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…
Vietnam
Putin’s Puzzling EAS Snub and Russian Ambitions in Asia
by cogitASIA Staff • • 0 Comments
By Jeff Mankoff When Asia’s leaders gathered in Phnom Penh for the seventh East Asia Summit (EAS) last month, one figure was notable by his absence: Russian President Vladimir Putin. For Russia, which is struggling to be accepted as a…
The Leaderboard: Father Etienne Chan Tin
by cogitASIA Staff • • 2 Comments
Who is he? Father Etienne Chan Tin is a Vietnamese Catholic priest known for his relentless fight for human rights and religious freedom in Vietnam over the last six decades. Born in a small village in central Vietnam in 1920,…
Friday Five: December 7, 2012
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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…
The Leaderboard: Le Luong Minh
by cogitASIA Staff • • 1 Comment
Who is he? Le Luong Minh is an experienced foreign policy practitioner with a strong strategic bent who was educated in India and earned his diplomatic spurs in high level roles in Europe and New York. He is currently Vietnam’s…
Free Speech and the Battle for ASEAN
by cogitASIA Staff • • 2 Comments
By Liam Hanlon In the last decade, several of ASEAN’s member countries recognized the need for greater regional integration to confront the challenges of the 21st century. They convinced their fellow members to go along, resulting in the 2007 ASEAN…
Vietnam’s Anti-Climatic Showdown at the Sixth Party Plenum
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By Carl Thayer When the timing of Vietnam Communist Party Central Committee’s sixth plenum was brought forward unexpectedly, Vietnam’s political elite was abuzz with rumors that Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung would be forced to step down for his mismanagement…
China’s U-shaped Line as a Claim to Maritime Space?
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By Huy Duong In 1948 China published a map titled “South China Sea Islands Location Map” with a U-shaped line, but to date it has not clarified the line’s meaning. While the obvious interpretation of this line is a claim…
The Leaderboard: Nguyen Van Binh
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Who is he? Nguyen Van Binh is the governor of the State Bank of Vietnam. Binh started his career at the Vietnamese Central Bank at age 25 upon receiving an economics degree in the former Soviet Union. Throughout his career,…
CSIS Asia Team Mega Event Series Recap
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Over the past two weeks our CSIS Asia Team hosted a series of high profile events on developments in the Asia-Pacific and the implications for U.S. foreign policy. Here at cogitASIA On Monday, September 24 CSIS Senior Vice President for…