with crucial infrastructure, but it also has added to the country’s ballooning debt. VOA’s Pakistan bureau chief Sarah Zaman reports. (Produced by Malik Waqar Ahmed, Jon Spier) Voice of America

Top China Official Visits Pakistan, Marking Economic Corridor Milestone

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Islamabad —  A senior Chinese leader landed in Pakistan Sunday to attend a government-sponsored ceremony this week, marking the 10th anniversary of their infrastructure development collaboration under China’s global Belt and Road Initiative. He Lifeng, the Chinese vice premier and special presidential envoy, arrived in Islamabad amid tight security. The government declared a two-day holiday in the Pakistani capital starting Monday “to provide foolproof security” to the foreign delegation. The foreign ministry said Lifeng’s visit “reflects the importance” the two countries attached to deepen their bilateral ties further. It noted…