On this week’s show we discuss the attack against U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert with Korea Chair Victor Cha. Dr. Cha explains what the attack tells us about the ROK-U.S. alliance and how to understand the South Korean…
By Phuong Nguyen Large groups of students began their second week of protests outside Yangon on March 9 to urge Myanmar’s government to amend a draft education law. In the days before, police and plainclothes thugs arrested five students on…
In this week’s episode, we discuss Taiwan’s marginalized role in international security organizations and its relationship with Mainland China. CSIS’s Senior Adviser for Asia Bonnie Glaser discussed her new report on this topic with Congressman Matt Salmon, the new chair…
Who is he? Peng Jiasheng, also called Phone Kyar Shin, is the leader of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), a Kokang insurgent group in northern Shan State, Myanmar. The Kokang are ethnically Han Chinese. Peng began serving as…
By Zachary Abuza Media freedom across Southeast Asia continues to decline according to Reporters Without Borders’ (RWB) 2015 report. Despite the region’s economic vibrancy, Southeast Asian states languish in the lower half of the 180-country survey. Half the countries in…
By Phuong Nguyen The fighting between government troops and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance, or Kokang, in northern Myanmar has caused as much intrigue as confusion. Following an offensive started by Kokang rebels on February 9, the military on February…
By Michael Sheldrick Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s recent cuts to Australia’s foreign aid budget have left it at the lowest level it has ever been since its origination over 40 years ago. In fact, once these cuts are fully implemented,…
What should we expect from the U.S. strategic rebalance to Asia in 2015? What are the prospects for economic reform in China and Japan? How should we interpret leadership changes in India and Indonesia? Are new strategic alignments emerging in…
Who is he? Charles Maung Bo has been the Catholic archbishop of Yangon since 2003. He began his ecclesiastic career in 1976, serving as a priest and then prefect in Lashio in northern Shan State. He was elevated bishop of…
The CSIS Asia Program is launching a new weekly CogitAsia podcast that will review and analyze developments and trends in the Indo Pacific. This week host Colm Quinn discusses prospects for the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations this year and political considerations on trade…
