The 19th Amendment to the Constitution puts Sri Lanka well on the road to meaningful democratic reform and signalled the return of a vibrant parliamentary democracy. For a President who has just completed 100 days in office, it is a shining moment. Read Here – Daily FT
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
A big new State Department assessment has identified a major threat to global security. It’s not ISIS or Vladimir Putin. It’s not a rickety global economy or climate change or the threat of global pandemics. Instead, the report argues, these individual problems are symptoms of a much bigger issue — namely, a slow breakdown in global […]
Signalling that Afghanistan is upset with Pakistan over its refusal to allow direct trade with India via the Wagah border, President Ashraf Ghani says that if the deadlock continues, “We will not provide equal transit access to Central Asia [for Pakistani trucks].” Read Here – The Hindu
The implications of the Pakistani refusal to help Saudi Arabia in Yemen should not be underestimated. If China is Islamabad’s “all-weather friend”, former Saudi intelligence chief Prince Turki bin Sultan once said that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have “one of the closest relationships in the world between any two countries”. Read Here – The Indian […]
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 […]
The alliance transformation envisioned by Obama and Abe also reflects a changing Asia. In the decade and a half since the Cold War ended, the region has been influenced by new security challenges, such as the nuclear and missile proliferation of North Korea, and has begun to be reshaped by complex economic and political currents […]
Mohammed Morsi has been sentenced to 20 years in prison, a former general is head of state, and charges against Hosni Mubarak have been dismissed—it’s like 2011 all over again. Read Here – The Atlantic
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
Come May, and elections in the U.K. will see more Black, Asian and Minority candidates than ever before, pointing to the growing influence of different ethnic groups in British politics Read Here – The Hindu
looking beyond borders 