Significance
This follows a recent spike in ASG activity with the discovery on April 25 of a severed head believed to belong to a Canadian kidnapped by ASG last year and an April 9 clash between the Philippines military (AFP) and ASG.
Impacts
A Rodrigo Duterte presidency has the best prospects for advancing the Philippines peace process.
Local Sulu shipping disruptions are likely, and could strain Mindanao's power supply.
The ASG risk to the Philippines overall economy is negligible, but local tourism will suffer in Mindanao.
The long-standing strategic disconnect between South Asia and the Korean Peninsula is breaking down. Driven by the changing balance of power in Asia, India and South Korea have developed a strong economic partnership, and taken small but significant steps toward a political and security relationship that refects their numerous shared strategic interests. This article explores the contours of this evolving relationship.
Significance
The ADMM-Plus is primarily a confidence-building forum, but Esper will need to navigate various issues that will affect US security relations in South-east Asia for the remainder of President Donald Trump’s current term.
Impacts
The forthcoming US election could further diminish Trump’s attention towards multilateral meetings.
US defence ties with Singapore and Vietnam will grow more easily than with Thailand and the Philippines.
US counterterrorism cooperation with South-east Asian states will likely grow.
Problems concerning the emergence and geographical diffusion of food production in East Asia have long interested archaeologists and historians. However, attempts to reconstruct the chronology and diffusion routes from the so-called nuclear zones of both North and South China through the Korean peninsula and Japan have been less than convincing. In North China, the crops involved were millet (Setaria italica) and kaoliang (Sorghum vulgare); in South China, rice (Oryza sativa japonica and indica).
India's Developing Relationship with South Korea: A Useful Friend in East Asia