American Power in the Age of Fragility
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2020-08-11/grand-strategy-resilience
The Taliban loves China's money, but can it forget
its Muslim gulags?
https://asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/The-Taliban-loves-China-s-money-but-can-it-forget-its-Muslim-gulags
Chellaney notes:
“Here's the paradox: Communist China has little in common with the Taliban, a hard-line Islamist militia known for brutal, medieval practices and for demolishing the monumental Buddhas of Bamiyan. In fact, China's concern over Islamic extremism has driven it to take unparalleled steps, including the large-scale deprogramming of Islamic identities in a bid to forcibly assimilate its Muslim population into the dominant Han culture.
Yet China has nurtured long-standing ties with the Taliban -- created and armed by Pakistani intelligence -- to help Pakistan call the shots in Afghanistan. While the Taliban was in power, China established economic ties with it and launched flights between Kabul and Xinjiang's capital, Urumqi.
Pakistan, which Beijing considers its client-state, has helped facilitate Chinese-Taliban ties. Indeed, the Taliban's top leadership, as well as its command and control apparatus, have been ensconced in Pakistan since it was ousted from power in 2001. This allowed China, after 9/11, to quietly continue a relationship with the Taliban”.
An alliance of democracies to contain China makes
sense. But Modi needs to clean up his act.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/09/11/india-modi-china-quad-military-alliance/
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2020-08-11/grand-strategy-resilience
https://asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/The-Taliban-loves-China-s-money-but-can-it-forget-its-Muslim-gulags
Chellaney notes:
“Here's the paradox: Communist China has little in common with the Taliban, a hard-line Islamist militia known for brutal, medieval practices and for demolishing the monumental Buddhas of Bamiyan. In fact, China's concern over Islamic extremism has driven it to take unparalleled steps, including the large-scale deprogramming of Islamic identities in a bid to forcibly assimilate its Muslim population into the dominant Han culture.
Yet China has nurtured long-standing ties with the Taliban -- created and armed by Pakistani intelligence -- to help Pakistan call the shots in Afghanistan. While the Taliban was in power, China established economic ties with it and launched flights between Kabul and Xinjiang's capital, Urumqi.
Pakistan, which Beijing considers its client-state, has helped facilitate Chinese-Taliban ties. Indeed, the Taliban's top leadership, as well as its command and control apparatus, have been ensconced in Pakistan since it was ousted from power in 2001. This allowed China, after 9/11, to quietly continue a relationship with the Taliban”.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/09/11/india-modi-china-quad-military-alliance/