The Baloch House

A Chinese vessel at the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Disaster Relief Exercise (DiREx) 2015 conducted in Penang, Northern Malaysia in 2015, with participation from China, Malaysia, Thailand and India.Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

A closer look at the wider significance of a recently announced development.By Prashanth ParameswaranOctober 17, 2018This week, China’s defense ministry confirmed that Beijing was set to hold military drills with Malaysia and Thailand. The development spotlights China’s efforts to boost security ties with the two Southeast Asian states as part of their wider relationships even amid lingering concerns about aspects of Beijing’s behavior in the region.Over the past few years, we have seen China strengthen defense ties with a number of key Asian states as part of their overall relationships across several realms including exercises. Indeed, one of the examples of this will be in full view again next week with the holding of the second phase of the ASEAN-China Mari…

Li Keqiang and Mark RutteBY MAREX 2018-10-16 19:35:21China and the Netherlands appealed for global efforts to promote free trade and safeguard multilateralism on Monday.In a joint press conference with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in The Hague, visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said that the two countries will work together with all sides to boost free trade and further improve the multilateral trading system against the backdrop of growing uncertainties."Free trade is not a rejection of fair trade," Li said. "Without free trade, there is no fair trade; while without fair trade, free trade will not gain sustainable development."The two nations pledged to jointly safeguard multilateralism and free trade to send positive signals to the world that China, the Netherlands as well as Europe are maintaining a rules-based international order and are committed to the facilitation and liberalization of trade and investment, Li said.Li and Rutte said they did not specifi…

ASEAN top in priority
Published October 16, 2018, 10:00 PMBy Bernie Cahiles-MagkilatZHANJIAJIE, CHINA — ASEAN countries, particularly the Philippines, have been targetted as major beneficiaries of the initial $7.2-billion Silk Road Development Fund of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), an ambitious investment-led trade link that China aims to reestablish the old trade route connecting Asia, Africa, Middle East and Europe.Lu JianzhongLu Jianzhong, Chairman of Silk Road Chamber of International Commerce, is set to announce today the establishment of the Silkroad Development Fund at the opening of the two-day 2018 Silk Road Business Summit here.“This fund will serve different Silk Road international chambers all over the world,” said Lu, noting there are now 129 international chambers in 77 countries.In an interview prior to the opening of the summit, Lu told Filipino journalists that the fund has a seed capital of 50 billion RMB, approximately $7.2 billion, to be implemented over the ne…