By Huy Duong and Van Pham On November 30, 2012, two Chinese trawlers operating just outside the Gulf of Tonkin ran across the seismic cable being towed by a Vietnamese survey ship and severed it. Vietnam sent a diplomatic note…
Conflict
Copper Mine Crackdown Shows Governance Gaps in Myanmar
by Phuong Nguyen • • 6 Comments
By Phuong Nguyen The attack by government forces November 29 against demonstrators protesting the Chinese-backed Letpadaung copper mine near Monywa in northwestern Myanmar quickly emerged as a national – and global –concern. The raid against protest camps around company headquarters…
Friday Five: December 7, 2012
by cogitASIA Staff • • 0 Comments
In North Korea, missile launch preparation reportedly continues, with a projected launch range of December 10-22. Korea Chair Victor Cha and program Fellow Ellen Kim have penned a new CSIS Critical Questions, which points out that the DPRK averages a…
Friday Five: November 30, 2012
by cogitASIA Staff • • 0 Comments
China’s leadership on Hainan Island announced that police may begin boarding vessels that sail through EEZ’s in the South China Sea. In today’s Thoughts from the Chairman CSIS Freeman Chair Chris Johnson analyzes the challenges Xi Jinping faces in finding…
Video: The Dialog with Ambassador Ufuk Gokcen
by Murray Hiebert • • 0 Comments
Last week the CSIS Chair for Southeast Asia Studies had a chance to sit down with Ambassador Ufuk Gokcen of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. The Ambassador recently returned from Myanmar during an OIC observation mission that provided specific details…
China’s Domestic Pressures Shape Assertive Foreign Policy
by cogitASIA Staff • • 3 Comments
By Jennie Welch For decades, the term “core interest” has been applied by the Chinese government to issues related to its territorial integrity, issues such as Tibet and Taiwan. Territorial integrity is an essential aspect of the Chinese state’s identity…
Violence in Indonesia
by cogitASIA Staff • • 2 Comments
By Michael Vatikiotis Violence is increasing at an alarming rate in Indonesia. In the first four months of this year, a World Bank-sponsored monitoring system in Jakarta recorded more than 2,400 incidents that resulted in more than 300 deaths. Much…
Video: Insights on China’s 18th Party Congress
by Christopher K. Johnson • • 3 Comments
Here at CSIS Asia House we’ve been keeping very a close eye on developments in the run up to the Chinese Communist Party’s leadership transition for the last two years. Chris Johnson, CSIS Freeman Chair in China Studies, provides his…
Australia Earns its Place at the UN’s Top Table
by cogitASIA Staff • • 1 Comment
By Elke Larsen Australia clinched its second ever term as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council October 18. Domestic arguments that the $24 million diplomatic campaign was as a misuse of Australia’s aid budget rapidly faded as…
Peace in Mindanao can Revolutionize Mining in the Philippines
by cogitASIA Staff • • 0 Comments
By Liam Hanlon The Philippines has a tumultuous relationship with its mining sector. Mining provides foreign investment, boosts GDP, and creates jobs that stimulate local economies, but also has a long track record of environmental catastrophes, violent conflict, and confrontations…