The Road to Asian Unity
Asia’s lack of institutions to ameliorate regional tensions is often lamented. But greater Asian unity may be arising by the backdoor, in the form of new and impressive infrastructure links. Read Here – Project Syndicate
Tag: South China Sea
The United States Heads to the South China Sea: Foreign Affairs
The growing involvement of U.S. energy companies in the extraction of oil and natural gas from the South China Sea has added another layer to the United States’ strategy. According to a recent report from the U.S. Department of Energy, major firms such as Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and ExxonMobil have partnered with the state-owned oil companies […]
Energy Interests Make India a Player in South China Sea Disputes
On India’s Navy Day in December, Indian Chief of Naval Staff D.K. Joshi declared that the Indian navy was prepared to operate in the South China Sea if called upon to do so. The government subsequently downplayed Joshi’s remarks, but the fact remains that the South China Sea has emerged as a vital sea corridor for India, […]
China’s Foreign Policy Dilemma
Foreign policy will not be a top priority of China’s new leader Xi Jinping. Xi is under pressure from many sectors of society to tackle China’s formidable domestic problems. To stay in power Xi must ensure continued economic growth and social stability. Due to the new leadership’s preoccupation with domestic issues, Chinese foreign policy can be expected to […]
Abe’s Visit to Southeast Asia and Japan’s Five New Diplomatic Principles
Abe Shinzō visits Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia in his first overseas trip after becoming prime minister and lays down ground rules for engagement with the region. Read Here – Nippon
The Risks Of A Clash Between China And Japan Are Rising—And The Consequences Could Be Calamitous
CHINA and Japan are sliding towards war. In the waters and skies around disputed islands, China is escalating actions designed to challenge decades of Japanese control. It is accompanying its campaign with increasingly blood-curdling rhetoric. Japan, says the ChinaDaily, is the “real danger and threat to the world”. A military clash, says Global Times, is now “more […]
In Disputes Over Asian Seas, Winner May Take Zilch
It may be Asia’s 21stcentury equivalent of the assassination of Austria’s Archduke Ferdinand that sparked World War I. Growing tensions over territorial disputes in the East and South China Seas threaten to disrupt the oft-heralded Asian Century. Whatever the outcome, many see more than just competing nationalisms, the scars of national memory and the rise of […]
India Looks East
The heads of nine of the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations traveled to New Delhi two weeks ago to celebrate 20 years of ties between their organization and India. At the two-day “Commemorative Summit,” ASEAN leaders toasted Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and signed a free-trade pact covering services and […]
Elephant In The Room, And Outside Too
Not so long ago the question how to deal with China was an evolving conundrum. It is real now. As real as an elephant — looming large over all that it views, with a large appetite and largely prepared for a fight but peaceful until provoked. And just like the pachyderm, feared. In an increasingly […]
ASEAN’s Year in Review
2012 has etched itself into the history books. During the last twelve months Southeast Asia regularly made global headlines largely due to competing territorial claims between China and various neighboring states. Certainly, the result was not what China hoped for. Beijing‘s actions in the South China Sea and claims over the Spratly and Parcel Islands […]
looking beyond borders 