Finance Ministers from China, Japan and South Korea met in Bali, Indonesia during the week and reached an agreement on the distribution ratio of a $120 billion regional foreign exchange reserve pool, which was established on the basis of the Chiang Mai initiative, a bilateral currency swap arrangement introduced in May 2007. The scheme is intended to tackle likely shortages of foreign exchange capital flows1. In February 2009, China, Japan and South Korea along with members of ASEAN had decided to increase the volume of the reserve pool to $120 billion from $80 billion2.

On the sidelines of the defence ministers meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), Chinese Defence Minister Liang Guanglie met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and expressed satisfaction at the ‘steady advancement’ of the bilateral relationship. 2009 marks the 60th anniversary of Russia-China bilateral ties3.

In other developments, reports noted that the Navy Command College of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has established a virtual experimental work station for network-centric operations and simulated training for its navy personnel. The station, capable of training 500 cadets, is meant to enhance the military capability of the PLA4.

• 1. “China, Japan, S Korea reach agreement on distribution ratio of regional reserve pool,” Xinhua, May 3, 2009, at http://english.chinamil.com.cn/
• 2. “China, Japan, S Korea reach agreement on distribution ratio of regional reserve pool,” Xinhua, May 4, 2009, at http://english.chinamil.com.cn/
• 3. “Russian president meets with Chinese defense minister on ties, cooperation,” Xinhua, April 30, 2009, at http://english.chinamil.com.cn/
• 4. Han Chaoxiang and Qin Ruoyan, “Naval operation simulated training centre established,” PLA Daily, May 4, 2009, at http://english.chinamil.com.cn/