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Web Perspectives, Asia Pacific
Impasse in Indo-Bangladesh Relations

On July 24, the Indian and Bangladeshi media reported that after four decades both countries would re-establish their first border haat or market. Located between Kalaichar and Baliamari along the shared 4,096 kilometer border, it is intended to stimulate cross-border rural trade and interaction. The event has been touted as a symbolic milestone in actively improving bilateral relations, which since 2008 have showed increasing signs of progress.

By Sergei DeSilva-Ranasinghe  |  October 7, 2011
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Web Perspectives, Asia Pacific
Economic Performance and Legitimacy in North Korea

Geoffrey K. See is the Managing Director and Founder of Choson Exchange. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and Yale University and is a consultant at a global management consultancy. Andray Abrahamian is an executive director of Choson Exchange and has a Master's Degree from the University of Sussex in International Relations. He is currently pursuing a Phd, focusing on media images of East Asia while teaching at the University of Ulsan. 

By Andray Abrahamian, Geoffrey K. See  |  August 23, 2011
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Web Features, Asia Pacific
The Spratly Islands Dispute: Order-Building on China’s terms?

As the result of China’s participation in world trade and its consequent growing demand for overseas energy and raw materials, the South China Sea has become an increasingly important resource for Beijing. China’s demand for imported energy resources is predicted to rise to 500 million tons of oil imports and over 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas by 2020. For comparison, in 2009 China imported 204 million tons of oil and just about 5 billion cubic meters of natural gas.  Because of its rapidly increasing energy consumption, China will be more actively involved in oil and gas exploration in its adjacent sea areas and in securing the oil supply routes at sea.

By Jörn Dosch  |  August 18, 2011
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Web Features, Asia Pacific
The Spratly Islands Dispute: Order-Building on China’s terms?

As the result of China’s participation in world trade and its consequent growing demand for overseas energy and raw materials, the South China Sea has become an increasingly important resource for Beijing. China’s demand for imported energy resources is predicted to rise to 500 million tons of oil imports and over 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas by 2020. For comparison, in 2009 China imported 204 million tons of oil and just about 5 billion cubic meters of natural gas.  Because of its rapidly increasing energy consumption, China will be more actively involved in oil and gas exploration in its adjacent sea areas and in securing the oil supply routes at sea.

By Jörn Dosch  |  August 18, 2011
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Global Notebook, Asia Pacific
Himalayan Hydropower

Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world—a quarter of its population lives on less than US$1 per day, and unemployment rates are over 40 percent. With a population of over 29 million, Nepal is facing an upward trajectory in energy demand, resulting in energy shortage situations where less than half of the nation’s electricity needs are met. In recent years, during the coldest winter months, Nepalis have experienced power cuts for over 16 hours per day. Nepal’s political and economic development has been overshadowed by its two neighboring global superpowers, China and India.

By Karen Zhou  |  April 19, 2011
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Correspondence, Asia Pacific
The National Malaise

Stanley Wolpert writes of the “mixed legacy” of India’s history (Review, Winter 2011), but his account suffers from triumphalism. His attribution of India’s survival to an essentially permanent civilization is reminiscent of Mark Twain’s hyperbolic remarks on his encounter with the ancient city of Varanasi. Despite his summary of developments in India since 1991, his piece retains the quasi-mystical reverence once characteristic of a certain Western reading of India (as opposed to those who bemoaned India’s filth and poverty).

By Keshava Guha  |  April 19, 2011
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Correspondence, Asia Pacific
India's Youth Challenge

Adviser (Education), Indian Planning Commission & Author, Indian Higher Education: Envisioning the Future

Facing a declining working-age population in advanced countries and China, India’s growing youth population need not be a blessing. What Arvind Panagariya fails to consider in “The Global Professional” (Review, Winter 2011) is that India’s youth bulge and their galloping aspirations can be a recipe for disaster.

By Pawan Agarwal  |  April 19, 2011
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Features, Print Features, Asia Pacific
A Mixed Legacy

STANLEY WOLPERT is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of California, Los Angeles. His research and published works focus on the sociopolitical and intellectual history of modern India, Pakistan, and South Asia.

By Stanley Wolpert  |  March 7, 2011
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Features, Print Features, Asia Pacific
India’s Catastrophic Landscape

JESSICA SEDDON was Director of the Center for Development Finance at the Institute for Financial Management and Research in Chennai, India. She is currently a Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and senior advisor to the Indian Institute for Human Settlements.

Geologists have an evocative term for majestic landscapes prone to tectonic shifts: catastrophic landscapes. India is in many ways similar: the economy is reaching new heights, but the forces playing out not so far beneath the surface have the potential to suddenly alter the terrain.

By Jessica Seddon  |  March 7, 2011
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Features, Print Features, Asia Pacific
The Global Professional

Arvind Panagariya is Professor of Economics and Jagdish Bhagwati Professor of Indian Political Economy at Columbia University.  He recently published his latest book, India: The Emerging Giant, with Oxford University Press.

By Arvind Panagariya  |  March 6, 2011
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