CAPP Newsletter Archive: September 2002
September 2002 Table of Contents
Message from the Director
CAPP
in the News
New RAND Publications on Asia
RAND
Research Highlights
CAPP News and Events
Recommended
Resources
Message
from the Director
The
September newsletter highlights RAND research on Asian economics,
the Internet in China, and terrorism, among other topics. As
always, let us know any comments you have.
-Nina
Hachigian, CAPP Director
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Stop
Snubbing Indonesia's Military
by Angel M. Rabasa
International Herald Tribune
August 2, 2002
The global war on terrorism has made Indonesia central to the international
policy agenda of the United States. Angel Rabasa argues in the International
Herald Tribune that the United States should resume closer military cooperation
with Indonesia to signal support for the archipelago's fragile experiment with
democracy and "encourage the Indonesian armed forces to move forward with
reform...as well as to strengthen capabilities to combat terrorism."
Uncertain
Times for Foreign Investment in China
By Charles Wolf, Jr.
The Wall Street Journal
June 24, 2002
Foreign direct investment (FDI) has been one of the most important contributors
to China's rapid economic growth over the past 15 years. While most experts
expect FDI in China to continue to grow in the coming decade, Wolf argues in
this Wall Street Journal op-ed that the difficulty of predicting this with
more certainty hinges on many unanswered questions that are likely to affect
China's attractiveness as an investment destination. One certain thing, according
to Wolf, is that "the ensuing stakes for China are immense."
U.S.
May Revive Military Ties with Indonesia
Angel Rabasa quoted in the Straits Times
July 24, 2002
Although
the war on terrorism has prompted Congress to take the first
steps to revive US training and support for Indonesia's military
(TNI), the debate in Washington continues over whether military
ties between the US and Indonesia, which were severed in 1999
after TNI was accused of human rights violations in East Timor,
should be restored. The modest funding for the International
Military Training and Education program (IMET) for Indonesia
has been approved for the next fiscal year, but Congress has
yet to endorse the full restoration of IMET. Although activist
groups have vowed to lobby Congress to stop IMET, RAND analyst
Angel Rabasa told the Straits Times that "unless there are
major setbacks to the U.S.-Indonesia relationship", US funding
for the IMET "is likely to be extended beyond the scheduled
one year."
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You've
Got Dissent! Chinese Dissident Use of the Internet
and Beijing's Counter-Strategies
by Michael S. Chase and James C. Mulvenon
Although the People's Republic of China has responded to the increased use
of the Internet with predominantly traditional measures, their policies have
been relatively successful. No credible challenges to the regime exist at present,
despite the introduction of a massive modern telecommunications infrastructure.
However, time may be on the side of the regime's opponents, according to this
analysis of the political use of the Internet by Chinese dissidents, both in
the PRC and abroad, and the counterstrategies that Beijing has employed to
prevent or minimize its impact.
Read the Report
Straddling
Economics and Politics: Cross-Cutting Issues in Asia, the
United States, and the Global Economy
by Charles Wolf, Jr.
Wolf's report features a series of essays written between 1996-2001 on the
global economy, US economic and foreign policy, and Asian economics and politics.
He discusses the economic and military directions in which particular countries
and regions are moving, and what the trends may portend for the future.
Linking
Effectively: International Cooperation in Science and Technology
by Caroline Wagner, Linda Staheli, James Kadtke, Edward H. Silber, and Anny
Wong
Because more and more countries care about science and technology applications that can address global problems such as the climate, food supply, health, and economic growth, international linkages are becoming more complex. This is an interim report on an ongoing study derived from a broad set of consultations among analysts in a number of countries, including Japan and Korea, on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of government-sponsored international collaboration in science and technology.
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Can
Market Mechanisms Reduce Sulfur Dioxide Emissions in China?
China is seeking to reduce its emissions of sulfur dioxide,
which are caused by pollution from coal-burning power plants,
among other sources, and contribute to environmental problems
like acid rain. Since 1999, RAND researchers Noreen Clancy, Paulette
Middleton and Pardee RAND Graduate School student Hongjun Kan
have conducted a study in collaboration with the US Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) and the Chinese State Environmental Protection
Agency (SEPA) to examine the feasibility of establishing a sulfur
dioxide emissions trading program -- much like a comparable US
program that has proven to be highly effective -- in China.
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CAPP News
and Events
Philippine
Defense Secretary Visits RAND
On
August 15, 2002, RAND's Santa Monica office hosted the Philippine
Secretary for National Defense, Angelo Reyes, and several officials
of the Philippine government. Read
More
GCSP
and RAND/CMEPP Co-Sponsor Workshop on Terrorism in Southwest
Asia
Since
September 11th, Southwest Asia, a region that stretches from
the Gulf to Afghanistan and Pakistan, has become a primary focal
point of the U.S.-led campaign against terrorism. RAND's Center
for Middle East Public Policy and the Geneva Centre for Security
Policy (GCSP), an international foundation that organizes conferences
and training seminars in international security studies, recently
co-sponsored their third annual conference; this year's event
focused on terrorism and asymmetric conflict in the area. Read
More
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The following are newsgroups, magazines, portal sites, and other online resources that policy analysts, researchers, and others studying Asia-Pacific policy may find helpful. Please note that CAPP has no control over these sites and is not responsible for their content. Links to other sites are provided for convenience of reference only and are not intended as an endorsement by CAPP or RAND.
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