It has succeeded in uniting many of the littoral states in the South China Sea against its high-handed refusal to discuss its territorial claims there.

ECONOMIST: Banyan

First, the extremists' aim to reconstitute the concept of the caliphate, a political state encompassing the great Ummah (Muslim community) populations of the world, uniting the Middle East, the Persian Gulf states, South Asia, Central Asia, East Asia, and parts of Africa.

NPR: Memoir: Bhutto Knew of Dangers in Her Return

They have repeatedly raised the idea of a strategic triangle, uniting Russia, India and China, in an axis opposed to the global dominance of the United States.

BBC: NEWS | South Asia | Putin set for arms, energy talks