Weekly News Roundup: Dispatches from the Silk Road Economic Belt

Exclusive: Uighur Thai jail escapees detained in Malaysia and China wants them back - sources

Eleven ethnic Uighur Muslims from China, missing since their dramatic escape from a Thai jail last year, have been detained in Malaysia and Beijing wants them back, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. (Reuters)

In a new wave of the Afghanistan air war, the U.S. strikes a little-known militant group
The U.S. military has expanded its renewed air war in Afghanistan, striking targets in northeastern Afghanistan affiliated with the Taliban and another small militant group that is known for its roots in China, U.S. military officials said Tuesday.The bombing has been carried out over the past four days in Badakhshan province’s Wurduj district, said Navy Capt. Tom Gresback, a U.S. military spokesman in Kabul. The strikes targeted training camps, “preventing the planning and rehearsal of terrorist acts near the Afghan border with China and Tajikistan,” U.S. military officials said in a news release. (Washington Post)

China must reevaluate Central Asian energy supply

The sharp drop of liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments through a key Central Asian pipeline network has put the already-tight domestic LNG supply situation to the test. There are two reasons for the plunging shipments: first, LNG demand increased in the supplier countries themselves; second, the suppliers were withholding LNG in hopes of getting better prices in other markets. Those factors prompted the suppliers to break the terms of their contracts with China. (Global Times)

US may boost projects in Indo-Pacific to counter Beijing’s belt and road plan
Washington is considering boosting infrastructure projects in the Indo-Pacific to counter Beijing’s
growing global clout through its “Belt and Road Initiative”, observers say, after last month’s Congress hearing on a policy response to the plan. (Scmp)

Haze returns to Beijing amid lower Central Asia gas supply
The shortfall, possibly due to suppliers cutting gas exports to China to rake in higher margins from European buyers, has forced more coal burning. (Asia Times)

China’s latest move in the graveyard of empires
The latest plot twist in the endless historical saga of Afghanistan as a graveyard of empires has thrown up an intriguing new chapter. For the past two months, Beijing and Kabul have been discussing the possibility of setting up a military base alongside Afghanistan’s border with China. (Asia Times)

HOW CHINA CAN BENEFIT FROM ANTI-TRUMP SENTIMENT IN IRAN
Economic woes and US hostility have soured Iranians’ perceptions of governments in both Tehran and Washington. If the US drops the nuclear deal, Rouhani will be under pressure to seek investment from elsewhere. (Scmp)


CENTRAL ASIA

Moscow strengthens military bases in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan

Moscow has strengthened the potential capacity of military bases in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan in connection with the threats coming from Afghanistan. Within the CIS, work is in progress on a regional border security system, the Head of the Third CIS Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Alexander Sternik said in interview with RIA Novosti, Kabar reports. (Trend)

Japan to pledge Vladivostock works in hopes of easing Kurils dispute
Proposals are focused on infrastructure to modernize the Russian port city; transformative levels of investment seem unlikely, however (Asia Times)

400 Tajiks Illegally Trained in Foreign Madrasas, Authorities Say

Over 400 citizens of Tajikistan are illegally enrolled at foreign religious institutions and the Tajik authorities are taking measures to have them return home, Sulaimon Davlatzoda, the chairperson of the State Committee for Religious Affairs and Traditions, said at a press conference in Dushanbe. (Fregana News)

Eight More Schools in Kazakhstan Uphold Ban On Headscarves

Eight schools of the western Kazakh city of Aktobe have won court cases in which parents had demanded their daughters to be allowed attending wearing headscarves, Astana TV reports. The court upheld the decisions of school directors who forbade students to wear headscarves within the confines of the schools. (Fergana News)

TAPI Enters Afghan Phase with Little Cash and Many Problems
The natural gas pipeline that many said could never happen is taking an important step forward this month: constructing its Afghan section. (Eurasianet)