Will China veto the India-specific waiver at the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)? While various news sources have recently reported that China will not actively oppose the Indo-US deal at the NSG, its approach to the issue so far has generated doubts and debate.

The Caliphate Conference of Hizb ut-Tahrir (HuT) in Jakarta on August 12, 2007 brought together its global leadership from more than twenty countries. It reemphasized the establishment of an Islamic Caliphate and uniformity in governance in Muslim-majority countries of the world. The conference, which was attended by almost 100,000 supporters and sympathisers, is indicative of the increasing influence of the HuT in Southeast Asia. Another remarkable aspect of the conference was the sizeable representation of women among those who attended it.

On April 19, 2007, the provincial Chinese court in Xinjiang sentenced Huseyin Celil, a Uyghur, to life imprisonment for taking part in "terrorist activities" and "plotting to split the country". The verdict of the People's Court of Urumchi states that Huseyin Celil will be deprived of his "political rights for life". This verdict has once again incensed human rights activists, who have begun a debate on Chinese intentions towards Uyghurs and Beijing's currently imprecise reportage on terrorism in Xinjiang.

Wen Jiabao's three-day visit to Japan starting on April 11, 2007 was the first visit by a Chinese Premier in seven years. It has been hailed as an 'ice-melting' visit, distinguishing it from the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's 'ice-breaking' visit to China in October 2006. Though the visit did not bring about any fundamental change in Sino-Japanese relations, it did strike a new chord by enabling the relationship to be viewed from a strategic and long-term perspective. For the first time, a visit did not focus squarely on the history issue.

It is no exaggeration to state that Sino-Japanese relations are currently going through a phase of renewal and revival. Reflecting current sentiments that seek to build an optimistic future, Wen Jiabao became the first Chinese leader to visit Japan since 2000. Wen's visit follows Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's surprise visit to China in October 2006, which was unfortunately overshadowed by the North Korean nuclear test.