Asian Studies Blog

This past Friday, November 23rd, the Chinese Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan was attacked, during which four people where killed. The Balochistan Liberation Army, a separatist group, claimed responsibility for the fatal attack. Following the attack, the group released a statement condemning Chinese military expansion operations on Baloch soil. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan made it clear that nothing will undermine the Pakistan-China relationship. This most recent attack is not the only time the BLA has reared its ugly head in Pakistan. This separatist group grew bigger over the state of Balochistan's monopoly over mineral resources. Together, China and Pakistan have formed a multi-billion dollar cooperation known as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. In conclusion, the BLA is angered by the collaboration between China and Pakistan. https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/23/asia/karachi-chinese-consulate-attack-intl/index.html

This is a continuation of my blog in October about the South China Sea. Strained relations between the United States and China regarding the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait continue to rear their ugly heads. As of right now, this issue is the most volatile source of ongoing conflict. Last week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis held a meeting with their Chinese counterparts in Washington to negotiate a deal to end this conflict. At the conclusion of this meeting, some barbed remarks where exchanged. Seeing Chinese officials willing to talk is a positive sign, but we still have a lot of work to do.    However, this article from the New York Times now shows how this conflict is heading in a different direction with two different strategies; The first strategy involves Vice President Mike Pence. Currently, he is on a trip to Asia to speak with East and Southeast Asia leaders to drum up support for the American efforts to counterbalance China's aggre

By this point, everyone in the United States knows just how rocky and unstable our relations with North Korea are. Earlier this year, President Trump and Kim Jong Un had a summit to discuss the details of North Korea's plan to denuclearize. While that meeting was promising, our relations continue to be strained. These meetings between top officials do not work out all the details in a single session; they need to be spread out. This coming Thursday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was scheduled to meet with a top aide of Kim Jong Un's. However today(November 7th) the meeting was cancelled. Now, one might conclude that it was Kim's decision to cancel; however it was the US's decision to cancel. A reason given in the CNN article was due to the midterm elections.  https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/07/politics/north-korea-pompeo-meeting-intl/index.html

Shortly after takeoff from Jakarta, Indonesia's airport, Lion Air Flight 610 crashed into the Java Sea on Monday October 29th, 2018. All 189 passengers were killed. While all plane crashes are extremely serious, this particular crash seems to stand out to everyone. Firstly, the aircraft involved was a new Boeing 737 Max 8, which is a new model from Boeing. This specific plane had been in service for 2 months with 800 flying hours. Secondly, there is an issue of safety and reliability. Since 9/11, are airlines that fly to/from/inside the United States must meet and comply with rigorous safety standards. Air travel is a staple of traveling around Indonesia due to geographical constraints. While Indonesia has a fast-growing aviation, the country has had a long and negative rap sheet for safety. From 2007-2016, the FAA banned Indonesian airlines from US airspace due to them being “deficient in one or more areas, such as technical expertise, trained personnel, record-keeping, or inspe

Probably the most interesting news story I have ever read... For the past two years, officials in Maharashtra, India have desperately been trying to capture a man-eating tigress, named T1 and her cubs. T1 is estimated to have killed more than a dozen people. More than 100 camera traps, and other animal carcass traps were used, but those failed. However, an unlikely item may work, perfume! Yes, PERFUME. Some research has been done using Chanel No.5, Jovan Musk, and Calvin Klein Obsession. A study at the Bronx Zoo showed that large cats are attracted to the scents of perfumes. Dr. Prayag H.S., a wildlife veterinarian, used Obsession to capture a man-eating tiger in 2013. Perfumes contain an ingredient called civet, something that civet cats use to mark territory. In its synthetic form, civetone, smells very musky, but also smells like fecal matter. However, it has a floral scent when diluted with water.

When most people enroll in a health insurance plan, most do not read the fine print. All that most look at are what doctors they can see, and what the premium per month is. Sadly, as is the case in India, some people do not have the luxury of affording health insurance. Only a third of the population has insurance. That is about to change in India for the better, hopefully....... Prime Minister Narendra Modi is about to roll out the world's largest health-insurance plan, called Ayushman Bharat(Long-Life India). This plan is aimed to target a half-billion of India's poorest people out of 1.3 billion in total population. The government will give allow each family up to $7,000 a year in hospital expenses.  Public health care is not present in India, as the government used to spend only 25% on it. The formation of this new plan will help to create a new market of consumers to help fund the construction of hospitals through out most of the country. https://www.economist.com/asi