Five years ago, Myanmar’s ruling junta under General Than Shwe began a cautious but promising move away from a nearly five-decade old military dictatorship, loosening control, opening the country’s economy, and releasing political prisoners, as well as Aung San Suu Kyi, an opposition leader and chairman of the National League for Democracy (NLD), from house arrest. […]
The coming decades promise to be the Asian Century, when the most populous region, with some of the world’s fastest growing economies, is likely to become the global nexus of commercial, cultural and geopolitical activity. For this reason, how people in the Asia-Pacific region, including Australia, see each other and their leaders is of growing […]
ASEAN’s leaders are worried about what history tells them about the future of Southeast Asia. The fears about the lessons of history are a discordant note as ASEAN steps up to a great moment in its history—the creation of an economic, political-security and social Community in December 2015. Read Here – The National Interest
As India looks east, it is losing influence to its west to China and Pakistan. India’s inability to consolidate space in South Asia should induce greater caution in assessments of its rise as a global power given its inability to establish dominance in its periphery. India has experienced a flurry of setbacks to its west as […]
The balance of power is one of those concepts that gets the most attention when it’s shifting. Or wobbling. When people are talking about it, it’s time to be worried. And everybody is worried. As Grandma observed, family arguments are getting too loud when the whole village is gossiping about whether the marriage will survive. Read […]
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japan is steadily loosening the shackles of its postwar pacifist constitution. The April announcement of the new U.S.-Japan defense guidelines aims to bolster U.S.-Japanese defense cooperation without preset geographical limits and enables “seamless and effective” alliance responses to security threats. Read Here – National Interest
China on Tuesday issued its first white paper on military strategy. Presenting the concept of “areas crucially related to overseas interests,” the white paper highlights four critical security domains, including the ocean, outer space, cyberspace and nuclear warfare, while stressing the significance of maritime warfare preparation. This is the ninth defense white paper and a […]
It could be expected that military cooperation between the US and Japan could become more focused on containing the rise of China. The more comprehensive their collaboration is, the stronger backlash it will trigger from China, leaving Asia in jeopardy. Read Here – Global Times
If I were to write about a new power rising in the East, one whose population of 633 million is the third largest in the world after China and India, and 100 million more than either the European Union or the whole of North America, you might expect to have heard quite a lot about […]
Myanmar’s political transition has spawned debates and deliberations in policymaking circles and strategic communities across the world. The economic and strategic spinoff of the political changes has generated immense attention and interest. Not least in China. Read Here – The Diplomat
looking beyond borders 