Chinese growing interest in Siberia   
   

There are just 6 million Russians left on the Siberian side of the border with China. Ninety million Chinese, backed by a voracious economy, live on the other side. China's influence in Russia's far east is growing rapidly and Siberia has become the raw material supplier to Beijing's economic miracle. (Spiegel)

(click on the headline to continue)

The new India-Russia-Kazakh trio   
  

The relations between India and Kazakhstan, the oil-rich Central Asian state, go back to more than 2500 years and archaeological evidence corroborates the migration of Saka tribes from the present-day Kazakhstan to India’s northwest frontier. (Russia & India Report)

(click on the headline to continue)

The least that East Asians can do to cooperate  

As China continues its unremitting rise, people throughout East Asia are wondering whether their states will ever be able to achieve the peaceful, stable relations that now characterize Europe. Given the regularity of serious diplomatic spats — over everything from tiny atolls in the South China Sea to the legacy of World War II — this may sound like an elusive dream. But, with nationalism and military budgets rising sharply, achieving consensual stability has become imperative for the region. (The Japan Times)

(click on the headline to continue)

Osama Bin Laden’s Second Front   
   

The killing of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden may be a blow to militants. But in Southeast Asia as elsewhere, terrorism still looms large. (The Diplomat)

(click on the headline to continue)

Limits of Chinese Power in Southeast Asia  

That China is one of the most powerful states in the world is no longer a contested claim, but cataloging China’s increasing material resources does not in itself demonstrate that China is powerful. A more telling question is how effectively does China convert its growing resources into influence over other states’ strategic choices and the outcomes of events?            (The Yale Global)

(click on the headline to continue)

China risks clash with rivals over energy grab   
   

China is already one of the world's largest offshore energy producers. It wants to become bigger still by finding more oil and natural gas in home waters or in zones close to home, to avoid becoming excessively dependent on foreign imports. However, its evolving energy security strategy could further complicate its relations with South-East Asia, and with countries like Australia, the US, Japan and South Korea that regard the South China Sea as an international highway for trade and free movement of military planes and ships. (The Canberra Times)

(click on the headline to continue)

New era dawning for China ties with ASEAN members   
     

With its remarkable economic growth, China is both seeking and gaining more influence in multilateral cooperation arrangements in the Asia-Pacific region. Without doubt, of all the main platforms linking China and its neighbors, such as the East Asia Summit, ASEAN+3 Dialogue, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its member states are an essential and indispensable part. (The China Post)

(click on the headline to continue)

In growing Chinese dominance, a wake-up call for America  

The world’s two economic superpowers will meet soon for the third installment of their Strategic and Economic Dialogue. Beyond the specifics, the real issue for the United States and the world is China’s looming economic dominance. President Obama’s State of the Union address, after President Hu Jintao’s visit in January, showed the level of anxiety that policymakers feel about China as a potential rival and perhaps a threat, with growing economic, military and political power, including its bankrolling of American debt. But judging from the reaction to the president’s speech, that threat is not viewed as imminent.                   (The Washington Post)

(click on the headline to continue)

Chinese capitalism: some lessons for India   
   

Chinese people support their form of capitalism simply because it has delivered and promises to deliver in the foreseeable future as well. The greatest achievement has been to lift more than 400 million people out of abject poverty in three decades through economic growth at breakneck speed. (East Asia Forum)

(click on the headline to continue)

Russian naval visit a message for Beijing    
  

Just as the Chinese navy uses warships returning from anti-piracy patrols in the Indian Ocean to fly the flag in Southeast Asian ports, the Russian Pacific Fleet returns to Vietnam early next month to highlight one of the region's most intriguing - and enduring - strategic relationships. (The South China Morning Post)

(click on the headline to continue)