Op-Ed Commentary: Christoph Unrast
Aug. 17 – Recent developments on the Korean Peninsula indicate that the Peoples Republic of China may be further consolidating their control of the global supply of rare earth elements. Already China has a monopoly in the production of rare earth elements, and could now it could get a hand on North Korea’s resources, which are estimated to be the second largest in the world.
Rare earth elements have been a perennial topic for quite a while. Although the metals are not as rare as the name suggests, China was able to develop a production monopoly since the 90s, replacing the once leading nation of the United States. This issue received its first major attention when Beijing used its monopoly in a diplomatic stand-off with Japan in 2010, cutting of Japans industry from several of the most essential elements used in high-technology products. Continue reading
Aug. 15 – It is expected that the state-owned Aluminium Corp of China Ltd, or Chalco, will drop its takeover bid for Mongolia’s coal-producer SouthGobi Resources Ltd due to fierce resistance from the Mongolian government.
Jul. 3 – Hackers have broken into Indian naval computers in Visakhapatnam, where India’s Eastern Naval Command is headquartered, and have relayed confidential data to IP addresses based in China. The Eastern Naval Command is in charge of Indian operations and deployments in the South China Sea, a region in which China currently has numerous territorial disputes. The Command’s Visakhapatnam location is also the current base for India’s first nuclear missile submarine, which was undergoing trials at the time of the cyber-attack. 
Jun. 29 – The United States exempted both China from its sanctions targeting Iran’s oil exports on Thursday, just hours before the deadline. While explaining its decision, the U.S. State Department stated that China had significantly reduced its imports of Iranian crude, and thus like 19 other countries, deserved to be exempted from the rigors of the sanctions.
Jun. 26 – According to India’s Naval Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma, who spoke at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London on Monday, the Indian Navy will soon attain a retaliatory nuclear strike capability. In reference to the three arms of India’s defense, Verma explained that this was necessary so that India has a credible and invulnerable deterrent nuclear triad in place.