Threats to the realization of India’s potential   
   

For all of India’s many and weighty advantages and its present trajectory, a fatal stall cannot be ruled out. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, has India gone for the inherent virtue of socialism as the equal sharing of miseries to the inherent vice of capitalism as the unequal sharing of blessing? (The Japan Times)

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China’s Indian Ocean ‘String of Pearls’ is no military treat – at least for now   
   

With the Western world mired in a debt crisis, the rise of China’s military appears more threatening than ever. The recent launch of China’s first aircraft carrier will add to regional anxieties. But a closer examination shows that at least one aspect of China’s supposed military prowess – its alleged creation of far-ranging naval facilities, the so-called “string of pearls” strategy – can be discounted as fevered imagination. (The Jakarta Globe)

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Indonesia’s and global development   
   

The global economic recovery remains fragile and uncertain, as risks posed by high energy and food prices, unemployment, and uncertainty over sovereign debt in Europe and the US continue to cloud the horizon. (East Asia Forum)

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India’s South China Sea Warning   
   

An influential Chinese Communist Party-run newspaper has warned that ‘every means possible’ should be used to stop India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Videsh engaging in exploration projects in the South China Sea. (The Diplomat)

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Has the real Najib stood up?      

Prime Minister Najib Razak announced a package of political reforms that, if implemented, can fairly be described as historical. Combined with his related efforts in the area of economic liberalization and amending the constitution of the ruling political party, United Malays National Organization (UMNO), Najib could very well be defining his legacy as a reformer. (CogitAsia)

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Beijing’s overemphasis on stability risks damaging government’s legitimacy      

Weiwen policies were often successful when first applied earlier in the Hu-Wen era. Involving carrots as well as stick, weiwen is thought of in public security circles in China as a more nuanced set of policy instruments than the repressive yanda (“strike hard”) measures of the past. (The Jakarta Globe)

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Vietnam and the Philippines: Assertiveness in the South China Sea      

At a time when Chinese power is inchoate, Vietnam and the Philippines are becoming increasingly assertive in the South China Sea. China has tried both the ‘carrot’ and ‘stick’ approach, and neither has been successful. (East Asia Forum)

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Burma’s neighbors can help it escape the past      

The advent of military rule in 1962 set Burma on a path of political and social experimentation that created both economic instability as well as structural rigidity. These features continue to characterize the economy of present-day Burma. (The Jakarta Globe)

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US Military/Security Paper on China – Messages for India and APR      

The Pentagon annual report to the US Congress Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China, 2011” released to the public in August this year is a lesson how meticulously the Americans study China. Of course, more sensitive issues are not discussed in the open report, but there are pointers that need to be picked up by India and other Asian countries and reflect on them actively on a larger canvas. (The South Asia Analysis Group)

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Asia’s new global crisis      

The renewed global economic slowdown is putting pressure on Asian countries to review their export-based growth model and their vulnerabilities to the inflows and outflows of capital. (The Malaysia Star)

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