Why the South China Sea is turning more turbulent   
   

A US-China military rivalry may be behind China's recent aggressiveness in the South China Sea. On Sunday, Vietnam claims China cut the underwater cables of one of its survey ships. (The Christian Science Monitor)

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China steps up drilling, intimidation   
   

China recently launched an oil and natural gas drilling platform that may be as significant as military modernization in buttressing Beijing's claims to control most of the islands, water and seabed in the maritime heart of Southeast Asia. (The Japan Times)

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US-India: Parallel links along China’s southern periphery  

Ups and downs in the US-India bilateral relationship and speculation about China as a factor in the Indo-US "strategic partnership" grab the headlines and dominate policy analysis. Concurrently, little noticed parallels link US and Indian efforts to strengthen their ties with Indonesia, Vietnam and Singapore. These states' positive responses are slowly filling a geographic gap between India and Japan. In addition, both the United States and India eye growing Chinese naval capabilities with some concern. (Asia Pacific Bulletin)

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China draws a line – but an Apocalypse in the making?     

One would think with 60 years of all weather friendship, Pakistani leaders (especially in the military and intelligence), would have learnt to read their Chinese counterparts. Even more important, Pakistani experts must understand that the Chinese are masters at making very important statements by not making those statements. (South Asia Analysis Group)

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Indonesia should cross the river by feeling for stones  

In mid-November of 2011, Indonesia will host the sixth East Asia Summit (EAS) in the newly built Nusa Dua Convention Center in Bali. Based on the Kuala Lumpur Declaration of 2005, this year’s summit will continue to be a forum for dialogue on broad strategic, political and economic issues to promote “common security, common prosperity and common stability”. The EAS is welcoming two new members — the US and Russia — into the East Asian community. (The Jakarta Post)

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South China Sea disputes a threat to ASEAN-China relation  

After 15 years of discreet and patient diplomacy over overlapping claims for the South China Sea, both ASEAN and China are showing signs of fatigue as there has been no progress yet towards a resolution of joint development schemes. Alleged intrusions and confrontation in the resource-rich maritime territory by various claimants have increased over the past two years. (The Nation)

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How did Indonesia become the most popular member of the UN Human Rights Council?  

In elections to the U.N. Human Rights Council on Friday, May 20, Indonesia received 184 votes of a possible 191, more than any other country. Though most candidate countries were elected on uncontested regional slates, the U.N. membership used votes and abstentions in the secret ballot to demonstrate the level of support for each state. So why did Indonesia receive the most votes? (CogitAsia)

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The New Silk Road: China’s Energy Strategy in the Greater Middle East – The Four Seas Strategy   

While the West views Syria, Iran, and similar countries as strategic liabilities and pariah states, China views them as strategic assets. Since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, Beijing has feared that Washington’s Greater Middle East strategy entails encircling China and creating a norm of toppling undemocratic regimes, which implicitly challenges the Chinese Communist Party’s legitimacy at home. In response, Beijing has increased economic and diplomatic ties with countries in the region that have problematic relations with the United States and the West—such as Syria, Turkey, and Iran—in addition to expanding its overall footprint in the region. (The Cutting Age)

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Asia’s threesome turns four   
   

Like many regions of the world, Northeast Asia faces severe political challenges in creating a viable structure of peace. But, given China’s rising power, such a regional structure is becoming all the more necessary if today’s lack of trust is not to devolve into military antagonism. Relations among the region’s three major powers, China, South Korea and Japan, are burdened both by territorial disputes and by the bitter historical legacies of Japanese colonialism. Of course, economic interdependence has deepened over the past three decades, but nationalism remains a convenient tool for political mobilization -- and of manipulation for domestic and diplomatic purposes. (Sunday’s Zaman)

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