another neat link

here's a post that has very little (nothing) to do with Korea; check out this link: http://web1.iseas.edu.sg/

iseas is a research body that appears to wield some influence over Southeast Asian politics in ASEAN, and I have at least once, maybe more, seen BBC News articles quoting them.

there's a few good articles there, and you can download currently three short publications if you go to Publications -> Books & Journals -> Open Access Books.

I like that website -- it gives a window into the diplomacy of SE Asia and their current issues. SE Asia as a geopolitical and economic unit is worth watching as they grow and, by necessity, begin to assert themselves more in their region. They have common threats, common problems, and whats really interesting is how they will have to cooperate with each-other to tackle their problems. It seems all of the problems in SE Asia are regional issues, not individual to any one country, and so we can expect (or we would like to expect!) ASEAN to only become more influential. Examples of problems that ASEAN needs to tackle are human trafficking, environmental destruction, rural poverty, use of shared natural resources (like the "South China" Sea), military cooperation (here is an article that shows the US will likely impact military issues there) -- if I have missed anything in that little list, tell me in the comments!