On March 13 tropical Cyclone Pam hit Vanuatu, causing widespread damage across the archipelago nation in the South Pacific. Vanuatu’s president Baldwin Lonsdale said the Category 5 storm “wiped out” all economic development Vanuatu has seen in recent years and…
On March 4, CSIS Harold Brown Chair in Defense Policy Studies Dr. Maren Leed had the opportunity to interview General Vincent Brooks, Commanding General of the U.S. Army, Pacific (ARPAC) in a public forum. General Brooks provided a detailed breakdown…
By Zachary Abuza The national outrage in the Philippines following the clash in Mamasapano that left 44 Special Action Force (SAF) police dead after an encounter with the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has…
$960 million The amount allocated in Australia’s 2014-15 budget for aid to Pacific Island countries in U.S. dollars. This represents around 20 percent of Australia’s overall aid budget and makes it the single largest donor in the region, accounting for…
By Yoshikazu Kobayashi — Three years after the 3-11 earthquake in Japan, the new Basic Energy Plan (BEP) was approved by the cabinet this spring. The new BEP, a product of lengthy and heated discussions among policy planners, academics, and…
By Ashlee Betteridge Countries in the Asia Pacific have been the biggest beneficiaries of the doubling of Australia’s aid budget in the past decade. However the change of government last year, from the Labor Party to a Liberal-National coalition, has…
By Ernest Z. Bower, Christopher K. Johnson, & Thomas M. Sanderson Four days ago, Malaysia Airlines flight 370 (MH370) disappeared over the South China Sea with 239 people on board en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Nine nations are…
Who is he? Panfilo “Ping” Lacson was elected to the Philippine Senate in 2001 and served as a legislator for more than a decade, during the administrations of presidents Joseph Estrada, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and Benigno Aquino. During his time in…
By Murray Hiebert & Phuong Nguyen During the first week after Typhoon Haiyan ravaged the central Philippines, relief operations were greatly hampered by the destruction of roads, bridges, and airports. The surviving roads were covered by wreckage and debris from…
Super-storm Haiyan, referred to as Yolanda locally, made landfall in the Philippines on November 8. The typhoon, which carried winds of over 200 miles per hour and storm surges of over 20 feet, has affected an estimated total of 10.3…
