Comparative Connections v.11 n.2 - Regional Overview

Pyongyang reverted to form this quarter, reminding everyone that old challenges would not be easily or quickly negotiated away. Its attention-getting devices included a failed “satellite launch” and an apparently successful nuclear test, along with a promise to never return to the Six-Party Talks. At the annual Shangri-La Security Dialogue, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates showed the Obama administration’s softer, gentler side while the senior Chinese representative demonstrated that the “Cold War mentality” lives on. Politics as unusual was the order of the day, as North Korea apparently grappled with the issue of succession, continued civil (or not so civil) disobedience in Thailand resulted in the cancellation of several ASEAN-related summits, and the prime minister in Malaysia stepped down. It was better news for India’s prime minister, who won a resounding victory this quarter, a feat which many expect Indonesia’s president to duplicate next quarter. Nevertheless, there are signs that the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) may actually be coming of age.