January 01-15, 2016

ASEAN

Finding Investors for ASEAN Connectivity is a Challenge

The Southeast Asian countries are expecting a rise in the growth of the infrastructure facilities to keep pace with their rapid economic development in recent years. Despite this potential projected growth the public private partnership model is not proved to be the promising one due to uncertainty over profitability restraining many infrastructure projects from taking off. ASEAN, with the assistance of the World Bank, has identified 40 priority projects across the region. It estimates that an annual $110 billion in infrastructure investment is needed to bridge the gap between developed and emerging economies in the group. But once individual countries start discussions toward implementation, the ASEAN Secretariat's priorities are often ignored. From the 40 projects identified, the Secretariat has shortlisted eight: Indonesia's Makassar Port, Manado-Bitung Toll Road and Trans-Sumatra Toll Road; Laos' Road No. 3; the Philippines' North Luzon Expressway East Project and Central Luzon Link Expressway; Thailand's Kanchanaburi-Phu Nam Ron Motorway; and Vietnam's Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway.

These projects, part of the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025, and expected to be implemented through public-private partnerships. The plan was adopted by ASEAN's 10 member countries in September, succeeding one that ended in 2010. It focuses on five strategic areas: sustainable infrastructure, digital innovation, seamless logistics, regulatory excellence and people mobility. It is meant to complement the ASEAN Economic Community that aims to ease the movement of goods and people under a regional integration initiative that began in late 2015. Despite such promising proposal these infrastructure projects attract only limited private financing because they do not generate returns in the short to medium term. On the other hand it is also observed that some governments from ASEAN region are unable to tap available liquidity because they lack expertise in preparing the bidding process and marketing it to the private sector. Private-sector involvement in infrastructure in the region totaled $36 billion in 1997 but dropped to nearly $10 billion the following year. It has since improved but now hovers between $10 billion and $20 billion. This clearly highlights the need of a strong leadership within the region to push forward the plans for regional integration push the development plan for the region.

Indonesia

Suspension of Cooperation with Australia by Indonesian General

After a prior warning, on December 29, Indonesian Military Commander Gatot Nurmantyo sent a telegram to his Australian counterpart suspending all military cooperation with Australia. According to Indonesian military reports, the cause of sudden tensions was a "laminated paper" found at an Australian Special Forces base by an Indonesian instructor containing words that demeaned Pancasila (a set of Indonesian principles that mandates belief in one God and unity). In recent years, Indonesia- Australia relationship has been beset by disputes over Jakarta's execution of Australian drug smugglers and Canberra's hard line policy of turning migrant boats back to Indonesia. In 2013, Indonesia suspended military exercises with Australia due to allegations that Australian spies tried to tap the phone of then Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Australia too had earlier stopped joint training exercises with Indonesia's Special Forces after accusations of abuses by the unit in East Timor in 1999. Jakarta and Canberra resumed military ties in 2002 after the Bali Bombings stating that cooperation on counterterrorism was imperative after the attack that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.

Later media reports indicated that Indonesia's military had acted alone when it suspended cooperation with Australia's armed forces. A spokesman for Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Johan Budi emphatically told media that suspension of ties was not the decision of the Indonesian President. Indonesia's President Joko Widodo even reproached his military chief who promotes the notion that Indonesia is besieged by "proxy wars," in which foreign states seek to undermine the nation by manipulating non-state actors. The Indonesian military has a history of deep involvement in civilian affairs. In recent years, including under Widodo's government, soldiers have been creeping back into non-military matters. In the agriculture sector, where about 40 percent of the labor force is employed, the military is now responsible for distributing fertilizer and ensuring production targets are met. Military personnel help with harvests and build rural infrastructure.

