COUNTRY REVIEWS

South Asia

Bhutan
[Sep. 20-Oct. 3, 2010]

• Bhutan puts on hold its order on sending back non-nationals from its border areas; China begins construction of a railway line from Lhasa to Xigaze, bordering India, Bhutan and Nepal; Sashastra Seema Bal: National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) is re-establishing bases in Southern Bhutan

Sri Lanka

• IMF completes the fourth review of the Sri Lanka Stand-by Arrangement (SBA); Sri Lanka’s inflation rate rose to 5.8 per cent; Government report: 89,000 women were widowed due to war; ICJ questions the continued state of emergency in Sri Lanka; IMBL meeting held between India and Sri Lanka; Sri Lanka initiates dialogue with India on Koodan Kulam nuclear power plant; Bilateral talks with Hungary, Portugal and Malaysia; Japanese delegation: Sri Lanka has the capability to attract foreign investment

Maldives

• China surpasses UK and Italy in terms of number of tourists visiting Maldives; President Nasheed meets with German delegation to discuss a joint environmental project; UK opposes Maldives’ seabed claim; Resolution to appoint a special rapportuer to promote and protect the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association; President Nasheed holds meeting with a delegation from US Department of Justice; President Nasheed meets with Ambassador of Finland in New Delhi

Myanmar
[Sep. 20-Oct. 3, 2010]

• Myanmar officials now allow Aung San Suu Kyi to vote in upcoming elections

East Asia

China
[Sep. 20-OCT. 3, 2010]

• China’s lunar probe successfully launched; The PLA and the US military are likely to hold talks; The PLA Navy and the Australian Navy conduct joint exercise; The Chinese and the Thai Special Forces to conduct joint drill; China honed its capabilities in recently concluded SCO exercise; China and Germany organize a seminar on military medical science; Military law be made a separate legal branch, demand experts; The UN and China jointly conduct seminar for senior commanders; The PLA allows foreign delegates to visit an armored division

Japan

• Japanese PM Kan voices concern regarding China's defence spending and its maritime activities; Kan calls Beijing to free a remaining Japanese detainee; China plans to regularly deploy its fisheries patrol boats near the Senkaku Islands; Russia slams Japan’s condemnation of Medvedev’s planned visit to the Kuril Islands; Japan plans to completely withdraw from Iran's largest onshore oil field; Japan to have a close eye on political developments in North Korea

North & South Korea
[Sep. 20-Oct. 3, 2010]

• Korea, Japan, China meet held over regional cooperation; Red Cross officials of both the Koreas fail to reach a deal on reunions between families separated by the Korean War; Russia urges for denuclearization of Korean Peninsula; South Korea, US begin anti-submarine military exercises; North Korea condemns the US and South Korea for holding war games; North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's son, Kim Jong-un, becomes second in command in North Korea’s powerful Central Military Commission

Southeast Asia

• Thailand announces its candidacy for a non-permanent membership in the UN Security Council for the term of 2017-2018; Thai PM to visit Burma to confirm bilateral cooperation; Malaysian PM attends Asem Summit in Brussels

West Asia

Iran

• Iranian forces killed 30 Kurdish inside Iraq; An Iranian court ban Iran’s two reformist political parties