• Weibo alters China’s environmental debate – FT
• [Myanmar] Govt Sends Controversial Press Law to Parliament – Irrawaddy
• Cambodia Khmer Rouge tribunal staff go on strike – AP
• N Korea builds mysterious “panorama museum” in Cambodia – Kyodo

You can listen to the show here; my segment starts about 42 minutes in.

For those interested in this specific issue, there is a good report from 2006 which explains why Japan’s pre-emptive capabilities are next to zero; and things have not changed a great deal since then, with Japanese defence spending concentrating on missile defence, not offensive capabilities.

Since holding elections in 2010, Myanmar has transitioned from a direct military dictatorship to a formally democratic system and has embarked on a period of rapid economic reform. After two decades of military rule, the pace of change has startled almost everyone and led to a great deal of cautious optimism. To make sense of the transition and assess the case for optimism, this article explores the political economy of Myanmar’s dual transition from state socialism to capitalism and from dictatorship to democracy. It analyses changes within Myanmar society from a critical political economy perspective in order to both situate these developments within broader regional trends and to evaluate the country’s current trajectory. In particular, the emergence of state-mediated capitalism and politico-business complexes in Myanmar’s borderlands are emphasised. These dynamics, which have empowered a narrow oligarchy, are less likely to be undone by the reform process than to fundamentally shape the contours of reform. Consequently, Myanmar’s future may not be unlike those of other Southeast Asian states that have experienced similar developmental trajectories.

• Japan protests over China ship’s radar pointed at vessel – South China Morning Post
• Beijing Court Takes Rare Swipe at ‘Black Jail’ System – Wall St Journal
• Gerald Giam: no increase in foreign workers if resident workforce grows at 1 per cent – Straits Times
• Chinese comedy aims to make Americans laugh – FT

You can listen to the show here; my segment starts about 35 minutes in.

• Despite Donor Love-in and Ceasefire Pledge, Kachin War Continues (Irrawaddy)
• Abe cements ties with Southeast Asia to counter China (Kyodo) and Japan and China struggle to curb tensions (FT)
• Communist Party report: Corrupt officials have fled with US$1t as of 2012 (South China Morning Post)

• Markets cheer Japan conservatives’ return to power- Shinzo Abe is back as Japan’s PM, but while markets have reacted favourably, Japan’s neighbours are cool.
• China rounds up members of doomsday cult – this has been linked to the school stabbings in Chenpeng, which have gained unusual international attention because they happened alongside the school shootings in Connecticut
• Congress OKs RH bill – the Philippines passes a controversial reproductive health act which instructs the state to provide contraception devices.

You can listen to the segment here; I come in about 46 minutes in.

Last night I discussed three stories:

• Fresh violence in Thailand’s south, where 7 people have been killed in two separate attacks.
• China beginning construction on its end of a massive oil and gas pipeline stretching through Myanmar, in the context of that country’s transition and turmoil.
• Police and businesses are the accused parties in 49% of human rights violation complaints in Indonesia.

You can listen to the show here; my segment starts 48 minutes in. Enjoy!

This article was based on a presentation I was asked to make at Clingdael, the Netherlands Institute for International Affairs, in June this year, at a forum on ‘ASEAN’s Potential as a Stabilizing Factor in Great Power Relations in Asia’. Clingdael is the Dutch equivalent of the Institute for International and Strategic Studies in the UK, and most of the attendees were foreign ministry officials from the Netherlands and Denmark, the objective being to help policymakers assess the relevance of ASEAN and formulate EU policy towards the East Asian region.

Consequently, this article is something of an overview of scholarship on ASEAN’s place in East Asian institution-building rather than a particularly original piece of research. It does contain insights from my own research, and of course is inflected towards my own reading of the region – in particular, I emphasise the nature of state power in Southeast Asia as a factor seriously limiting ASEAN’s capacity for leadership. Nonetheless, it is primarily policy-oriented and doesn’t contain much that will shock or titillate experienced ASEAN hands.