In the Philippines, Can the President Buy Arms and Fight Corruption at the Same Time?   
   

Despite allegations and congressional inquiries into massive corruption in the Philippine military, the administration of Philippine President Benigno Aquino has announced that it will allocate over $250 million to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for the purchase of modern military equipment. The new funds will be used to acquire ships and other watercraft for the Navy, and helicopters for the Air Force, to deploy in Palawan and Sulu. The Philippine Army will acquire rifles, while the Navy may add more multipurpose attack craft. The Navy is also expecting a Hamilton class cutter from the U.S. Coast Guard. (CogitAsia)

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India’s Battle Within: Coming to Grips With the Politics of Greed

In the comparisons of China and India that have become commonplace in recent years, India is often given the edge on account of its political system. India has a deep-rooted democracy, the argument goes, while China is a brittle autocracy whose government functions without transparency or accountability. Indeed, the idea of India as Asia’s democratic alternative to China was underscored during US President Barack Obama’s November visit to India, where he declared that “in Asia and around the world, India is not simply emerging; India has emerged.” (The Jakarta Globe)

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