In Asia: Weekly Insight and Features from Asia

The Asia Foundation, the India Community Center, the Center for South Asia at Stanford University, and the World Affairs Council of Northern California will host Monday, Oct. 5, 2009, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. an evening of conversation at Stanford University on former U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Asia Foundation Trustee Teresita Schaffer’s new book [...]

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Bill Clinton’s dramatic mission to secure the release of two American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee following North Korea’s harsh verdict regarding their unauthorized entry into North Korea has succeeded on multiple fronts, based on criteria for success I offered yesterday: 1) the visit secured the release of the two journalists, 2) the visit [...]

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“In 2001, when foreign militaries – including the American, Belgian, British, Canadian, Danish, German, Italian, and Turkish – entered the country, Afghans welcomed them warmly, strewing flowers as they passed through towns and villages. There was widespread hope that the country would finally see peace and stability after decades of war.

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Today, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attends the ASEAN Regional Forum in Phuket, Thailand. Established in 1994, the forum is an official, multilateral dialogue of 27 countries to address peace and security issues in the Asia-Pacific region. ASEAN realized if it was to remain relevant in the post-Cold War era, it would need to [...]

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This week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made the first visit by a senior Obama administration official to India in an effort to urge an “exciting new approach” to relations between the two countries. While there, Secretary Clinton engaged in discussions on clean energy technology and women’s rights, and signed a deal allowing the sale [...]

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My recent 5-1/2 week trip to 11 countries and 13 cities in East and Southeast Asia was to finalize arrangements with Asian host organizations for 16 new Luce Scholars. It also inspired thinking about the dozens of organizations that have hosted these young fellows since the program began in 1974.  In the past four decades, [...]

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Indonesian Muslims looked forward with great anticipation to the long-awaited “speech to the Muslim world” by a president they consider at least partially their own. With the possible exception of Obama’s inauguration, the Indonesian public has not, in recent history, ever so eagerly anticipated a speech by a U.S. president. More than one national television [...]

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“No American president has ever gone out of his way to reach out to the Muslim world in the way that President Obama has. We applaud that. But our applause is discreet rather than rapturous for these are as yet mere words.” – From ‘Rhetoric and Reality’, The News (Pakistan), June 5, 2009. The substance [...]

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The Obama administration was a political target of North Korea’s April 5, 2009, missile test in addition to the targets of internal political consolidation, exploiting China’s DPRK dilemma, and the exploitation of possible divisions within the UN Security Council. North Korea’s strategic objective has been to secure its position as a nuclear weapons state. In [...]

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On the heels of releasing its recommendations for the new U.S. administration – America’s Role in Asia – The Asia Foundation is co-sponsoring the World Affairs Council’s 63rd Annual World Conference, “Global Priorities: Critical Choices for the Obama Administration.” On April 2-3, 2009, in San Francisco, political leaders, policymakers, scholars, and diplomats will gather to [...]

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