| American forces in South Korea |
In meetings in Honolulu on 23-24 July, senior American and South Korean defence officials sought to thrash out their continued differences over major changes in US military deployments on the Korean peninsula. These changes portend the most important shifts in US defence strategy in Northeast Asia since president Richard Nixon's promulgation of the Guam doctrine in the summer of 1969. The as yet unresolved issues between Washington and Seoul reflect major disagreements over the pace, modalities and costs associated with the realignment of US forces. |
| Syria under pressure |
Regime change in Iraq has not only deprived Syria of a source of material and political support, but also magnified the unwelcome attentions of the United States. On 21 July, President George W. Bush again warned Syria that it would be held accountable for its sponsorship of groups designated as terrorist. Over the last 30 years, Syria's ruling Alawite regime has survived on its remarkable strategic opportunism, but the view from Damascus now is bleak. Isolated in the region, overshadowed by its neighbours and with a stagnant economy, the regime has few, if any, options to improve its circumstances. Full text & PDF (subscribers only) >>>Buy this article online >>> |
| Stabilising the Solomon Islands |
On 24 July 2003, the first wave of a 2,300-strong Australian-led force of police and troops arrived in Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands. The despatch of this force, which is tasked with restoring law and order, is Canberra's latest response to continuing problems in the 'arc of instability' to Australia's north and east, stretching through Indonesia and the southern Philippines into the southwest Pacific - an area afflicted by poverty, separatism, communal violence and fragile statehood. Canberra's task in the Solomon Islands goes beyond the establishment of security: Australian participation in an extended and probably troublesome process of state-building will also be required . Full text & PDF (subscribers only) >>>Buy this article online >>> |
| The IRA's foreign links |
On 28 July, a Bogotá court will resume the trial of three suspected operatives of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) on charges of training Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia guerrillas in their campaign against the government. Combined with speculation about the provision of assistance to Palestinian terrorist groups, the trial has raised questions about the full extent of the IRA's international activities. Moreover, there are concerns about what such activities might signify for the future of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. Indeed, in extending its international links, the IRA appears to be motivated primarily by the need to secure funding and maintain its capabilities - objectives informed by the assumption that it needs to prepare for a possible return to violence. Full text & PDF (subscribers only) >>>Buy this article online >>> |
| Hong Kong's political crisis |
An outpouring of public dissatisfaction in Hong Kong over proposed anti-subversion legislation favoured by Beijing has undermined China's political control over the territory and reinforced barriers to rapprochement between China and Taiwan. The crisis could ultimately result in a faster pace of democratisation in the territory, but China will try to ensure that the balance of power in Hong Kong favours those supportive of its policies. The territory could face a prolonged period of political tension. Full text & PDF (subscribers only) >>>Buy this article online >>> |
