Russia helps Bangladesh join the South Asian nuclear gold rush   
   

Bangladesh’s recent announcement of a deal with Russia to construct its first nuclear reactor marks a broadening of the nuclear gold rush in South Asia. The latest deal is part of a big expansion of nuclear generation throughout the region. India plans to build some 25,000 MW of nuclear generating capacity using Russian, French and perhaps US and Japanese technology; Pakistan is building a second nuclear plant with Chinese assistance; and Sri Lanka is reportedly in talks with China to build nuclear capacity. (East Asia Forum)

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Japan’s moment of crisis   
   

Will Japan's triple-disaster serve as a public wakeup call that fosters the emergence of new leaders willing to put the good of the nation as a whole over petty factional interests? (The Japan Times)

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A Step Too Far: Why CPGS is the Wrong Answer to China’s Access Challenge   
    

In March 1996, the waters of the Taiwan Strait were roiled by Chinese live missile firings and massive military exercises. Washington answered Beijing’s blunt demonstration of coercive military diplomacy by promptly dispatching two aircraft carriers to the scene… Fifteen years later, the region’s tactical environment could hardly be more different.  (Asia Pacific Bulletin)

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Five ways for Japan to recover   
  

A triple whammy of tragedies – earthquake, tsunami, and radiation release – still have the Japanese coping with the simple efforts of rescue and relief, from ending the rolling blackouts to housing the 400,000 homeless to dousing the superhot nuclear reactors. The next phase that comes after a disaster – recovery and rebuilding – has only begun. And to achieve those, a new set of qualities is needed beyond the two admirable ones – stamina and calmness – that have been on display among the Japanese since March 11.                      (The Christian Science Monitor)

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Teamwork Time Against China   
  

While China’s growing assertiveness in pursuit of its claim over a major portion of the South China Sea is only to be expected, the fact that the smaller countries in the dispute—namely, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Vietnam—have neither a common voice nor collective strength, exacerbates the problem of finding a solution. (The Diplomat)

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What strategies might work in the Indian Ocean?   
   

The rise of India, and its future strategic direction, has excited interest in the options for developing regional economic and security cooperation in the Indian Ocean. (East Asia Forum)

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Japan’s Earthquake: Can the Aging Samurai Recover?   
   

When the most powerful earthquake in modern Japanese history hit the North-Eastern shores of its largest island Honshu, Emperor Akihito's rare address to the nation symbolized the magnitude of misery nature had inflicted on his people. (American Thinker)

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How Does the Dalai Lama Change the Tibet Question? 
  
Although the 14^th Dalai Lama has been talking about stepping down from the leadership of the Tibetan Government in Exile for some time, his final decision announced on March 10, did shock his people to an extent, and posed big question mark to the world at large.  The effect has not fully sunk in yet.  It will, when the new Kalon Tripa (Prime Minister) is elected on March 20 by the All Tibetan People’s Deputies (ATPD), which gathered in Dharamsala from March 14.       (South Asia Analysis Group) 

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Cambodia’s Bumpy Development Road: Implications for US interests  
    

When US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Cambodia in late 2010, she told senior Cambodian government officials "this does not look like the country I have been reading about in the press." Most first-time visitors to Phnom Penh would likely react similarly. The city hosts a vibrant society, with traffic-clogged streets, a proliferation of stylish restaurants and boutiques, and buildings under construction everywhere, many of them high-rise apartments and office blocks.                       (Asia Pacific Bulletin)

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