Conventional wisdom in Washington has stated that Beijing, if it wished to do so, could easily persuade Pyongyang to return to the Six-Party Talks and possibly even renounce its nuclear weapons program. This belief has only been bolstered by the statements of Chinese spokesmen who... MORE

A series of violent attacks in Thailand's southern provinces between March 14 and April 14 seemed to reinforce disturbing trends in the ongoing insurgency. First, bombing attacks perpetrated by the insurgents have become more frequent, sophisticated and deadly. Second, women and children are increasingly becoming... MORE

Against a backdrop of escalating communal and sectarian violence and warnings that militants could extend their attacks to Bangkok, Thai Prime Minister General Surayud Chulanont met with his Malaysian counterpart Abdullah Badawi on February 11-12. The ongoing insurgency in the three southern provinces of Yala,... MORE

The January 20 killings of the top leader of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), Khaddafy Janjalani, and his aides under the Philippine military's "Oplan Ultimatum" have created a leadership vacuum. Yet the hunt is far from over. There are various other leaders of ASG... MORE

When looking at the multitude of insurgent problems in the Philippines, one tends to overlook the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which signed a peace agreement with the Philippine government in 1996 establishing the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) for five provinces. MNLF founder... MORE

January 4, 2007 marked the third anniversary of the outbreak of the current phase of Thailand's insurgency in the southern provinces of Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani. To date, the insurgency has claimed more than 1,900 lives. Many hoped that by this point the adoption of... MORE

In response to President George W. Bush's November visit to Indonesia, there have been demonstrations by Islamist parties and organizations, as well as increased terrorism threat warnings (Jakarta Post, November 19, 20). Indonesian security officials have braced themselves for an attack for several months now.... MORE

Japan is well-known for being a resource-poor country, particularly when it comes to the acquisition of energy resources—such as oil and natural gas—that are needed to run its high-powered economy. Japan imports all of its energy supplies, the majority of which come from what most... MORE

One of the justifications for the recent coup in Thailand was Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's mishandling of the southern insurgency, which has claimed some 1,700 lives in the past two-and-a-half years. The generals chafed at the political interference of Thaksin and his deputy Chidchai, their... MORE