Asia-Pacific Archive

On Dec. 22, the Russian government succeeded in its long-standing campaign to wrest control of the country’s largest single foreign investment project — the $22 billion natural gas development on the Russian Pacific island of Sakhalin. The project includes the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant and related export facilities built in Russia. According to the deal, Royal Dutch Shell, Mitsui & Co., Ltd., and Mitsubishi Corp. will each surrender half of their shares in the Sakhalin Energy consortium. In their place, OAO Gazprom, Russia’s state-controlled natural gas monopoly, has taken a majority (50 percent plus one share) stake in […]

On Dec. 18, President George Bush signed into law the United States-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act (H.R. 5682). On Dec. 13, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Qin Gang had resolved months of ambiguity by indicating Beijing’s acceptance of the proposed U.S.-Indian nuclear deal. In response to a question about the proposed legislation, Qin Gang said: “We consider the cooperation between countries to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes will be beneficial to maintain the principles and effectiveness of international nuclear nonproliferation.” U.S. President George W. Bush and Indian Prime Minister Singh announced in July 2005 they would pursue a bilateral […]

MOSCOW — An estimated 20 percent of the Russian population now has access to the Internet. Whereas the Putin administration exerts tight control over the major domestic broadcast and print media, it does not currently restrict the content of Internet sites on a wide scale. Web sites such as Gazeta.ru and Lenta.ru provide many of the articles and commentary that would normally otherwise appear in an opposition press. Several wealthy Russians living in political exile, including Boris Berezovsky and Vladimir Gusinsky, own Russian-language websites that publicize their anti-Putin views to Russian audiences. In August 2006, Russian right-wing extremists used the […]

EASTERN SHAN STATE, Myanmar — The divide and conquer tactics employed by Myanmar’s ruling military junta to reign in ethnic insurgent militias on the Sino-Myanmar border have further agitated delicate ceasefire agreements with the formerly China-backed rebel groups. Escalating tensions with the junta, known as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), have prompted the largest of these players, the 20,000 strong United Wa State Army (UWSA), to re-supply its forces and bolster defenses in an apparent bid to deter a Myanmar Armed Forces attack on their largely autonomous enclave in Myanmar’s Eastern Shan State, dubbed Special Region 2. Since […]

BANGKOK, Thailand — It was Constitution Day in Thailand on Dec. 10, and because it fell on a Sunday this year, banks, schools and offices stayed shut Monday for a holiday, ostensibly to reflect on the charter’s importance. There’s just one problem: Thailand hasn’t got a constitution any more. The much-lauded 1997 constitution, the 16th since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932, was torn up and thrown in the trash can when the army staged its coup on Sept. 19. The generals who stepped in to rescue the country from what they claimed was an increasingly despotic, divisive and […]

Last week’s confirmation hearing for soon-to-be Secretary of Defense Bob Gates was as much political theater as a serious inquiry. Predictably, many of the questions that came Gates’ way involved the war in Iraq. Democrats and Republicans alike expect that he will bring a fresh outlook to the nation’s problems there. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) cut to the root of the issue by asking Gates if he “was going to be an independent” voice of counsel to the President — an obvious reference to the close relationship between President Bush and former Defense Secretary Rumsfeld. Without hesitation Gates responded that […]

Last month’s Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), the largest meeting of African and Chinese leaders in almost half a century, underscored Beijing’s growing interest in Africa. The attendees included Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premiere Wen Jiabao, as well as 48 African heads of state. The official purpose of the summit was to promote “friendship, peace, cooperation and development.” While much of the media’s attention has naturally focused on the expanding economic ties between China and Africa, Beijing’s increasing political and military presence on the continent also warrant greater attention. Sino-African commercial relations clearly have been booming. Trade rose 35 […]

BANGKOK, Thailand — Cambodia is on the verge of attracting the attention of business news writers instead of the horror headlines that for so long marked reporting about the Southeast Asian country. Instead of horrendous stories of the murderous and bizarre Khmer Rouge regime that bludgeoned the place back into the dark ages, the news out of Cambodia is set to focus on oil and gas production and refineries and port development. It should be a time for happy anticipation by the international institutions and NGOs that have propped up the country for years. But instead there is trepidation that […]