Asia Pacific Archives

Research Briefing

The US-Japan Security Treaty and the East China Sea

Thursday, 01 May, 2014

During a three day visit to Tokyo in late April 2014, US President Barack Obama confirmed that the islands in the East China Sea known as Senkaku by Japan and Diaoyu by China are covered by 1960 US-Japan Security Treaty, under which the US has pledged to come to Japan’s defence if its territory is attacked. Some observers have argued that Obama’s statements mark the first time a US president has clearly taken Japan’s side over islands. However, President Obama stressed that this was "not a new position". His remarks come at a time of growing Japanese nervousness about the state of its longstanding alliance with the US.
Insight

The UK’s trade relationship with China

Tuesday, 15 April, 2014
Research Briefing

Prospects for Afghanistan as ISAF withdrawal approaches

Wednesday, 19 March, 2014

2014 is a pivotal year for Afghanistan, with a crucial presidential election in April and the end of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) combat mission in December. Security overall is deteriorating in Afghanistan and although the Afghan National Security Forces are taking the lead, questions remain about their effectiveness and the government’s dependence on international help to pay for them. It is unclear whether there will be any Western military presence after 2014. Negotiations with the Taliban do not seem to offer much hope.
Research Briefing

Afghan women 2014

Wednesday, 05 March, 2014

Many observers fear that limited gains in women’s rights in Afghanistan are already being reversed and that the situation may become worse after the end of 2014.
Research Briefing

Burma: recent political and security developments

Thursday, 13 February, 2014

Burma’s international rehabilitation continues. However, critics argue that the pace of this rehabilitation is too fast because the outcome of the current Constitutional review process is not yet clear; a durable peace deal with the country’s ethnic insurgencies has not been achieved; and inter-communal violence between Buddhists and Muslims persists. There has been criticism of the UK Government for providing some training for the Burmese military.
Insight

The “MINT” emerging economies

Tuesday, 14 January, 2014
- Insight
- Africa
- Americas
- Asia Pacific
- Economy
- Europe
- Middle East
Insight

Races, battles and beauty contests – UK-China economic relations

Wednesday, 04 December, 2013
Insight

Election monitoring troubles in Azerbaijan

Wednesday, 27 November, 2013
Research Briefing

Kyrgyzstan 2013

Tuesday, 12 November, 2013

The Kyrgyz Republic is a small landlocked Central Asian republic, mainly known in the West for its US airbase at Manas.
- Research Briefing
- Asia Pacific
Research Briefing

Nepal’s peace process: towards elections for a new Constituent Assembly

Friday, 11 October, 2013

After 18 months of political uncertainty about the prospects for its apparently endless peace process, Nepal is due to hold elections for a new Constituent Assembly on 19 November. The original Constituent Assembly elected under the 2006 Comprehensive Peace Agreement was dissolved in May 2012 having failed to agree a new Constitution. A break-away Maoist faction and a number of ethnically-based parties have pledged to boycott and disrupt the elections; this could bring them into direct confrontation with the army.
Research Briefing

Nepal’s endless peace process, 2006-12

Friday, 11 October, 2013

This note gives an account of Nepal’s peace process from the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in November 2006 to the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly, its mandate unfulfilled, in May 2012. The note will not be updated.
Research Briefing

In brief: the controversy over the November 2013 Commonwealth Summit in Sri Lanka

Monday, 22 July, 2013

In November 2009, the Commonwealth Heads of State and Government Meeting (CHOGM) agreed that its 2013 meeting should be held in Sri Lanka. This decision has faced persistent criticism since then, with organisations including Human Rights Watch arguing that the Sri Lankan Government’s human rights record is so poor that the Commonwealth should relocate the Summit elsewhere. The Commonwealth Secretary-General, Kamalesh Sharma, has rejected such calls. So far, Canada is the only Commonwealth member state to say that it will definitely not be attending the Summit. The Prime Minister, David Cameron, and the Foreign Secretary, William Hague, have confirmed that they will both be attending the Summit on behalf of the British Government (Prince Charles will represent the Queen). The official British position is that they will use their presence to raise concerns about the human rights situation in Sri Lanka.
Research Briefing

In brief: UK withdrawal from Afghanistan

Friday, 24 May, 2013

The drawdown of British troops in Afghanistan has begun. The number of British troops in Afghanistan will be reduced to 5,200 by the end of 2013.
Research Briefing

The Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands: tension between Japan and China in the East China Sea

Tuesday, 16 April, 2013

Tensions between Japan and China in connection with long-standing rival claims to sovereignty over the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea have deepened since September 2012, with nationalist sentiment being stirred up in both countries. Taiwan also claims the islands. Japan, which administers the islands, does not accept that there is a dispute to be resolved. China insists that there is. This note briefly summarizes the competing claims and reviews developments over the last six months or so.
Research Briefing

North Korea: domestic developments during Kim Jong-Un’s first year in power

Friday, 01 March, 2013

This note briefly surveys domestic developments in North Korea since the death of Kim Jong-Il in December 2011 and the succession of his son, Kim Jong-Un. The nuclear issue is referred to only in passing. Insofar as we can know, Kim Jong-Un appears to have consolidated power smoothly and quickly. There are signs that the new leadership wants to shift from a 'Military First' to a 'People First' policy, which will involve economic reform measures. However, there are no real signs yet of an improvement on human rights.

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