– U.S. Senator Jim Webb (Dem. VA) recently met with the Burmese Junta and Aung San Suu Kyi and successfully secured the relief of the John Yettah, the Americans whose odd actions initiated the latest Aung San Suu Kyi trial and conviction. If the Obama Administration really wants to take take proactive and pragmatic steps toward closer relations with ASEAN in order to check China’s movements in the region this is an opportune time. They can use this event as an excuse to expand diplomatic discussions with the junta. As discussed previously, the United States is limited in its ability to influence the regime if it refuses to engage it. The article reveals that Sen. Webb seems to agree with this line of reasoning. Webb, the Chair of the Senate Foreign Relation’s Subcommittee on East Asia and Pacific Affairs, is not quite finished in the region yet. He plans to visit Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. Senator Webb has always taken special interest in Vietnam since the time he spent there as a Marine during the Vietnam War. He also speaks Vietnamese and his wife is Vietnamese-American.
– Further economic integration between Cambodia and Vietnam signals a worsening Thai-Cambodian relationship.
Cambodia will be a potential market for Vietnam as Cambodian people has turned their eyes on consuming Vietnam’s goods and products instead of Thailand’s ones, said Yeav Kim Hean, a commercial counselor of Vietnam-base Cambodian Embassy.
Thailand and Cambodia have had conflict in recent years over their border region, which has sparked nationalistic sentiments in both populations.
-Today, Indonesia celebrates the 64th anniversary of its independence from the Netherlands. A special ceremony were led by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the Merdeka Palace.
– In Singapore, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong gave an address outlining the four challenges he sees facing the 50 year-old independent city-state. 1) Religious Harmony: he warned that aggressive proselytizing might threaten members of other faiths, which could trigger intolerance and lead to ghettos of co-believers. 2) The Economy: although Lee says that the current crisis is passing, the GDP was – 6.5% for the first half of 2009. Since employment is a lagging indicator, he warns of a slow recovery. 3) Health Care: although health care has improved, there will need to be more hospitals built and integrated into other health care facilities to better care for the aging population. 4) Infrastructure: Singapore needs continuous investment to maintain its infrastructure and improve education at all levels. As stated before, much of Singapore’s hope for long term economic growth, which will generate the tax revenue to finance these initiatives, will depend on it’s immigration policy.
A few months ago, I wrote about the early stages of the conflict in Ukraine through the lens of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. While it appears likely that the war will carry on into the foreseeable future, enough time has passed for us to make an honest assessment of each side’s relative […]
The Ukrainian Army has made dramatic strides in the last few weeks. Ukraine’s tactical commanders have outfoxed their Russian counterparts, and by issuing a feint towards the south the UA has been able to earn substantial gains in the north of their country. The impact of these efforts have been compounded by the steady stream […]
In mid-May the Irish political party, Sinn Féin, won the plurality of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Many American readers might not fully understand the significance of Sinn Féin’s political victory- but rest assured that subjects of the United Kingdom and a wide range of political movements the world over have heard the message […]
The first wave of the Russian offensive in Ukraine has fallen short of Russian autocrat Vladmir Putin’s ambitions. Most analysts deduced that Putin had hoped to achieve a decapitation strike of the Ukrainian government- taking Kiev and replacing Ukrainian President Vladimir Zolinski with a pro-Kremlin voice. Kiev has been threatened repeatedly through the course of […]
On the weekend of March 26th, the notorious MS-13 gang went on a massive killing spree in El Salvador which left more than 70 people dead by Sunday. Even for a country where powerful gangs hold massive sway, this recent tragedy stands out considering that it was the bloodiest day on record since the civil […]
