If Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were to make a list of countries that he loves right now, I would imagine his list would be very similar to this: 5. Iraq: For stealing the spotlight away from Iran. This week, Iran and its nuclear program took the backseat as the American policy makers watched the Iraqi […]
China has eight non-communist parties under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). What at first seems like an oddity under an one-party system is not so once we understand the reality of the relationship between the CCP and these parties. Open political debates are strictly constrained in China. The CCP maintains its dominance […]
Indonesia: As an update to the growing backlash in SE Asia over the China-ASEAN FTA, the Berita Jakarta is already blaming the FTA on a decline in exports from Jakarta: It can be seen from the decline in the city’s export value by 4.80 percent or US$ 2.828 billion in January this year, from that […]
Vietnam: The Vietnamese government is trying to gather international support to bolster itself in it’s long-standing territorial disputes with China over the Paracel Islands. China has held military control over the majority of the islands for 30 years, and this year has announced its desire to set up tourism facilities in the archipelago. In response, […]
Much of this deal is about Brazil’s own domestic market, but it is also proof of the biofuel bonanza as both Cosan and Shell prepare for a global market in ethanol.
This blog previously commented on rising opposition to and grumbling over the China – ASEAN Free Trade Agreement in Southeast Asia, which went into effect on 90 percent of products, on January 1, 2010 Times Magazine Online has an article concerning more of the downsides of the FTA. For example, Indonesian Trade Minister, Mari […]
News of the disaster in Haiti drowned out most other concerns last week but the earthquake was not the only newsworthy thing that happened in the world. Earlier the same day as the earthquake, Google posted a surprising message on its official company blog that raised the possibility the search engine giant may leave the […]
1) Although Nigeria reached a tentative peace agreement with the militants in the Niger delta region in October, the fledgling peace was threatened by attacks of a Chevron Nigeria pipeline last week. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), according to the Associated Press, claims they sanctioned the attack but did not […]
FPA has a new China blogger that I highly recommend checking out. His name is Henry Hoyle and he wrote this great piece on the numerous implications of China’s Aynak investment in Afghanistan. Here it is in full below: China’s Afghan Investment: Brilliant Strategy or Expensive Gamble? The December 31st NYT had a great in-depth […]
ASEAN and U.S.: As predicted by this blog, the Obama Administration is moving to create a comprehensive political-economic rapprochement with East and Southeast Asia. The economic arm of this policy direction will branch off of the existing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). So far, the TTP includes a free-trade agreements (FTA) with Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and […]
While it appears that China’s success and emergence is unsettling to many and is becoming the source of American angst toward China, rather than resent the shift of economic power from West to East, we may have something to learn from their ancient civilization.
ASEAN and China: This blog has spent considerable time following the ASEAN+China free trade deal from the perspective of various nations in the region. The Asia Times has a new article concerning the “win-win” possibilities of the deal and what the incentive is for ASEAN nations. It also provides some telling data: According to estimates […]
If natural gas is so cheap right now, limping along between $2.50 and $5.50 per thousand cubic feet, why did Exxon pay the equivalent of $41 billion for natural gas giant XTO Energy? There is a global glut of natural gas, which won’t be disappearing any time soon. I can think of a couple reasons. […]
With the holidays coming up and getting the 2009 Year in Review together, we have been a bit light on posting. However here are some links to a few of the human rights stories from this past week. Detained in Iran, Russia, and China Last week NPR reported on three human rights stories from Iran, […]
Overview: The predominant trend in Southeast Asia this year has been one of increasing regional integration, but this has been tempered by historic issues of nationalism, which continue to challenge the region and serve as the largest obstacle for a more united ASEAN. 2009, was an excellent year for various free trade initiatives, between ASEAN […]