Playing Fast and Loose

Putin’s Russian Roulette in Afghanistan
ASPI Strategist, 10 May 2017

The Kremlin’s engagement with the Taliban, regardless of extent, complicates everything and reassures no one

https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/putins-russian-roulette-afghanistan/

Explaining the roots of KNU power struggles
New Mandala 10 May 2017

Rival factions within the Karen insurgency has implications for Myanmar’s peace process

http://www.newmandala.org/knu-ceasefire-contestation-beneath-myanmars-peace-process/

Pakistan’s economic progress is very real – and very precarious
Lowy Interpreter 11 May 2017

The “world’s most underrated economy“ remains at risk due to a host of internal issues, and relying on CPEC to fix things probably won’t work

https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/pakistan-s-economic-progress-very-real-and-very-precarious

A Korean View of Japan’s Article 9 Debate
CFR Asia Unbound 12 May 2017

As Japan goes forward with constitutional reform, it will further complicate an already ambivalent relationship with Korea

http://blogs.cfr.org/asia/2017/05/12/korean-view-japans-constitutional-revision-debate/

Implications of Trump’s Flip-Flop on the South China Sea
IPP Review 12 May 2017

The confidence of America’s partners in the region is eroding in the face of the new President’s “transactional” approach

http://www.ippreview.com/index.php/Blog/single/id/436.html