September 8th, 2016 By Davis Florick – Junior Fellow The Philippines’ victory at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) was significant for the states bordering the South China Sea. For once, China’s smaller neighbors were able to stand up and ...

International legal norms such as freedom of navigation must be actively upheld for them to remain relevant.

Japan is embracing a role in the security order of South East Asia that it has long denied itself. Whilst it will never take over the role of the US in ensuring regional stability, the country is currently in the process of positioning itself as a leader in the drive to contain Beijing’s ambitions.

The relativist argument that Hun Sen’s corruption is better than King Sihanouk’s ineptitude, Lon Nol’s civil war, and Pol Pot’s genocide is no longer acceptable for people born long after these other leaders’ times in power.

Whilst both Vietnam and the US suffered a massive trauma as a result of the conflict between the two countries, the status the war occupies today in these nations is more as a set of personal tragedies, rather than a cultural and institutional monolith that defines the relationship between them. If handled correctly, enhanced collaboration could offer the prospect of massive and almost cost-free foreign policy benefits for both countries.

It is disturbing to hear of news that the United Wa State Army, an ethnic militia and former separatist group operating in Myanmar, may have acquired some fairly sophisticated ballistic missile technology, like those used to shoot down flight MH-17. According to Burmese intelligence officials late last year, there was evidence of the UWSA constructing a “radar and missile base” in the region around Tanyang, in the Shan state, supported by a Chinese company. It is not clear what kind of missiles the base is meant to be housing, though they have been described as “long-distance”, a conclusion which is supported by the kind of infrastructure being constructed.

Delhi, 15th August 2014, Narendra Modi addressed the nation in his first Independence Day speech as Indian Prime Minister. The ramparts of the iconic Red Fort provided a familiar setting. However, the content of Mr Modi’s speech broke from tradition. Notable was his impassioned plea for a shift in attitude on the issue of violence against women – an issue that, by his reckoning, still brings shame to India

Last week, the Japanese cabinet undertook a significant shift in their country’s defence policy, by agreeing to reinterpret the constitutional limits on the use of force in a less strict manner. The new understanding of the restrictions of Article 9 now allow for Japanese “collective self-defense” as well as military intervention to protect its treaty allies.

In 1405 A.D. the legendary Admiral Zheng He set the sails of his mighty armada for the first time. Over the following decades he went on seven journeys for the Emperors of the Ming dynasty. With up to 300 vessels and 30,000 men he came as far as Burma and India. China was the dominant naval power in the world – until Emperor Zhengtong had the entire fleet burnt down.

This article deals with the premises that ought to be considered when analysing developments in China. It then goes on to suggest why one ought not to be disappointed, but be cautiously optimistic of the reforms laid out in the Third Plenum concluded on 12th November 2013.