Pepe Escobar: US will continue to arm anti-government rebels in Syria after veto

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For several months anti-government rebels have been protesting the government led by Basgar al-Assad. In the past few days the violence in Syria has increased radically and over the weekend the Syria resolution proposed by the UN Security Council was vetoed by China and Russia. Many have criticized the two countries for the veto but many feel Syria will share the same fate as Libya if the resolution passes. Pepe Escobar, Asia Times correspondent, joins us to look at the bigger picture

US seeks China’s support on Iran sanctions

The US treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, is visiting Beijing this week, hoping to gain China‘s support for US sanctions on Iran‘s oil industry. China buys almost one-third of Iran’s oil exports and has rejected the US sanctions as a tool to rein in Iran’s nuclear programme.

I’m not sure why the US would send the Treasury Secretary rather than the Secretary of State. It seems a little odd.

US and China engaged in a new arms race?

In November of last year, President Obama announced that the US positioned 2,500 Marines in Australia. Obama has been outspoken towards China’s influence and has declared this as a top priority. China believes this placement of force is an attempt to escalate military tensions in the Asia-Pacific. China and the US are thought to be in an arms race for control over the region. Lawrence Korb, senior fellow for the Center of American Progress, analyzes the situation and gives us his take on China’s influence.