Laos

Mekong Dams: Cheap Electricity or Environmental Hazard

At the formal inauguration of a new crossing on the Cambodia-Laos border, the Trapeang Kreal international border gate near the controversial Don Sahong Dam on January 10, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen praised Laos for selling cheap power to his country. The Laos government has stated that its aim has been to gain wealth and alleviate poverty by becoming “the battery of Southeast Asia”. According to International Rivers, an environmental advocacy group, the current Lao hydropower development plan includes 72 new large dams, 12 of which are under construction and nearly 25 in advanced planning stages. The Stimson Center, a US based think tank, contends that the current hydropower system in Laos favors the needs of investors, which are short-term and driven by the bottom line over those of the state. Many hydro-power dams and transmission lines are currently being financed and built by Thai developers and Chinese state-owned banks and enterprises. These commercial projects are backed by non-concessional loans. This is in contrast to earlier years when the World Bank and Asian Development Bank offered Laos low-interest loans. Further, these dams not only change the Mekong’s flow and temperature, but also block fish migration channels, which are critical for reproduction. The extent of fish migration from the Lower Mekong into the Upper Mekong is unknown.

Parts of Vietnam’s fertile Mekong Delta have become disaster areas as a result of El Nino-induced drought, climate change, bad rice farming practices, rising sea levels, and the intrusion of salt water. Vietnamese farmers complain that upstream dams, including those in both China and Laos, have begun reducing the level of sediment that once replenished the Delta’s riverbanks. Adding to uncertainty about the future for the Mekong Delta are reports from Chinese scientists and others who say that glaciers in far-off Tibet, the location of the headwaters of the Mekong, are melting more rapidly than expected. This could result in fluctuations in water levels far downstream that have never been seen in the past. Thus, many environmental groups are protesting the blasting of rapids on the Mekong by China, but they go unheeded for most part.

Myanmar

Vijay Nambiar Demits his office as UN Special Envoy

The UN Secretary-General’s special envoy to Burma, Vijay Nambiar, left the position at the end of December, a move that coincided with the end of Ban Ki Moon’s term as the head of the UN. In his position as special envoy, Nambiar traveled frequently to Burma and repeatedly visited a number of the country’s hot spots — most notably Arakan and Kachin states. He also made regular briefings to the UN Security Council about the situation in Burma, mostly recently having done so on November 17.

In recent years, Nambiar had focused much of his time on the ongoing peace process, and was a frequent attendee of the series of high-level meetings that have been ongoing since 2012. He traveled to the Kachin Independence Organization’s (KIO) de-facto capital Laiza in 2013 to attend a summit of armed groups, and also attended a similar meeting of ethnic armed groups held in Karen National Union territory at Law Khee Lar in 2015. As UN Envoy he has made efforts to contribute to peace and reconciliation endeavors of the Myanmar government. He has met many ethnic armed groups. He has also condemned the recent attacks in Rakhine State but at the same time he said that this exposed “a deep-seated malaise in the place itself.” According to Nambiar, “the government has to address the root cause, the issue of citizenship. I understand the majority of the Rohingyas have in the past been recognized (as citizens). That process of reassurance must start soon. There has to be a sense of assurance among the Rohingyas that the government recognizes them as citizens, and the minority would be given their due place in the country.”

Philippines

Code of Conduct Top Agenda Under Philippine Chair

As Philippines assumes the chair in ASEAN’s 50th year on January 15, its Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay told a news conference that Philippines’s main priority will be to negotiate a framework for the long-delayed Code of Conduct (COC) for the South China Sea by the end of this year. However, Yasay reiterated that the Hague ruling will not be on the agenda as it has nothing to do with the COC. The aim will be to have a pact that is legally-binding with provisions that would segregate disputed from non-disputed areas in the South China Sea, and establish a dispute-settlement mechanism. In 2002, a Declaration on the Code of Conduct of Parties (DOC) in the South China Sea was adopted to promote peaceful resolution of the South China Sea dispute between China and ASEAN member states. The 2002 DOC has been successful in only imposing moral constraints on military recourse by claimant countries. China, on the other hand, has not shied away from exploiting divisions among ASEAN members and thwart the formation of a formal and binding COC. China recently also has been accused of militarizing the South China Sea after Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), a US think-tank using new satellite imagery claimed that China had installed weapons, including anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems - on all seven of the artificial islands it has built in the South China Sea.

The July 2016 Hague Ruling that invalidated China’s historical claim over the South China Sea, has been largely ignored by ASEAN, most of all by petitioner Philippines. However, last year, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi proposed fast-track consultations on the COC, including by developing a framework for the code by mid-2017. ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh told Kyodo News in a recent written interview that ASEAN and China have agreed to intensify consultations on the COC to meet the deadline. Minh further added that three joint working group meetings on the code of conduct have been scheduled in the first half of 2017.

