EU sanctions on Burma: What next?   
   

On 12 April, the European Union announced that the trade and financial sanctions imposed on Myanmar would be continued for another year. However, travel restrictions on a few civilian members of Myanmar’s government were relaxed. The extension of these sanctions includes a travel ban on high-level officials of the 27 member group of the EU, but excludes junior-level officials. Although there is no perceptible deviance from the official position maintained by the EU on Myanmar, these developments warrant a re-examination of the relations between Myanmar and the EU. (The Eurasia Review)

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Indonesia expands ASEAN’s role   
   

Despite the Thai-Cambodia border dispute, which overshadowed the 18th ASEAN Summit held on May 7-8 in Jakarta, Indonesia has effectively expanded the role of the ASEAN Chair, which it holds for 2011. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa discharged their duties as hosts with clarity and boldness. (Asia Pacific Bulletin)

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Thai elections and role of powerful military   

Thailand’s powerful army chief, Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha, appears determined to carve out a dominant role for the military in the coming weeks, as political parties seek to woo an estimated 45 million voters ahead of the general election on July 3. (The Brunei Times)

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2014: It’s ‘make or brake’ for Burma’s chair bid   
   

One day before the 18^th ASEAN summit began in Jakarta, the US sent an urgent message to Indonesia – the ASEAN chair – Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines simultaneously saying now was the time to push for real progress in Burma otherwise it would be difficult to envisage any US president attending the East Asia Summit there in 2014. The message was a reminder to ASEAN that reforms in Burma and the choice of the ASEAN chair would impact on the overall scheme of US-ASEAN relations, which have been strengthened further since Washington acceded to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation. (The Nation)

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All eyes on Gilani’s visit to China   
  

All eyes in Pakistan are on the four-day visit to China from May 17, 2011, by Prime Minister Yousef Raza Gilani. The dates of the visit were finalized some weeks ago to enable him to participate in the year-long observance of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. It has since acquired special significance in the eyes of Pakistani analysts as it is taking place at a time when Pakistan has come under severe criticism in the US for failing to detect the presence of Osama  bin Laden for over five years at Abbottabad, the cradle of the Pakistan Army, where the Pakistan Military Academy is located. (South Asia Analysis Group)

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U.S.-China Knotty but necessary ties  
    

China and the United States next week hold their first military-to-military talks since 2009, following on the heels of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Washington May 9-10. China's foreign and domestic policies have hardened considerably over the past couple of years… (Council on Foreign Relations)

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Japan’s disaster may accelerate realignment in the East   
  

The coastline of Japan is not the only shift that will have been caused by the earthquake and tsunami of March 11. As significant as the material damage, which appears to be almost incalculable, and as worthy of attention as the economic damage, also titanic, is a potential shift in the international alliances and strategies in the Far East, particularly among China, Japan and the US and its allies. (American Thinker)

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