Special to WorldTribune.com By Brian M. Downing, FreePressers.com One can scarcely read anything on world affairs these days without seeing discussion of the decline of the U.S. and the rise of China. In recent weeks, however, President Obama spoke plainly, bluntly, and even disparagingly to China. At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, Obama chided China, […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, East-Asia-Intel.com The Chinese Communist Party leadership has toned down its aggressive rhetoric regarding the South China Sea in an apparent effort to blunt the growth of Washington’s “anti-China containment policy.” During his recent tour of Hawaii, Australia and Indonesia, President Barack Obama gave indirect support to the claims of […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, East-Asia-Intel.com The Hu Jintao leadership is mapping out measures to blunt what Beijing perceives is an enhanced effort by Washington to counter China’s power projection in the Asia-Pacific Theatre. While visiting Australia on Nov. 16, President Barack Obama and host Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced that U.S. Marines would […]
By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com The image of South Korea’s highly conservative, arch-capitalist President Lee Myung-Bak waving happily in a sea of little paper flags featuring a gold star in a red field was just another ceremonial photo for the Seoul media. The picture, Lee smiling as he and Vietnam’s President Truong Tan Sang and wife […]
By Willy Lam, East-Asia-Intel.com The Chinese leadership is taking very seriously Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s statement that after curtailing its involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, Washington would focus more of its energy and resources on the Asia-Pacific Theatre. Panetta said in Tokyo last week that despite overall cuts in the Pentagon budget, “we are not […]