By Zachary Abuza The Philippine economy has been one of the fastest-growing in Asia in recent years, and if there is ever a time for Manila to invest in boosting its military capability, it is now. The Philippines has born…
Who is he? General V.K. Singh is the newly appointed minister of state for External Affairs and minister of state (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region. He retired as the chief of army staff in 2012 after a…
Earlier this week, Yuka Hayashi of the Wall Street Journal’s Japan Real Time blog interviewed CSIS Senior Vice President and Japan Char, Dr. Michael Green. Their conversation focused on U.S. perceptions of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s foreign policy in the…
By Nguyen Manh Hung Vietnam’s deputy prime minister Pham Binh Minh, who also serves as foreign minister, made a widely-publicized telephone call to Secretary of State John Kerry on May 21, 2014, to discuss the crisis caused by China’s deployment…
By Zachary Abuza Though often described as “battle-tested,” the Vietnam People’s Army’s last combat was in 1989 in Cambodia. Since the mid-1990s, Vietnam has developed maritime and air capabilities in order to defend its maritime domain; Vietnamese military expenditures climbed…
Who is he? General Prawit Wongsuwan, 68, served as minister of defense in the government of Abhisit Vejjajiva from 2008 to 2011 and was the commander of the Royal Thai Army from 2004 to 2005. He is a well-known figure…
By Andrew Kwon Recently, the Australian government under Prime Minister Tony Abbott unveiled its first federal budget. Among the centerpieces has been the announcement to increase the defense budget, something the U.S. government has long asked of the Australians. The…
By Ernest Bower & Gregory Poling Just two days after declaring martial law in what many observers deemed a “half-coup,” Thailand’s military finished the job on May 22. Army chief Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha invited both government and opposition leaders to…
By Ernie Bower & Murray Hiebert The Thai military’s imposition of martial law on May 20 in response to six months of political turmoil, and its insistence that it did not stage a coup could create more than a little…
Who is he? Robert Work is the current deputy secretary of defense for the United States. He was nominated for the position by President Obama on February 2 and confirmed by the Senate on April 30. He succeeds Ash…
