ThePrint

#cuttheclutter Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda on Friday signed a peace deal, marking the end of decades-long fighting in eastern DRC that upended millions of lives. In Episode 1689 of #CutTheClutter ThePrint Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta traces DRC’s roots, from being a Belgian colony till 1960 to Mobutu’s rule and the 2009 pact that led to the birth of Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group; he also explains how large reserves of tantalum and cobalt have brought the ‘resource curse’ tag upon DRC and Rwanda.

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Produced By: Mahira Khan

China has long criticised the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, or NATO, for drawing Indo-Pacific countries—Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand—into its orbit. From Beijing’s perspective, this marks a troubling effort to export Western military influence to Asia and to contain China’s rise. Among Chinese observers, the prospect of Japan aligning more closely with NATO has sparked particular concern. A commentary published on Baidu Baijiahao pointed to NATO’s evolution from a regional defence bloc into what is now seen as an overstretched force projecting power far beyond the North Atlantic. Japan’s increasing proximity to NATO and its willingness to speak on China’s internal affairs are cast as foreign interference with potentially destabilising consequences. On the Chinese microblogging site, Weibo, a post framed Japan’s engagement with NATO as part of an inflated narrative of China's threat.----more----Read full article here: https://theprint.in/opinion/eye-on-china/japan-nato-not-indo-pacific-ties-china-us/2669010/

#cuttheclutter With a war raging in the European continent, the just concluded NATO Summit at The Hague witnessed an unprecedented agreement between member states to hike defence spending to 5% of GDP. In Episode 1689 of #CutTheClutter ThePrint Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta traces the origins of NATO and the backstories of its constituents, most of which are former Soviet nations.