By Ernest Z. Bower Yesterday in Arizona, the new U.S. defense secretary Ashton Carter delivered an important speech. He talked about trade and the urgent need for the United States and its partners to seize the initiative to conclude the…
This week we check in on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations and then explore how China’s leaders make economic policy. CSIS Scholl Chair Scott Miller joins to assess whether Congress will grant trade promotion to the executive branch and discuss…
By Phuong Nguyen President Thein Sein witnessed the signing of a draft ceasefire on March 31 between the Myanmar government and representatives of the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT), an alliance of 16 ethnic armed groups. Though the United Nations…
By Heigo Sato — In April 2014, the second Shinzo Abe administration announced new principles for the transfer of defense equipment and technologies. These new principles are a departure from a decades-long ban on arms trade, which prohibited virtually all…
By Satoru Nagao — Recently, Japan appears to be engaging in balancing behavior to counter China’s assertiveness. Japan’s security relations with the United States and Australia have become closer. Japan is planning to donate patrol ships to Vietnam and the…
This week we discuss the global reaction to the passing of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew with CSIS Sumitro Chair Senior Fellow Murray Hiebert. Hiebert describes Lee’s legacy, explains what Lee and the Singaporean people have accomplished, and assesses whether Singapore’s politics will be more…
By Murray Hiebert & Phuong Nguyen Vietnam boosted its military spending by 113 percent between 2004 and 2013, the largest increase among Southeast Asian countries. Defense spending has accounted for around 2 percent of the country’s gross domestic product since…
By Gregory Poling The Philippine National Police’s Special Action Force launched a raid on January 25 in Mamasapano on the southern island of Mindanao that killed wanted terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, known as Marwan, but at the cost of 44…
By Andrew Smith The Australian government recently released a request for tender to supply reconnaissance vehicles for the army. This purchase is Phase 2 of Project LAND 400 that aims to refresh most of the army’s ground combat vehicle fleet.…
By Owen Jollie In January, Sri Lankan voters ousted former president Mahinda Rajapakse in favor of a candidate of the united opposition, Maithripala Sirisena. With this change Sri Lanka began moving away from a strong-handed government to a more democratic…