In an update to Friday’s post on the Myanmar-Chinese border conflict, it appears the Burmese military has successfully routed the Kokang Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) in Kokang, a predominately ethnic Chinese militia in the Kokang region of the Shan State. This attack by central government forces was a violation of the 20 year […]
Every time I write something about Asif Zardari, Pakistan’s current president, I get tons of e-mail condemning me for ‘supporting’ him. So, once again, I have to clarify something from the start. I am not a supporter of Zardari. However, if one looks at the history of President’s in Pakistan, Zardari will stand out as […]
– Strong 2nd Quarter economic growth was shown in the economies of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Singapore did especially well, recovering from the worst recession in its history. The rebound in these states is attributed to government stimulus, financial reforms, and strong industrial fundamentals. However, exports still drag, largely due to weak […]
I have been studying, talking about, discussing, speaking about and writing about Pakistani politics for about 20 years and I have to admit that I still don’t have a clue about who runs the show in Pakistan. However, now, I have started to understand why almost every Pakistani is obsessed with the role of intelligence […]
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, better known as the founder of Pakistan when India was divided in 1947 is making headlines today with controversy surrounding ex-Indian Parliamentarian Jaswant Singh’s recent book: India – Partition – Independence. Immediately following the books release, Singh was expelled from his position in the Bhartiya Janata (BJP) party, protests wherein the book was […]
The former project director of India’s 1998 nuclear tests has created a controversy by claiming that the tests were not entirely successful and did not yield the desired results. According to media reports K Sanathanam has also recommended that India conduct additional nuclear tests for security and strategic needs. “We can’t get into a stampede […]
India and Maldives recently decided to expand defense cooperation between them. India is set to install a maritime surveillance system and provide two Coast guard helicopters in the near future. In 2006 it gifted a fast attack craft (INS Tillanchang) to Maldives’ Coast Guard. Defense and security cooperation also involves assistance in defense and police […]
– Asia Times has an article on how the Filipino economy has stayed afloat due to the prodigious amount of remittance it receives. In a sense, Filipinos are to parts of East Asia and the Middle East what Mexican and Central Americans are to the United States or to a lesser extent, Former Soviets […]
Former leaders from Ayub Khan, Benazir Bhutto, and General Musharraf tried to address the issue of growing energy consumption and diminishing supplies which is now legitimately deemed a “crisis” in Pakistan. President Zardari had his hand in addressing this crisis last week during the quarterly visit to Beijing where he discussed China’s assistance on energy […]
Today, the head of the Indonesian police, Chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri, stated that there was no assassination plot against Obama, contradicting August 20th statements by Indonesian Center for Intelligence and National Security analyst Dynno Chressbon. Other analyst have been critical of Chressbon’s contention that Jihadis had planned to assassinate Obama at the National Airport, because […]
Quoting from a 2005 World Bank study, the Center for Research & Security Studies has identified the coming crisis of water in Pakistan. This report, which is titled Pakistan Will Cry for Water, describes how Pakistan is changing from ‘water scarce’ country to ‘waster stressed’ country. The report goes on to describe that lack of […]
– The New York Times has a great article on the post-Aquino Philippines, which discusses the disillusionment many Filipinos feel with the state of their society. The conclusion is that although the political structure of the nation changed the underlying political culture did not, which resulted in the lackluster political and economic performance that has […]
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