Singapore

ISIS impact well Checked at Singapore

Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs on January 12th,2017 confirmed that men, aged between 16 and 37, had been deported to Malaysia, as one of them was in possession of "images of security concern", including that of a shoe bomb and another of fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). This group which belonged to the boarding school for Muslims in Bukit Tinggi, were Jamaah Tabligh, an Islamic missionary movement. The group has a travel history of regularly visiting Thailand and Malaysia. This along with similar incidences indicate the rising influence of the radical Islam in Indonesia. It also significant to see the rising number of the new ISIS recruits from this region indicating continued appeal of Daesh.

Thailand

Government Push for Reforms

The present Thai government is implementing a reform strategy to bring certain concrete results in this year. These results are expected to lay the foundation for elected administration to abide by. However, the opposition considers this reform measures will restrict the power of future governments. In particular, the 20-year national development plan will impose a straitjacket on future governments, crippling their ability to freely make decisions to respond and adapt to changing circumstances. Shortly after the coup on May 22, 2014 Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha set up a panel to bring about national reconciliation. Gen Prayut chaired a meeting January 12th, 2017 to discuss this national reform, national strategy and national reconciliation. The meeting was called with an objective to lay the groundwork for reforms, national strategy and national unity. This push in terms of reform is aimed to raise the status of Thailand from a middle-income country to a high-income country in 15 years. Thus, many reforms are initiated by the present government. For greater success the government has asked the National Reform Steering Assembly (NRSA) and the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) to work with the government to implement its roadmap leading to a general election. The core idea of these reforms is repair, reinforce and rebuild which will introduce systematic changes in the governance mechanism of the Thailand.

Economically, the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) project is expected create investment and boost economic activity in Thailand. Thus, Gen Prayut is pushing hard to get this project off the ground this year. The EEC spans Chon Buri, Rayong and Prachin Buri provinces, which will be designated for development as a high-tech industry cluster with an eye towards becoming a hub for industrial, infrastructure and urban development in ASEAN. The prime minister has set up four separate committees: 1) To initiate necessary preparation for national reforms; 2) prepare the national development strategy; 3) building national unity; and 4) strategic national administration. The prime minister will oversee the four committees. Regarding the committee for strategic national administration, it will serve as a "mini-cabinet" working on three levels of administration -- the command, development supervision and operational unit levels. Thus, experts predict that if the government gets down to work this year, it expects to hand over all its work to the next elected government to finish what it has started. In this venture, the NLA is readily supporting the government to pass essential legislation and pushing forward national reform plans. Most of the Thai citizens have welcomed the government's national development strategy, with an expectation that, these reforms will strengthen all sectors of society, unlike previous administrations which had never came up with clear-cut strategies.

Indo – Pacific

Malaysia Cozying Up to China

A People’s Liberation Army (Navy) (PLAN) submarine, CNS Chang Cheng, and a support ship, CNS Chang Xing Dao, visited Kota Kinabalu, from 03 – 07 Jan 17, according to a statement by the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN). The information office of Chinese Ministry of National Defence also confirmed this announcement, saying that the submarine and support ship arrived at the port for rest and recreation after completing an escort mission to the Gulf of Aden and Somalia. This is the first time that a Chinese submarine has visited Malaysia. Such a top over is a clear sign of the improvement in bilateral ties of the two countries.

Relations between the two countries have been on an upswing for the last couple of years with regular visits of high level military officials to either country. In fact, when the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) chief Admiral Datuk Seri Ahmad Kamarulzaman Ahmad Badaruddin visited China in May 2016, he said that the challenges in the South China Sea, where Malaysia and China are among the countries laying overlapping territorial claims, will not affect the close friendship between the military forces of the two nations. Malaysia had earlier granted stopover access for the PLAN to the port of Kota Kinabalu during the visit of the PLAN commander, Admiral Wu Shengli, to Malaysia in November 2015. Since then, Chinese ships have visited the port on a number of occasions. The Malaysians also plan to buy patrol vessels from china in the near future.

