News Analysis As Kazakhstan was rocked by violent protests, China is worried about its investments in the country and the United States is concerned about Chinese nuclear assets. Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev ordered the military and police to “fire without warning” to quell anti-government protests, which began on Jan. 2 as a result of the doubling of the cost of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Tokayev claimed that “20,000 bandits” had attacked Almaty, the largest city, and blamed foreign-trained “terrorists” for the protests. As the protests grew, the list of grievances expanded to include inequality and authoritarianism. As of Jan. 9, around 5,800 people had been arrested and over 160 people were killed, including two children. Kazakhstan is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which includes Russia, Belarus, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia. At Tokayev’s request, 2,500 CSTO troops were dispatched to the country and he authorized a shoot-to-kill order to quell …