Tibet's self-declared government-in-exile President Lobsang Sangay on Tuesday thanked US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for making a strong call to China for the release of the second-highest holy monk, the Panchen Lama
How Sri Lanka Missed the Opportunity to Become a 200-billion dollar economy
Policy instability during the 2015-2024 likely pushed back Sri Lanka’s path towards becoming South Asia’s first High-Income Country. The 2022 financial crisis would never have happened as stable growth during the first half of 2015–2024 would have built enough buffer to weather impact of the Covid pandemic
When Nations Employ the Expansionary Grammar of Corporate Acquisitions
China’s Belt and Road Initiative - which funded Sri Lanka’s Hambantota Port through loans resulting in a 99-year lease to Chinese State-owned enterprise in 2017 due to Colombo’s struggle to service said loans - follows the same expansionary script.
Will Sri Lanka's Trincomalee Fulfil its Long-Promised Potential? New Strategic Convergence to Revamp Assets Neglected for Eight Decades
If one location matters most to India in Sri Lanka, it is Trincomalee. With one of the finest natural harbours in the world, Trincomalee has immense commercial, naval, and energy value. For decades, strategists in New Delhi have viewed it as critical to the security architecture of the Bay of Bengal.
EU and India Deepen Strategic Partnership, but Contentious Issues Remain Unresolved
It also demonstrated that the EU increasingly sees India as a strategic alternative to excessive dependence on China and India increasingly sees the EU as an important technology and investment partner amid a more fragmented global trading system.
More on Economy, Trade and Development
Trump threatens to pull top funder US out of WHO over China
Accusing the World Health Organisation of “alarming lack of independence from” China, US President Donald Trump has threatened to pull out of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and end its financing if it did not institute reforms within a month and end its subservience
274 students brought back from China
As many as 274 Pakistani students stranded in the Chinese city of Wuhan arrived at Islamabad International Airport (IIA) on a special flight of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Monday
PLA muscle-flexing part of exercise to shape the environment in China’s favour
A major aim of China’s aggressive actions is to derail demands at the United Nations for independent inquiry into the origins of COVID-19. This has led to muscle-flexing all over, writes Lt Gen P. C. Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
'Wuhan Diary' releases in India in ebook format
The much-talked-about 'Wuhan Diary: Dispatches from a Quarantined City' by well-known Chinese literary writer Fang Fang, has released in India in the ebook format
China rejects India’s objection to dam in Gilgit-Baltistan
China on Friday rejected India’s objection to the construction of Diamer-Bhasha dam in the Gilgit-Baltistan region - whose sovereignty is contested by India - saying that the economic cooperation between China and Pakistan was aimed at promoting development and improving the well-being of the local population
Time to strengthen Quad to counter China’s influence
There is a geopolitical dimension to the COVID-19 tsunami that continues to leave in its wake thousands of deaths across the world
China offers to restart development work in Sri Lanka
Chinese President Xi Jinping is suggesting that China and Sri Lanka gradually resume practical cooperation in various fields, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua has reported
Pakistan's WAPDA signs Rs442b deal with Power China-FWO
An agreement worth Rs442 billion with a joint venture of Power China and Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) was signed on Wednesday for the construction of a diversion system, main dam, access bridge and 21-megawatt Tangir hydroelectric power project
Chinese People’s Liberation Army provides protective material to Sri Lankan army fighting COVID-19 pandemic
At the request of Sri Lanka, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army has sent an Air Force aircraft carrying a consignment of required personal protective clothing and other supplies for COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control to the Sri Lanka Army
China reiterates support for Afghanistan peace, development
The Chinese ambassador to Kabul, Mr. Wang Yu, has assured his country’s support to a stable and developed Afghanistan
Chinese chopper spotted near LAC, India rushes fighters to border
The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Tuesday scrambled fighter jets along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China in Ladakh, after China flew military choppers close to the LAC
Lessons to be learned from China's COVID-19 handling
The bottom line is this: China has been less than truthful, manipulated messages, behaved autocratically, turned the pandemic into a geopolitical football game of blame and shame, and not been forthcoming about how the novel coronavirus started nor accepted any responsibility for its consequences, writes Frank F Islam for South Asia Monitor
Pakistani students stranded in Wuhan to begin flying back
Pakistan has decided to bring back via special flights its students stuck in Wuhan, China, ground zero of the novel coronavirus
Chinese Nationals In Nepal Should Follow Nepali Laws: Chinese Embassy
The Chinese embassy in Nepal has instructed Chinese nationals in Nepal to strictly abide by the laws and regulations and the lockdown measures adopted in Nepal
