China turns up heat in maritime heart of SE Asia   
  
Faced with expansive and increasingly assertive Chinese claims to control as much as 80 per cent of the South China Sea in the maritime heart of South-East Asia, ASEAN countries and major user nations, including Australia, are aligning – based on shared concerns at China’s actions. (The Canberra Times)

(click on the headline to continue)  

Japan muddies water in South China Sea debate   
   

The ongoing wrangle over jurisdiction of the disputed South China Sea took a new turn on Tuesday with Philippine President Benigno Aquino III meeting Japanese Prime Minister Yoshikiko Noda in Tokyo. (The Irrawaddy)

(click on the headline to continue)  

Vietnam’s power shift  
     

Vietnam’s rapid industrialization will necessitate a shift in the way the country generates power, while balancing economic and environmental needs. (Industrial Fuels and Power)

(click on the headline to continue)  

ASEAN responds to concerns about regional food security   
   

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has pushed food security to the top of its agenda amid continuing global concerns over the volatility of food prices and food supplies. (The Nation)

(click on the headline to continue)  

Trade currency settlement   
   

In May, the finance ministers of Korea, China and Japan agreed to study the feasibility of using their own currencies to settle transactions among the three countries. The agreement, reached on the sidelines of the Asian Development Bank’s annual conference in Hanoi, drew attention as using local currencies in trade settlements would provide huge benefits to the three neighboring countries. (The Korea Herald)

(click on the headline to continue)  

The secret to Asia’s long-term prosperity? Improving roles of women at work           


No one can dispute the strides Asia has made in bringing strong economic growth to the region over the past decades, lifting income levels and reducing poverty in country after country. And yet, Asia continues to stand out for the relative neglect it shows to its greatest under-tapped resource: women. (The Global Asia)

(click on the headline to continue)  

Threats to the realization of India’s potential   
   

For all of India’s many and weighty advantages and its present trajectory, a fatal stall cannot be ruled out. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, has India gone for the inherent virtue of socialism as the equal sharing of miseries to the inherent vice of capitalism as the unequal sharing of blessing? (The Japan Times)

(click on the headline to continue)  

China’s Indian Ocean ‘String of Pearls’ is no military treat – at least for now   
   

With the Western world mired in a debt crisis, the rise of China’s military appears more threatening than ever. The recent launch of China’s first aircraft carrier will add to regional anxieties. But a closer examination shows that at least one aspect of China’s supposed military prowess – its alleged creation of far-ranging naval facilities, the so-called “string of pearls” strategy – can be discounted as fevered imagination. (The Jakarta Globe)

(click on the headline to continue)  

Indonesia’s and global development   
   

The global economic recovery remains fragile and uncertain, as risks posed by high energy and food prices, unemployment, and uncertainty over sovereign debt in Europe and the US continue to cloud the horizon. (East Asia Forum)

(click on the headline to continue)

India’s South China Sea Warning   
   

An influential Chinese Communist Party-run newspaper has warned that ‘every means possible’ should be used to stop India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Videsh engaging in exploration projects in the South China Sea. (The Diplomat)

(click on the headline to continue)