An ‘Axis of Seven’ to supplement SCO
The new “5 Plus 2 axis” with China, Russia, and five Central Asian countries will have its own mechanisms and projections, which differ from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the Belt and Road Initiative and the Eurasian Economic Union community
China takes leadership role in Central Asia: Part 1
The China-Central Asia Summit, which took place in Xi’an on May 18-19, was every bit a geopolitical event as much as the G7 summit in Hiroshima
Post-Bakhmut scenario in Ukraine war
In the aftermath of the fall of Bakhmut, the US has announced that Ukrainian pilots will be trained in flying F-16s. There have been sporadic artillery and Himars missile attacks on Russian civilians in border towns. It in unlikely that any of these will be game changers
US hopes to snatch victory from jaws of defeat in Ukraine
If the Anglo-Saxon alliance keeps climbing the escalation ladder, the Russian campaign may well expand the operation to the entire region east of the Dnieper River. The Russians are in this war for the long haul and the ball is in the American court
Biden can be charming, but Beijing should be wary of sequels
Is the Biden Administration in a position to overcome the influential body of opinion in the US who also happen to be in alliance with top officials in Ukraine’s corridors of power?
Ukraine war: The short view
Russia has the capability to launch a “big arrow” offensive towards the Dnieper but the Kremlin’s preference is to continue to grind down the Ukrainian military — a strategy that proved cost-effective in human and material terms, productive, and sustainable. Depending on the trajectory of the Ukrainian offensive, Russia has the option to switch to a massive attack to pulverize the adversary
The US search for a junior partner in the Gulf
The traditional US approach has been to whip up Iranophobia to rally Gulf states but that ploy won’t work anymore. The Gulf states are steadily expanding their strategic autonomy and pursuing independent foreign policies to advance their national interests and promote peace and reconciliation in the region
Zelensky regime’s fate is sealed
There is a huge dilemma today as the entire Western narrative of a Russian defeat stands exposed as a pack of lies, and alongside, the myth of Kiev’s military prowess to take on the far superior military might of a superpower has evaporated