While port visits and granting of stopover access by themselves are fairly normal, the Chinese port visits to Malaysia are a clear sign of strengthening of ties between the two countries and a willingness to set aside their maritime dispute. In case, Malaysia also chooses to buy Chinese military and naval platforms, it will only add to the number of growing list of developing countries who are Chinese clients in this domain. The access to Kota Kinabalu has increased the reach of the PLAN as it grows into a blue water navy with presence in waters farther from home. China also stands to gain by strengthened relations with Malaysia as it will allow it more leverage in the ASEAN, especially on contentious issues.

North Korea

Attack Helicopters to be Deployed in South amid Threats of ICBM launch by North Korea

According to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency report on January 9, the United States Forces Korea (USFK) will deploy 24 AH-64D Apache heavy attack helicopters by February 2017 to replace the 30 OH-58D Kiowa Warrior observation and light attack choppers in South Korea. Just a day before on January 8, North Korean foreign ministry had blamed the US for Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile tests and threatened to test-launch an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) ‘at any time from any place’ chosen by Kim Jong Un. Despite the threats, North Korea appears to offer US President-elect Donald Trump an avenue for future talks in a bid to reverse Obama administration policies to not engage North Korea seriously. In a press briefing held at the ministry's headquarters in Seoul on January 9, US Army Colonel Rob Manning reiterated that the US held strong will in implementing its security commitments (to South Korea) and this was evidenced by its rotational deployment of the Apache helicopters. The attack choppers have the ability to hit tanks, air-cushion vehicles and special operation units in North Korea, he added.

In his final press conference on January 10 before he steps down, US Defence Secretary Ash Carter said that the US would not necessarily shoot down a North Korean missile, if it was not threatening (until it approached US/ US’s allies territory) as the US military would want to gather intelligence from the missile's flight instead of intercepting it.

South Korea

President Park Geun-Hye Scandal

The Constitutional Court which is hearing the impeachment trial of South Korean President Park Geun-Hye dismissed the attempts made by President Park’s lawyers to explain her whereabouts during the 2014 Seoul ferry disaster. Parliament voted to impeach Park last month over an influence-peddling scandal that has brought thousands of protesters onto the streets every week demanding her removal. At the time of the vote, lawmakers also alleged that Park failed to carry out her official duties as the head of state during the ferry sinking. It was one of the prominent grounds for her impeachment. The defence lawyers of Park also submitted documents to the Constitutional Court showing timelines of her receiving reports by phone from her aides about the disaster and issuing directives. But Justice Lee Jin Sung, one of the nine members of the court, told Park's legal team that the timelines failed to clarify exactly when and how she first came to learn about the sinking. However, representatives from parliament deposed before the court that neither the top national security advisor nor the chief of the presidential secretariat knew where Park was at the time of the disaster.
Simultaneously, Choi Soon-sil the long-time friend of President Park and at center of a massive corruption scandal has refused to testify Park’s impeachment trial. She is presently jailed and on trial herself for allegedly using her connections with the president to extort money and favors from companies and unlawfully interfere with government affairs. But Choi submitted documents to the court saying she was unable to testify. Since South Korea democratized in 1987, the National Assembly has voted for impeachment of only one president — Roh Moo-hyun in 2004. The court declined to uphold the motion. Though, then President Roh was considered to have committed minor breaches of election laws but the Court decided that the offences were not serious enough to warrant his removal from the office. However, the Constitutional experts in South Korea suggests that Park’s case is not that clear-cut.

Despite millions of citizens protesting, Park has refused to resign. As a result, politicians from both opposition as well as from her own Saenuri Party, overwhelmingly supported the motion to impeach her. During the trial, majority of six judges needed to approve the motion, but two are standing down before March and are unlikely to be replaced during the current political vacuum. Meanwhile, in this political uncertainty, candidates have begun positioning themselves for the next presidential election, which would be held within 60 days of Park stepping down. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who is a South Korean national and whose term expired on December 31, 2016, has given clear signals that he wants to run for the presidency.

