Libya’s association with chemical weapon is not a recent phenomenon. It first began as a victim when, in 1930, Italy’s autocratic leader Benito Mussolini authorized the use of sulfur mustard against the Libyan rebels.
The increasing debate after the Fukushima crisis has undermined the recent renaissance of nuclear power and is likely to usher in greater regulation and stringent safety measures, making alternative sources of energy cheaper and therefore more appealing.
The summit ended with the hope of increased cooperation in East Asia, bolstered popular support for Sino-Japanese friendship, and set out a strategy for maintaining regional peace, stability and prosperity.
China’s rise has become a matter of concern throughout Asia and led to changes in the strategic postures of its neighbours. Japan has begun to rethink its own defence strategy and security policy in response to China’s military modernization.
The end of the World War II brought new hopes of creating a better and more peaceful world. However, the beginning of the Cold War and the fierce arms race among the superpowers and allies dashed such optimism. Despite promises by the superpowers to disarm, even by the end of the Cold War, more than 50,000 nuclear weapons still posed security threat to the international community. In recent years, instead of improving, the climate for arms control and disarmament has deteriorated further.
That the Futenma issue is still a sore subject for the ruling DPJ-led government is reflected in the fact that it has decided not to field a candidate in Okinawa in the upcoming election.
President Barack Obama's foreign policy orientation towards East Asia seems to be characterised by continuity rather than change, and is not so very different from that of his predecessors. With Japan and South Korea, Obama is trying to revitalise bilateral alliances. With China, he continues on his predecessor's policy of greater engagement, though he has offered some concessions during his visit to Beijing in November 2009. However, North Korea remains a real and huge challenge for Obama to test his engagement in East Asia.
Since its independence in 1948, Myanmar has consistently taken stance against all kinds of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). It has been a signatory to various international protocols and conventions against biological as well as chemical weapons, including the 1925 Geneva Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare; the 1972 Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxic Weapons Convention; and Chemical Weapons Convention or CWC (1993).
Hatoyama’s downfall was primarily brought about by his failure to fulfil the pre-election promise to relocate the US Marine Corps Air Station in Futenma outside of Okinawa prefecture.
With APEC accounting for half the world’s global economic output and 44 per cent of its trade value, Japan’s role in creating a region wide free-trade zone and developing a strategy for economic growth of the Asia Pacific is expected to be decisive for the world economy.
Fukushima Crisis Triggers Debate on the Future of Nuclear Energy
The increasing debate after the Fukushima crisis has undermined the recent renaissance of nuclear power and is likely to usher in greater regulation and stringent safety measures, making alternative sources of energy cheaper and therefore more appealing.