Sri Lanka‘s first communication satellite is expected to be launched on November 22, 2012 from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in China. This geostationary satellite would get operational by mid-2013 for commercial purposes. The satellite is partly owned by a private company, Sri Lanka’s first Satellite Company called SupremeSAT. The cost of the project is […]
Japan warned on Monday that a row over the SouthChina Sea could damage “peace and stability” in Asia as China stalled on a plan to ease tensions and disagreements flared between the Philippines and Cambodia over the dispute. The acrimony provided an uneasy backdrop to U.S. President Barack Obama‘s arrival in Cambodia for a regional summit […]
On a blustery recent Saturday morning on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, as planes roared overhead on approach to the nearby international airport, three dozen people sat in a tiny classroom at the Royal Academy of Cambodia. Crammed shoulder to shoulder, they watched raptly as a flat-panel TV showed a pair of Chinese pop stars […]
Barack Obama became the first American president to visit Myanmar on Monday, using a six-hour trip to balance U.S. praise for the government’s progress in shaking off military rule with pressure to complete the process of democratic reform. Obama, greeted by enthusiastic crowds in the former capital, Yangon, met President Thein Sein, a former junta […]
Many commentators, both in the US and India, do not believe that President Barack Obama’s victory and his second-term foreign policy will lead to any surprises to US-India relations. They see more of the same. They should be proven wrong. Yes, the last four years have been a period of consolidation in India-US relations. They […]
Southeast Asian leaders sought to ease tensions with China over maritime disputes before a regional summit tomorrow involving U.S. President Barack Obama as concerns persist over weaker demand in the global economy. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations will confine discussions on a set of rules for operating in the South China Sea to the bloc’s meetings with China, […]
When Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari ventured out in the past week to personally visit two localities across the populous Punjab province, his journey was immediately surrounded by unanswered questions. Since his unexpected political rise to becoming Pakistan’s head of state in 2008, following the assassination of his wife, Benazir Bhutto, Zardari has adopted an […]
For many, India is a natural balancer in this region. New Delhi struck roots here hundreds of years ago, and there are signs all around. But in the current strategic debate roiling the region, India is a peripheral presence. New Delhi’s only statement so far has been to endorse the importance of ensuring freedom of […]
Pervez Musharraf was on the verge of a major accord with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh before things turned sour for him at home in 2007. He says the Indian premier shouldn’t now visit his country without the assurance of a resolution to pending disputes. The General hasn’t changed much since his hey days. But he […]
When he arrives in Myanmar, President Barack Obama will mark a historic occasion. Not only will it be the first time a sitting American president has visited the country, the trip also represents the final step in Myanmar’s remarkable rehabilitation from international pariah status. Both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush made a point of […]
looking beyond borders 