Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- May 22, 2018

Navy personnel of Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy take part in a military display in the South China Sea April 12, 2018. Picture taken April 12, 2018. Photo: Reuters/Stringer

Richard Javad Heydarian, Asia Times: A war footing emerges in the South China Sea

China's recent deployment of nuclear-capable bombers, missiles and jamming devices has drastically shifted the contested area's strategic calculus

China’s deployment of H-6k bombers to disputed land features in the South China Sea has provoked an uproar across the region and beyond while raising considerably the potential for armed conflict.

China’s bombers are capable of conducting nuclear strikes and have an operational range of more than 1,000 nautical miles. This places practically all other claimant states in the contested maritime area within their crosshairs.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- May 22, 2018

Is Xi Jinping the scriptwriter of the Trump-Kim summit? -- Nikkei Asian Review

First stop, Russia: why China’s new foreign policy supremo Wang Qishan is looking to Moscow -- Shi Jiangtao, SCMP

Pyongyang-Washington summit: Who is bluffing who? -- Robert McCoy, Asia Times

We Need to Test Our Assumptions About North Korea -- Ken Gause, National Interest

The Trump–Kim Jong Un Summit: Should It Be Postponed? -- Robert E. Kelley, National Interest

Philippines' lacklustre fight in the South China Sea -- JC Gotinga, Al Jazeera

Malaysians agog as tables turn on Najib -- Nile Bowie, Asia Times

Iran seen to hang on to nuclear deal amid US sanctions, threats -- Ted Regencia, Al Jazeera

Could America's hardline policies towards Iran be a dilemma for Arab countries? -- Wesley Dockery, DW

An Iran-U.S. Summit? -- Fabio Rafael Fiallo, RCW

Should Afghan Government Wait for Taliban Response? -- Mohammad Habibzada, VOA

Iran's Support for the Taliban Brings It to a Crossroads With Afghanistan -- The Diplomat

The Ukraine Model: The last time a country agreed to give up its nukes, it didn’t turn out well. -- Mary Mycio, Slate

Ukraine and Russia: Peace, War and the Future -- Volodymyr Dubovyk, Yale Global Online

If the Transatlantic Relationship Sneezes, Will NATO Catch a Cold? -- Azita Raji, War On The Rocks

Venezuela elections: What's next after Maduro's re-election -- Elizabeth Melimopoulos, Al Jazeera

Latin America’s New Authoritarianism -- Michael Albertus, Slate