Will Jimmy Carter’s latest North Korea visit change anything?   
   

Former US President Jimmy Carter’s 48-hour mission to Pyongyang this week leaves analysts wondering whether anyone, however well intentioned, can persuade North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-il to relent on his hard-line policies and return to serious talk on giving up the North’s nuclear program. (The Christian Science Monitor)

(click on the headline to continue)

Multilateralizing Chinindia   
   

The last few years have witnessed a regular stream of irritants in Sino-Indian interactions. Even bilateral trade, once regarded as the pillar of their rapprochement, has been losing its shine with a rising trade deficit in China's favor reaching US$16 billion in 2010. This deficit is expected to reach US$25 billion by 2015 with total trade at around US$100 billion. Unless the two countries explore other avenues of mutual benefit, even this modest trade target may become impossible to achieve. (Asia Pacific Bulletin)

(click on the headline to continue)

Is China overtaking America despite political complications, unsustainable economic policies?   
   

Some analysts argue that China aims to challenge America's position as the world's dominant power. Even if this were an accurate assessment of China's intentions (and even Chinese cannot know the views of future generations), it is doubtful that China will have the military capability to make this possible. To be sure, Chinese military expenditures, up more than 12% this year, have been growing even more rapidly than its economy. But China's leaders will have to contend with other countries' reactions, as well as with the constraints implied by the need for external markets and resources in order to meet their economic-growth objectives.  (The Economic Times)

(click on the headline to continue)

ASEAN poised for skillful maneuvering  

Pitted between major powers competing for a bigger clout in Asia, Indonesia and other ASEAN countries are poised for skillful maneuvering to ensure no one power becomes too dominant in the region. To attain such a reality, Indonesia, the current chair of ASEAN, proposed the maintenance of so-called dynamic equilibrium where countries could engage with one another in a mutually beneficial and peaceful way. (The Jakarta Post)

(click on the headline to continue)

Why Central Asia matters to India   
   

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's recent visit to Kazakhstan is a reminder of how high stakes are in central Asia for Indian foreign policy priorities. While the Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev needed legitimacy for his re-election victory that has been criticised in the western capitals, for New Delhi there are real issues in that part of the world that concern its national security and economic growth. Not surprisingly, the two main areas that were given serious consideration were the civilian nuclear cooperation pact and the situation in Afghanistan. (The Reddif News)

(click on the headline to continue)

Asian Allies Back Burma Uneasily   
   

Already Burma’s new civilian government poses problems for its Asian allies as it tries to woo the international community. The month-old quasi-civilian administration, led by President Thein Sein has launched a new diplomatic charm offensive in an effort to get international approval for the cosmetic changes that have been introduced under the guise of a new civilian government. (The Irrawaddy)

(click on the headline to continue)     

China Misunderstood: Did We Contribute to Ai-Weiwei’s Arrest?   
   

Like many artists, Ai Weiwei enjoys provoking. It isn’t just his finger-to-the-Chinese-government images that he has become known for but also how he does it: his obsessive-compulsive documentation of himself in photos, blogs, tweets, and rants into a digital recorder. In a country obsessed with walls, he is a living challenge to the political system. (The New York Review of Books)

(click on the headline to continue)

ASEAN must step up action to realise its integration ambition  
  

ASEAN'S future requires a change from everything that has come before. It needs a change in the way our governments, and indeed all of us, support and view the regional grouping. This game change needs buy-in from broad sections of society and leadership from every sector, including business and academia, to make a concerted effort toward an Asean for a new era. The original Asean was founded on the common ideal of an autonomous Southeast Asia. It was built on a largely informal arrangement, with consensus-driven decision making among Asean governments. (The Brunei Times)

(click on the headline to continue)

Burma does not deserve any extra credit from ASEAN  

Since its admission into Asean in 1997, Burma has been dragging the regional grouping down. For the past 14 years the Asean leaders have been very patient with the new member of the family; they have shown a great deal of faith in their controversial neighbour. For over a decade, they have waited in vain for real political change in the country. The junta has almost completed its seven-point political "reform" process and is waiting to become the Asean chair in 2014. At the end of last month the Burmese strongman General Than Shwe successfully set up a civilian government, but it was done via a rigged election. The new Burmese parliament is filled with military figures and junta cronies. Now Than Shwe wants a rubber stamp from Asean.           (The Nation)

(click on the headline to continue)

Fukushima, Chernobyl, and UN-Sponsored Nuclear Safety Reforms   
  

With the recent increase of its accident rating to level 7—the highest on the International Nuclear Radiological Event Scale (INES)—the Fukushima nuclear accident has taken on another attribute of Chernobyl, the world’s worst nuclear disaster and the only other one in history to receive a level 7 “major disaster” rating.               (The Diplomatic Courier)

(click on the headline to continue)