Asia – U.S. President Barack Obama will make his first trip to East and Southeast Asia in November. During his 8 day trip, beginning on Nov. 11, Obama will visit Japan, Singapore, China, and South Korea – in that order. He will focus his speeches on the global economic crisis and global security. He will spend most of the trip at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC) summit in Singapore. While there, he will meet with ASEAN leaders , including which is rumored to include Myanmar’s military junta. Myanmar is a country that the Obama Administration has shown recent interest in engaging for strategic reasons. There will be additional focus paid to the North Korean nuclear issue, energy, and climate change.
East Timor – More stories of corruption in Timor Leste. A report leaked from the East Timor’s Ombudsman’s office recommends the prosecutor general’s office open an investigation into the accusation that Deputy PM Jose Luis Guterres gave his wife, Ana Maria Valerio, a job as counsel to the UN ambassador and overcompensated her for the position. This occurred in New York in 2006; at the time, Guterres was foreign minister. The current Foreign Minister Zacarias Albano da Costa was also mentioned as an accomplice.
In other news, East Timor will hold its first joint military exercise with the United States Navy and Marine Corp in an effort to increase the capacity of the nation’s armed forces. The exercises will take place Oct 13 to 23. Illegal fishing is considered the countries primary external security issue. So I’m assuming they are learning to shoot poachers? I doubt it. What’s really going on?
Indonesia & Malaysia: Indonesia wants to help reduce nationalist tensions between itself and Malaysia by hosting a dialogue on the history of both nations. The dialogue will be organized by the Indonesian Historians Community (MSI) and the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) in cooperation with the Malaysian Historians Community (MSM). There will be over 100 cultural experts and historians from both nations in attendance. The groups wish to come to a consensus on historic fact and educate the population of both nations in the process.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy met Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in Paris last week. After their meeting they announced that France is making Malaysia a privileged partner, basically a go-to nation in Southeast Asia and a possible aid in engage Iran. In return, Malaysia will get nuclear energy technology transfers out of the arrangement, while France might also be able to sell some Airbus planes.
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 […]
