Foreign Policy Blogs

Tag Archives: South China Sea

The Year of the Dragon

The Year of the Dragon

The year 2012 was for Beijing a year to display its dragon-like qualities of authority, dignity, and honor. The dragon is also the symbol of the emperor, so it may have been auspicious for a new leader to be chosen during November’s meeting of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. While […]

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Southeast Asia 2012: Year in Review

Southeast Asia 2012: Year in Review

I was fortunate to have spent the past year working in Phnom Penh. Cambodia is a raw, untamed land with beautiful sights but also shocking poverty. I’m no stranger to living in the region but, for my money, there is nothing more amazing in the world than driving through the rural countryside of Southeast Asia […]

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Potential Forecast for Stormy Asian Waters Ahead

Potential Forecast for Stormy Asian Waters Ahead

Two moves by Chinese authorities over the past few weeks have raised concerns amongst China’s neighbors. In late November, China issued a new passport that includes a nine-dashed line incorporating most of the South China Sea — the same lines that are depicted on many official Chinese maps. This move has drawn strong condemnation from […]

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Will there be a Code of Conduct in the South China Seas?

Will there be a Code of Conduct in the South China Seas?

Today marks the start of the East Asia Summit, an annual forum where the leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and their counterparts from eight other nations, including China and the U.S., meet to discuss security and economic concerns. One issue which may take center stage concerns conflicting claims over the […]

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GailForce: Things That Make Ya’ Wanna Go Hmmmm!

GailForce:  Things That Make Ya’ Wanna Go Hmmmm!

As mentioned in my last blog, I’ve been off the grid for a while.  I’m currently in Alabama hanging out with my 85 years young Mom but have been playing catch up with current events.  I have to get up every few minutes and stand in front of her air conditioner but then I gamely […]

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Drones on the Cocos Islands: A Cat Amongst the Pigeons

Drones on the Cocos Islands: A Cat Amongst the Pigeons

According to a report by the Washington Post just over 2 weeks ago, US officials have engaged Australia in informal discussions over a proposed US drone base in the Cocos Islands 2,000 kilometers north-west of Perth. Allegedly, the proposed base would house a fleet of Global Hawk drones. At a unit cost of $218 million […]

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China and Cambodia: A Love Story

China and Cambodia: A Love Story

Safe inside his armored motorcade and surrounded by nearly two dozen police motorcycle escorts, Chinese Premier Hu Jintao traversed north along Sothearos Boulevard in Phnom Penh this past Saturday morning, passing a 20 foot portrait of his face as well as one of his wife’s as his entourage made its way towards the Peace Palace […]

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2012 ASEAN Summit — Phnom Penh, Cambodia

2012 ASEAN Summit — Phnom Penh, Cambodia

The 2012 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit will take place April 3rd and 4th in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. As the new chair of the regional bloc for the 2012 year, Cambodia will have an opportunity to show off its capital city’s latest developments, both socioeconomic and political. The streets are already being decked […]

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Red Lines and Reversed Roles

Red Lines and Reversed Roles

The respective security roles that the United States and India traditionally play in East Asia seemed to switch last week.  By deciding not to supply Taiwan with the new fighter aircraft it has requested, the U.S. appeared to defer to China, which had cautioned that the sale was a “red line” that must not be […]

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India Wades Into Troubled Waters

India Wades Into Troubled Waters

In his critically acclaimed book on the Indian Ocean last year, author Robert Kaplan warned that with growing Sino-Indian rivalry, the “the Indian Ocean and its adjacent waters will be a central theater of conflict and competition.” It seems that Kaplan’s prophetic claim was made none too soon. Last week, an editorial in the Global […]

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Blut und Boden (Blood and Land) With Chinese Characteristics

Blut und Boden (Blood and Land) With Chinese Characteristics

Nationalism is a beast the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) did not create, but has often tried harness to it’s benefit.  Still, the use of this tool is tempered by the ever present Chinese fear of chaos (luàn:乱).  A potential disaster scenario for the party is one in which it finds itself on the wrong side […]

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America and China Cold War in South China Sea and Thailand Illiberal Democracy

America and China Cold War in South China Sea and Thailand Illiberal Democracy

Indonesia: As speculated about  previously, the U.S. will upgrade its support to the Indonesian military, even the notorious Kopassus.  This is in spite of continued human rights concerns, because the need of America to be able to contain China’s expansion into the South China Sea is becoming critical to the Obama Administration.  It is likely […]

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Trouble Brews in the South China Sea

Trouble Brews in the South China Sea

As international attention focuses on resolving issues on the Korean peninsula, trouble is brewing in a different Asian arena. The South China Sea is one of the world’s busiest shipping routes, an extremely productive fishing area, and is reported to contain vast deposits of oil and natural gas. The Sea is bordered by Brunei, China, […]

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SE Asia: 2009 Year In Review

SE Asia: 2009 Year In Review

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 […]

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New Roundup – November 1 2009

Philippines:   China and the Philippines signed two major agreements last week.   The first agreement, the Joint Action Plan for Strategic Cooperation,  is a bilateral relations road map for the next five years.  The second, the Philippines-China Consular Agreement, is the first consular agreement that the Philippines has negotiated with another nation.  This agreement includes notification […]

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