The Indian budget every year has always been an eagerly awaited event. For many decades, the best minds in economics, finance, tax, business and industry throng the media house to analyze the provisions shared by the Financial Minister.
Sometimes major events completely disconnected may be data points for the plans of the different powers around the world. The challenge is to discern what purpose they serve? More critically, what are we moving towards?
When the US Ambassador threatened India's "Strategic Autonomy" policy over India's friendship with Russia - much more than meets the eye was at stake. Let us unpack how the Ukraine war has fundamentally changed the US and the world. And why are we here anyway?
Pakistan is as fantastic a vassal state as they come. When it was behind US, it did whatever it took to make them happy. In a bid to bolster Americans and their Cold War agenda, they literally lit fire to their whole society and neighborhood – with the beginning of Jihad. Of course, the idea was that they will use the fire of that anarchy to do their own dirty work. Now that fire is coming to roast their own society at every corner of the country.
But Pakistan and its establishment is unfazed. In 1963, Pakistan first gave away 5,800 km2 (2,239 sq mi) of land in Kashmir – called the Trans-Karakoram tract to China. Obviously, in lieu of lots of benefits – which I am still wondering what they were. Well, one I know – Nukes and the “Do-it-yourself” kits, and also pressure on India. But of course, when it came to the crunch, China would back off.
Recently however, Pakistan went a step ahead. It gave the entire management of the Gwadar port to China. Now, it is the largest port in Pakistan – situated in Balochistan – a mineral rich and even Oil & Gas rich area. With the control over Gwadar, and having created the Karakoram Highway through the Karakoram, China suddenly gets access to the Middle East ports very easily.
Now, having given large amounts of land, and their largest port to a country, would lead to some good revenue for Pakistan right? Keep dreaming. China has Pakistan literally by their .. err… tails. Why? Well it seems that between 2008-2012 China’s Arms Exports to the world grew by 162% compared to the previous five years. And which country is the largest buyer of Chinese Arms? Yes, Pakistan. You know how much of China’s Arms are bought by Pakistan? A whopping 55%!!
“China’s rise has been driven primarily by large-scale arms acquisitions by Pakistan,” Paul Holtom, a research director at SIPRI said in a press release.
That means 55% of all the arms in China have an assured market in a vassal state called Pakistan. As they say “Chinese ka daana paani chal hi Pakistan se raha hai” 🙂
Pakistanis lament that when Chinese do any projects in Pakistan, they don’t give ANY room to Pakistanis to earn any revenue. They bring their own people, janitors, labor and even food!! Even supplies they don’t buy from Pakistan. Here is Tarek Fatah talking about it.
Rare Earth Elements (REE) will change and rule the world as oil did in the last century. China dominates that industry like no other. And it uses that monopoly to beat down on its adversaries.
The Great Depression of the 1930s led to World War 2 in a significant manner. Current economic crises and geopolitical battles are converging. What will the coming wars be like? We look at the scenario deeply.
Attack by Hamas took a lot to accomplish. The sudden Chinese bonhomie with Syria and the bringing together of Arab - Sunni and Shia countries and actors by Xi Jinping's regime raises some questions .
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