Asia-Pacific Archive

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key met with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda yesterday in Tokyo, where the talks focused on Japan’s interest in joining the negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. In an email interview, Yoichiro Sato, an expert in Japan’s foreign policy in the Asia-Pacific at the College of Asia Pacific Studies at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, discussed Japan-New Zealand relations. WPR: What is the extent of diplomatic and economic ties between Japan and New Zealand? Yoichiro Sato: Economic ties are asymmetrical, due to the difference in the two countries’ sizes. Japan is a major trade partner for […]

The ongoing Shiite-Sunni cold war that is manifesting itself throughout the Middle East may be beginning to spill over into India. Home to a large Muslim minority consisting of both major sects of Islam, India has recently found itself forced to deal with increasing fallout from the intra-Islamic struggle. At one of the end of the spectrum was the attack against an Israeli diplomat possibly orchestrated by Iranian proxies; at the other were the recent violent protests by a Saudi-funded seminary in the heart of Mumbai. Given India’s dependence on energy exports from the wider Islamic world and the nation’s […]

The U.S. is still the undisputed space superpower, but China is fast gaining military and technological ground on its rival. Video News by NewsLook

India and Tajikistan elevated their relationship to a strategic partnership last week following discussions between Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi. In an email interview, Meena Singh Roy, a research fellow at the Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses, discussed India-Tajikistan relations. WPR: What is the recent trajectory of the India-Tajikistan relationship, and how does Tajikistan fit into India’s broader engagement with Central Asia? Meena Singh Roy: Tajikistan figures very high in India’s foreign policy priorities and remains a significant partner for India in Central Asia. India has excellent political and strategic relations […]

At last week’s Moscow Nonproliferation Conference, organized by the Center for Energy and Security Studies, some 200 people, including a number of prominent Russian and Western experts, gathered to discuss a wide range of nonproliferation issues. Given the statements of the Russian speakers at the conference, Moscow is laying down some tough, albeit often understandable, conditions for making further progress in nuclear arms control. Sergey Ryabkov, the Russian deputy foreign minister who keynoted the conference, stressed the importance of strengthening the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). Ryabkov insisted that what he called the treaty’s three core principles — nuclear nonproliferation, disarmament […]

U.S. troops are still in Afghanistan, nearly 11 years after they invaded. Why? The answer boils down to one word: al-Qaida. The goal is to damage the terrorist group enough to prevent a repeat of the 9/11 attacks. Video News by NewsLook

Pacific Rim leaders met Sunday for the last day of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit in Vladivostok, Russia. As reported by the Associated Press, the 21 APEC members pledged “to fend off the deepening damage from the European crisis and revive flagging growth in the region by supporting open trade, reforming their economies and strengthening public finances.” Alan Oxley, chairman of the national Australian APEC Study Center at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, and managing director of ITS Global, told Trend Lines that, with Russia “keen to showcase its new free trade credentials following its recent accession to […]

Few countries have benefited more from China’s rise and the global commodities boom of the past decade than Australia. One of the only major economies to escape the global financial crisis without going into recession, Australia’s newfound wealth and huge resource endowments have been major factors driving a marked increase in its strategic significance within the Asia-Pacific. However, with China’s commodities demand experiencing a major fluctuation, concerns are rising that Australia’s economy cannot sustain the current rate of expansion — and that an economic bust could curtail the country’s integration with Asia. For a country so long defined by its […]

President Barack Obama accepted the nomination of the Democratic Party to stand for a second term last night in Charlotte, N.C. But by adhering to the traditional schedule for the party’s convention, he excluded the possibility of attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Vladivostok, Russia. Obama declined the invitation to attend this year’s APEC conclave because he would not have been able to deliver his keynote address in time to fly out to Russia’s Far East for the meetings. But, ironically, a key reason for speaking in Charlotte — to personally address tens of thousands of party activists […]

The Indian financial capital of Mumbai is struggling to realize its dream of becoming the South Asian nation’s version of China’s Shanghai. Ill-equipped and underpaid, laborers working on the expansion of Mumbai’s infrastructure face the greatest risks.

HONG KONG — A group of 10,000 demonstrators has surrounded government headquarters in Hong Kong to protest a controversial new National Education class being introduced in schools this fall. The course, the protesters argue, is just the latest example of Beijing’s attempts to control political discourse in the city. The government in Hong Kong claims it simply wants to boost students’ knowledge of and attachment to China. But the push to ensure that Hong Kongers are sufficiently patriotic comes straight from Beijing. Indeed, Chinese President Hu Jintao suggested introducing just such a course following huge street protests that toppled Hong […]

After talks in New Delhi, India, on Tuesday, Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie and Indian Defense Minister A.K. Antony announced an agreement to resume joint military exercises, a move that signaled “a thaw in relations.” The two countries had suspended joint military exercises two years ago. But while this latest agreement seems to signal a renewed effort to improve ties, serious strains remain in the relationship between the two emerging Asian powers. For Jagannath P. Panda, a research fellow at the Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses, the major points of contention in the defense and security realm between China […]

Australia recently signed a deal with the United Arab Emirates to provide uranium for the Persian Gulf country’s planned nuclear power plants. In an email interview, Fethi Mansouri, the director of the Center for Citizenship and Globalization at Deakin University, Australia, and the author of “Australia and the Middle East: a Frontline Relationship,” discussed Australia-Middle East relations. WPR: What is the recent history of Australia’s diplomatic and trade relations with the Middle East? Fethi Mansouri: Australia’s interest in and relationship with the Middle East was initially shaped by its early involvement in the imperial defense system led by Britain, which […]

Last month, the Center for Strategic and International Studies released the report of a bipartisan study group co-chaired by Richard Armitage and Joseph Nye on improving the U.S.-Japan relationship. The report, titled “U.S.-Japan Alliance: Anchoring Stability in Asia,” received little media attention, and some of its suggestions seem impractical, at least for now. However, its findings deserve consideration by policy analysts interested in strengthening the most enduring U.S. alliance in Asia at a time when Washington is seeking to reinforce its interests in that region. Although the report finds flaws with various U.S. policies, most of its concern is directed […]

The Arab Spring has focused attention on democracy’s prospects in the Middle East. But the Arab world is not the only region at a democratic crossroads. In Africa and Asia, young democracies are coming under pressure to consolidate gains. In Europe, the financial crisis is putting postcommunist democratic institutions under strain. And in Latin America, a diverse variety of democratic governance remains healthy, but fragile. This WPR special report examines the state of democracy. Below are links to each article in this special report, which subscribers can read in full. Not a subscriber?Try our subscription service free for two weeks. […]