The Baloch House

DIPLOMACY & DEFENCE

A Philippine air force plane on patrol near Chinese-held islands was warned to leave and ‘keep off to avoid misunderstanding’, according to a reportAssociated PressUPDATED : Tuesday, 31 Jul 2018, 10:47AM 64The Philippines has expressed concern to China over an increasing number of Chinese radio messages warning Philippine aircraft and ships to stay away from newly fortified islands and other territories in the South China Sea claimed by both countries, officials said Monday.A Philippine government report showed that in the second half of last year alone, Philippine military aircraft received such Chinese radio warnings at least 46 times while patrolling near artificial islands built by China in the South China Sea’s Spratly archipelago.Duterte vows for first time to ‘defend our interest’ in South China SeaThe Chinese radio messages were “meant to step up their tactics to our pilots conducting maritime air surveillance in the West Philippine Sea”, the report said…

By Alyssa Ayres
Editor's Note:Alyssa Ayres is senior fellow for India, Pakistan and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations and the author of "Our Time Has Come: How India is Making Its Place in the World." The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author. View more opinion articles on CNN.(CNN) — In a speech before the US-India Business Council of the US Chamber of Commerce on Monday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo outlined the Trump administration's Indo-Pacific economic strategy, seen by many as the response to China's Belt and Road initiative.Pompeo offered news about a new $113 million allocation to promote digital, energy, and infrastructure connectivity in the Indo-Pacific. And while he spoke about leveraging these initiatives with US allies and partners in the region, he said little about what Washington would pursue, with whom, and where. Pompeo needs to articulate a specific strategy for US economic statecraft because that will be…

The infrastructure development plan was revealed by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the Indo-Pacific Business Forum in WashingtonShi JiangtaoOwen ChurchillUPDATED : Tuesday, 31 Jul 2018, 11:43AM 116The US government is expanding its infrastructure drive in the Asia-Pacific region using new investment programmes amid rising anxiety in Washington about China’s aggressive overseas development policies.Announced by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday, the initiative follows concerns about the Trump administration’s commitment to engaging with countries in the Indo-Pacific region.Many Chinese firms ‘will go bankrupt, if US delivers on tariff threat’In response to China’s ambitious “Belt and Road Initiative” – a group of multibillion-dollar transport and power projects that Beijing has used to assert its influence in Asia and beyond – Pompeo’s “Indo-Pacific Economic Vision” will increase the financial support that the US government provides to countries in the region through a pro…

In the first part of a week-long series revealing the effects of China's Belt and Road Initiative on cities around the world, Jon Watts journeys from the steppes of Central Asia to the Black Sea and into Europe, as Beijing's grand plan radically remakes the lives of people in its pathCities is supported byAbout this contentThe JourneyThe Silk Road setting feels timeless: an expanse of desert scrub below the Tianshan Mountains, where weather-beaten farmers herd flocks of sheep much as their ancestors might have done in Marco Polo’s day.Rising up surreally in their midst, however, are the new landmarks of a modern development: the gleaming yellow gantries of the world’s biggest dry port and the shopping mall towers of a duty-free zone the size of a city.Welcome to Khorgos, China’s new land gateway to the mineral-rich resources of Central Asia and the consumer-rich markets of Europe. Further from the sea than almost anywhere on Earth, it is both the middle of nowhere and the cent…