With increased Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea and a re-posturing of U.S. focus towards East Asia, the most powerful Southeast Asian state finds itself at a crossroads as it seeks to balance long-standing relations with the U.S. and China.

The standoff playing out between China and the Philippines over the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea may one day be looked back on as the harbinger of a renewed American military presence in the Philippines.

Political sentiment in the United States seems to be turning against the interventions and nation-building projects that have characterized US foreign policy in recent years. The revulsion at the cost and size of government, including the cost of expensive wars in the Middle East, has been amply demonstrated during the debt ceiling drama of recent weeks.

Peaceful Rise, containment, encirclement, the ‘China Threat’ theory- though the times change the language stays the same. Experts are asking the same questions they were thirty years ago about China’s rise and the impact it will have on international society. It’s high time we throw away the rulebook of historical analogies and accept that this scenario is something completely different.

Peaceful Rise, containment, encirclement, the ‘China Threat’ theory- though the times change the language stays the same.

The conflict between China and Vietnam over the South China Sea is not just a petty squabble over maritime sovereignty.

As BRIC countries prepare for a summit in China next week, trade skirmishes and disagreements within the bloc persist in casting doubt on its future relevance as a global entity.

The arrest of prominent Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has revealed an extensive crackdown against internal dissidents by the authorities in Beijing.

The latest massive disclosure of classified US State Department documents by Wikileaks will surely damage US diplomacy for years to come.

Last week’s revelation of a highly refined capacity for uranium enrichment and the subsequent shelling of South Korean military positions on Yeonpyeong Island are both indications that Pyongyang is willing to push this crisis to the extremities.