Samsung Head Lee questioned by South Korean Prosecutors

In the investigation of massive scandal of South Korea, the crown prince of Samsung industries Lee Kun-Hee was questioned extensively for nearly 22 hours on January 12th, 2016. He has became a criminal suspect in the corruption scandal engulfing President Park Geun-Hye and was questioned in connection to allegations of bribery. He is also accused of committing perjury during a parliamentary hearing concluded in December 2016.The main accused in the scandal is Park’s secret confidante Choi Soon-Sil, who is accused of using her ties to Park to coerce top firms into “donating” tens of millions of dollars to two non-profit foundations which Choi apparently used as her personal ATMs. The South Korean global giant Samsung was the biggest contributor to the foundations. It is also accused of separately giving millions of Euros to Choi to bankroll her daughter’s equestrian training in Germany in a bid to curry favour. Prosecutors have for months questioned Lee and other senior Samsung officials. Prosecutors are also investigating whether Samsung bribed Choi in order to win state approval for a controversial merger which it sought in 2015.The merger of two Samsung group units – Cheil Industries and Samsung C&T – was seen as a crucial step towards ensuring a smooth third-generation power transfer to Lee Jae-Yong.

Park’s Impeachment would Heal South Korea’s Rift with China

The impeachment of South Korean President Park has created instability in the South Korean politics. In this situation the likely successor of President Park Moon-Jae-in has signaled that South Korea is rethinking the deployment of Terminal High Altitude Area Defence System (THAADs) batteries in South Korea. The decision of the US to deploy THAAD batteries as a part of the US missile shield has been strongly protested by China. Thus, it is yet to be seen that the political instability that has emerged due to President Park’s impeachment will help it to heal the diplomatic rift with China. In present circumstances, it can be predicted that South Korea is likely to delay, if not prevent the deployment of THAAD. The visit of South Korean opposition to Beijing is also an indication that the decision about the deployment of THAAD be left to the next president. Though, the South Korean defence minister, Han Min-koo, reiterated South Korean commitment to THAAD; but delay in its deployment cannot be ruled out due to rising Chinese influence. On the other hand, the US under new Trump administration may expect Seoul to stick to its schedule for deploying THAAD.

Japan

Japan- South Korea Tensions: Return of History to Present

Tensions have escalated between Japan and South Korea since December 29, 2016, when Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada visited the controversial Yasukuni Shrine a day after coming back from the Abe-Obama summit at Pearl Harbor. Yasukuni controversy arises every year during the Annual Spring and Autumn Festivals (held in April and October) and on August 15, when large numbers of Japanese politicians visit the shrine. Founded in 1869 by Emperor Meiji, Yasukuni Shrine houses 2.5 million war dead who died on behalf of Japan in wars from 1867-1951 including 14 Class-A war criminals from World War II. Inada has been a regular visitor to the shrine, but the December visit was her first visit as the Defense Minister. Angered by the visit, South Korean citizen groups installed a ‘comfort woman’ statue in front of the Japanese Consulate-General in Busan. Following Seoul’s inaction despite Japanese demands on removing the statue, Japan recalled its Ambassador (Yasumasa Nagamine) and Consul General in Busan (Yasuhiro Morimoto) back to Tokyo on January 6. On January 8 in an interview, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe noted that Japan had lived up to its end of the 2015 comfort women agreement, and urged South Korea to respond in a “sincere manner”.

In December 2015, Tokyo had agreed to pay a billion yen (US$ 8.5 million) to South Korean government fund to provide support to dozens of now elderly surviving comfort women. Under the settlement, both countries agreed to deem the deal as ‘final and irreversible’ on resolving the issue of comfort women. South Korean government also agreed to remove the ‘comfort woman’ statue in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul (which still remains). With the washing out of the 2015 settlement and a hamstrung government post Park Geun Hye’s impeachment, Japan and South Korea suspended talks on a currency swap agreement. Japan and South Korea had signed the landmark General Security on Military Intelligence Agreement (GSOMIA) - in November 2016.

