China: a reform-minded status-quo power?

The ceiling of the main hall inside the Great Hall of the People. The Great Hall of the People is the political hub of Beijing and home of the National People's Congress. Every year, the annual Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the National People's Congress (NPC) are held in this hall. (Photo: Flickr user hunxue-er)

Author: Ren Xiao, Fudan University

A reform-minded status-quo power sits somewhere between rigid and anti-status quo powers.

A status-quo state accepts the existing rules of the game and does not seek to change them because it is generally satisfied with the current situation. China has benefited from the existing international system, and has risen to become the world’s second-largest economy. Logically, it would not aspire to overthrow this system within which it is rising to new heights. In this sense, China is a status-quo power. Nevertheless, China is not simply looking to rigidly adhere to this existing system. Read more…

Myanmar: time for Australia to engage with the military

Selected military representatives of the Burmese Lower House parliament arrive to attend the regular parliament session on 02 May 2012. (Photo: AAP)

Author: John Blaxland, ANU

With Aung San Suu Kyi now in parliament and Myanmar’s ongoing reform, it is time for Australia to increase the pace and level of engagement with this long-isolated state.

Numerous institutions within Myanmar require assistance to build capacity and implement reform (education is one key shortfall), but the military in particular must become the subject of increased and well-considered engagement. Read more…

South Korea’s surprise election results

Park Geun-hye, head of the ruling Saenuri Party's interim governing body, celebrates with her party members after a press conference on the outcome of the just-ended parliamentary elections in Seoul, South Korea, 12 April 2012 . (Photo: AAP)

Author: Myoung-ho Park, Dongguk University

South Korean voters find themselves in the midst of a busy political year.

The parliamentary election, which took place on 11 April, saw the governing Saenuri Party retain power. But attention is now turning toward the upcoming presidential election in December. Read more…

Indonesian investments and international treaty law

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key gives a speech to the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry at a Business and Investment Seminar in Jakarta, Indonesia, 16 April 2012. (Photo: AAP)

Authors: Simon Butt, Luke Nottage and Brett Williams, University of Sydney

Indonesia’s new mining regulation requiring divestment of majority foreign investments is unlikely to generate many formal investor-state arbitration (ISA) claims against Indonesia, based on existing bilateral or regional FTAs, or investment treaties.

Avoidance of arbitration is primarily motivated by immediate pragmatic considerations. Read more…

Divestment of foreign mining interests in Indonesia

This photograph shows an aerial view of the gold and copper mine site of US giant Newmonth mine in Indonesia's Sumbawa island. (Photo: AAP)

Authors: Simon Butt and Luke Nottage, University of Sydney

The Indonesian government issued a regulation in February 2012 requiring majority or wholly foreign-owned companies holding mining licenses in Indonesia to divest a majority share of the company — a minimum of 51 per cent — to an ‘Indonesian participant’ after 10 years of production.

For many foreign investors, this will mean a mandatory divestment of equity.

Read more…

ASEAN: a united front to tackle the South China Sea issue

Southeast Asian leaders pose for the traditional ASEAN family photo during the opening ceremony of the 20th Association of South East Asia Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 03 April 2012. Cambodia is chairing ASEAN on the 45th anniversary of the creation of ten-nation group.  (Photo: Flickr user Meng Kim Long)

Author: Sanchita Basu Das, ISEAS

ASEAN concluded its 20th Summit on 4 April 2012. The discussion shifted away from building an ASEAN Community, to debates over territorial disputes in the South China Sea between China, Taiwan and four ASEAN member states (the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam).

There was significant debate on whether China should be invited to take part in the drafting of the code of conduct, envisioned as a legally binding document to prevent small incidents in the South China Sea from escalating into bigger conflicts. Read more…

Chinese investment is Australia’s great untapped resource

Sparks fly as an employee pours molten iron into a mould at a factory in China. Australia passed its minerals resource rent tax legislation, which will impose a 30 per cent tax on the extraordinary profits of coal and iron ore miners. It will not only affect investment in the mining industry in Australia, but also the price trend of global commodities and the Chinese iron and steel industry. (Photo: AAP)

Author: James Laurenceson, UQ

The challenges wrought by burgeoning Asian demand for Australia’s natural resources have already begun to receive policy attention from the Australian federal government.

 

The Minerals Resource Rent Tax is just one example. But the challenges arising from trade flows are only part of the story that will confront Australian economic policy makers during the Asian Century. Read more…

A new Ozawa party for Japan?

Former Democratic Party of Japan leader Ichiro Ozawa leaves the Tokyo District Court on April 26, 2012, after a ruling on him over charges of false political funds reporting. He was found not guilty. (Photo: AAP)

Author: Aurelia George Mulgan, UNSW Canberra

Ichiro Ozawa’s trial verdict of ‘not-guilty’ for violating the Political Funds Control Law has now been appealed, placing constraints on his political activities.

Fortunately for him, the DPJ executive, under the leadership of key Ozawa ally, Secretary-General Azuma Koshiishi, had already restored his membership and the executive is not intending to revisit their decision. Read more…

Afghanistan: post-2014 strategy and the regional framework

Afghan President Hamid Karzai talks with journalists during a press conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, 3 May 2012. US President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai signed a long-term strategic partnership that outlines cooperation between the two countries after the 2014 withdrawal of NATO and allied forces, on 1 May 2012. (Photo: AAP)

Author: Dr. Simbal Khan, ISSI

As the 2014 security transition in Afghanistan approaches, it is imperative to adopt multiple strategies to pursue sustainable peace.

A regional solution is often projected as a critical element in achieving this, and neighbouring countries are considered the key to stability in Afghanistan. Read more…

Is India’s Agni-V missile a game changer?

Vijay Saraswat, Scientific advisor to the Indian Defense minister and Director General of the Defence Research and Development Organization and other Indian leaders hold a meeting with the media after the test launch of an Indian long range Agni V missile, in New Delhi, India, 20 April 2012. An Indian Agni V missile with a range of 5,000 kilometers was successfully tested on 19 April 2012, adding India to the group of nations that have such launch capability. (Photo: AAP)

Author: Rajesh Basrur, RSIS

India’s launch of the Agni-V, an intermediate-range missile close to intercontinental range, has been widely hailed as a ‘game changer’ and a ‘milestone’ in India’s quest for security.

Now that the applause has died down, it is worth looking at how the game stands to be changed by this launch.

Read more…

No easy fix for insurgency in Thailand’s deep south

Newly-recruited Thai women rangers take part in a training session at a military camp in Narathiwat province on 19 April 2012. More than 5,100 people have been killed -- both Muslims and Buddhists -- in attacks across Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat since unrest escalated in January 2004. (Photo: AAP)

Author: John Blaxland, ANU

The recent bombings in the tourist city of Hat Yai in southern Thailand reflect deep-seated and enduring institutional problems that defy easy categorisation.

Commentators have put forward many explanations for this complex situation, ranging from seeing the conflict in terms of a counter-terrorist campaign as part of the so-called global war on terror, to nationalism, religious extremism, linguistic and cultural disenfranchisement, poverty, lack of education, corruption and absence of the rule of law. Read more…