Philippines Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario: US would be allowed to station forces at military bases in the Philippines; Aung San Suu Kyi visits Japan after twenty seven years; ASEAN Regional Forum defense officials' dialogue held in Shanghai; Malays
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    • According to reports, the Philippines foreign secretary Albert del Rosario has said that the United States would be allowed to station forces at military bases in the Philippines if it went to war with North Korea. He made these remarks on April 13, 2013 while citing the treaty between the two allies. It would be worth noting that the Korean peninsula has been engulfed by escalating military tensions and dire threats of nuclear war since North Korea conducted a rocket test last December and a nuclear test in February this year. In recent years the Philippines has been seeking to improve its defence ties with the United States amid a festering territorial dispute with China over parts of the South China Sea. Some of its facilities are being used in ongoing annual joint military exercises between the Philippines and the United States, where the Pentagon deployed a dozen F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets.1

    In another development, according to reports, Aung San Suu Kyi arrived in Japan on April 13, 2013, her first visit in twenty seven years to the country where she spent time as a university researcher nearly three decades ago. During her six-day trip, the Nobel laureate is expected to have meetings with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida as well as some of the approximately 10,000 Burmese who live in Japan. 2

    Reports noted that the ASEAN Regional Forum Defense Officials' Dialogue (ARF-DOD) was held in Shanghai on April 11, 2013. The dialogue was co-hosted by the defense ministries of China and Brunei, which is chairing ASEAN this year. The press release said nearly 60 representatives from ASEAN countries and 25 ARF member countries, including Russia, the United States, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Korea and Japan, as well as the ASEAN Secretariat, participated in the dialogue. ARF’s contribution to the promotion of trust-building measures and precautionary diplomacy was much appreciated during the meeting. 3
    In other developments, according to the Malaysian police sources, it has released thirty two armed Filipinos arrested on suspicion of trying to join an incursion by Islamic militants in an eastern state. The arrested Filipinos would be deported back to the Philippines after investigators concluded they had no link with the ongoing incursion. 4
    According to reports, the Laotian economy is expected to have sustainable growth of around 7.7 percent in 2013 as resource based industries, manufacturing and services continue to generate solid growth. It was also noticed that Laos will continue to see solid growth in the next few years, building on the achievements of the last five years.
    As a caution, however, it was added that that country will have to shift its focus from absolute growth to quality of growth to ensure that the increases will follow an inclusive and sustainable path. 5

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