ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

The Pakistan Air Force is considering other options after Washington decided to withdraw financing for a US arms purchase. “If funding is arranged, Pakistan will get the F16,” said Sartaj Aziz, foreign affairs adviser to Nawaz Sharif, the Pakistani prime minister. “Otherwise, we will opt for jets from some other place.” As reported by The Financial Times, Pakistan’s other options include the Russian SU35, the Chinese J10 and the Chinese J20 stealth fighter. The US and Pakistan have long had close ties. They jointly supported the Taliban rebels, who drove Soviet invaders out of Afghanistan in 1989. But the 9/11 terror attacks, masterminded by al-Qaeda from Afghan soil, ushered in a more complex period in which US forces helped overthrow the Taliban regime. The US continues to fight the group’s militants while Pakistan gives them haven. Washington is also upset by Pakistan’s support for other Islamist terror organisations, while President Barack Obama has said Islamabad is moving “in the...

By Arvind Subramanian NEW DELHI – As the world’s financial leaders gather in Washington, DC, for the annual spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund, their hopes – and fears – center on China. After all, China is the one country that might be able to jump-start the sputtering global economy’s recovery; and yet its own economic growth is based on a foundation that is increasingly showing signs of strain. The dilemma is that both Chinese failure and success carry risks for the world economy. A failure scenario would be unique in post-World War II history. Because China’s economy is so large, the consequences would reverberate worldwide. But, unlike in 2008, when the US dollar appreciated, allowing emerging markets to revive quickly, the renminbi would likely depreciate should China’s economy experience a serious downturn, spreading deflation far and wide. Other currencies might depreciate as well, some as a result of deliberate policy. Consequently, a China failure scenario coul...