Holy titanic trade tiffs! We got a full-on fight brewing in the Pacific between the future influencers of free trade…one that covertly has the US facing off against China…and you probably didn’t hear a damn thing about it in the US news yet, have you? Was it just a coincidence that all major US officials have been visiting Australia and ASEAN in the last week? Not. Just after the big ASEAN meeting came the bigger EAS meeting, and then on the tail end of that came a surprise announcement: a RCEP trade block is forming up, the largest free trade zone EVER, and it does not include the US! Listen to the Professor rant about how this RCEP is now competing against the TPP for control of the Asia-Pacific soul! And holla back if you are interested at all in this interesting squall!
Keywords: ASEAN, EAS, RCEP, TPP, US, China, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Burma, trade, trade blocks, free trade, New Zealand, India, East Asia Summit, Southeast Asia
Is a new ‘Chinese Containment Policy’ underway? It sure looks like it to the Plaid Avenger and friends! As the USA continues to focus more time, attention, money, and military into Asia as a whole, SouthEast Asia in particular looks to be the region that is gaining the most-est in terms of US love. Visits from top US officials, investment from top US companies, and strategic US military ties are all being formed at a break-neck speed across the ASEAN block…all of which serve to bolster US influence in the region while simultaneously side-lining China’s aggressive attempts to do the same thing! The battle for Pacific primacy on!
Keywords: Chinese Containment, ASEAN, US, China, South China Sea, Vietnam, Burma, Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, Japan, South China Sea, military, economics, GE
Sometimes the news can be good news! The historic April 1st election in Burma that saw Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy win 43/45 parliamentary seats is being hailed as the first free and fair elections for 50 years! And it has caused a flurry of international activity from the US, the UK, the EU, Japan, and the world. Check out all the awesome details of the whirlwind of change in just the last 20 days! Viva democracy! Viva Aung San Suu Kyi!
On December 5, 2011 Burmese democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Aung San Suu Kyi had a Skype interview with Virginia Tech geography Professor John Boyer and his 3000 student World Regions class.
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