Trump, Toyota and Tax Threats

Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 US presidential elections has sent ripples not just in the strategic community, but even the business community in Japan. In a series of tweets aimed at creating pressure on auto makers (Ford, General Motors, Fiat Chrysler, Toyota) to manufacture more vehicles in the US, Donald Trump criticized Toyota's plans to build the Corolla subcompact at a planned Mexico plant, tweeting: "NO WAY! Build plant in U.S. or pay big border tax." Just the next day on January 6, Toyota shares fell more than 3 percent before recovering, while Honda Motor Co and Nissan Motor Co slid around 2 percent. Akira Kishimoto, a senior analyst at JP Morgan noted that even an "extreme case" tariff of 20 percent would hit Toyota’s operating profit by around 6 percent. Trump has threatened a 35 percent tariff on cars imported from Mexico. Later on January 9, during a media conference at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Toyota highlighted its already planned investment of $10 billion in US Toyota and contribution to US employment.

Meanwhile, Soft Bank Group Corp.'s Masayoshi Son also pledged to invest $50 billion (5.9 trillion yen) in the US to create 50,000 jobs. Son’s high profile efforts to befriend Trump may be to revive Soft Bank’s stalled attempt to buy out US telecoms giant T-Mobile, a deal previously thwarted by the Obama administration. Japanese electronics company Panasonic and US electric car maker Tesla had also announced plans in late December to begin production of solar cells at a factory in Buffalo, New York. Further, Keidanren, Japan's biggest business lobby on January 1 said in a media statement that it would send a delegation to discuss trade policies with the new Trump administration.

Defense Research Subsidies set to Snowball to 11 Billion Yen

Japanese government will increase subsidies for defense-related research by Japanese universities and other institutes dramatically in fiscal 2017.While only 600 million yen ($5.1 million) was allocated for fiscal year 2016, the figure will balloon to 11 billion yen ($95 million) from April 2017 and will also include funding for large, long-term research projects over five years for the first time. The sharp increase has been a result of the lobbying by the National Defense Division of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which has been pushing for expanded weapons exports. Among research areas that likely will take center stage are the development of technology that can be used even in extreme conditions, such as indestructible electronic equipment, materials that can withstand high temperatures and elements that can efficiently produce high power. The Abe government has long been emphasizing greater cooperation between the defense, industrial and academic sectors.

However, universities have been divided in their response. Some, such as Hiroshima University and Kansai University, have confirmed their policy of not allowing applications to the Defense Ministry's subsidy program. But others, such as the Tokyo Institute of Technology, have allowed for such applications to be made by their researchers. The Science Council of Japan, which includes some 2,000 top scientists, has been contemplating on whether to amend council statements dating back to 1950 and 1967 declaring “never to engage in military research”. However, the Japanese Coalition Against Military Research in Academia in its concerns over the huge rise in the budget for military-related research coupled with a drop in the general research budget said in a December 28 statement that “Japan is on the way to forming a military industry-academic complex.”

China

China’s New White Paper on Asia Pacific Security Cooperation

On 11 Jan 2017, China published a white paper titled “China's Policies on Asia-Pacific Security Cooperation”. This is the first paper of this kind and has drawn varied responses world over. The paper consists of six chapters which throw light on Chinese vision, policies and positions on the Asia-Pacific region, relations with major Asia-Pacific Countries and views on regional hotspot issues. It also brings out multilateral mechanisms functioning in the Asia-Pacific Region and China's participation in regional non-traditional security cooperation.

It appears that while putting across its views on the Asia Pacific through this paper, China hopes to establish its centrality in the region. For this, it states that it is willing to shoulder greater responsibilities for ensuring regional and global security in the region. It also dwells on regional “hotspots” such as the Korean nuclear crisis, Afghan reconciliation process, South China Sea dispute and Senkaku-Diaoyu issue, and talks of China actively pushing for peaceful solutions to these issues while playing its due role as a responsible major country. Significantly, the paper speaks about those who are hedging their security policies by stating that “small and medium-sized countries need not and should not take side among big countries.”

The paper seeks to redress the adverse impact of China’s rejection of the award given by the arbitration tribunal on the South China Sea dispute by stating that “Rules of individual countries should not automatically become ‘international rules’ and thereby bringing out that countries of the Asia-Pacific should discuss and formulate their own rules for the region.

As regards India and China relations, the paper states that “Since 2015 the China-India strategic and cooperative partnership for peace and prosperity has been further deepened.” While such a statement may not be completely true, it is important to note that the aspect of India-China relations have been discussed under the head of “China's Relations with Other Major Asia-Pacific Countries” and this in itself is a positive outcome to work further on