Every Monday The Diplomat's Zachary Keck takes a look at the latest happenings in the Asia-Pacific region. From important meetings of heads of state, to critical trade and business gatherings to matters of culture and art, The Diplomat keeps you up to date on the latest events.
Here is this week's primer from May 6 through May 11.
See an event we missed or something for next week? Please post a comment below!
May 6-7: 7th ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting
May 6-8: Finland’s Foreign Minister Mr. Erkki Tuomioja travels to India.
May 6-8: 72nd session of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons’ Executive Council.
May 6-10: Rose Gottemoeller, Acting Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, will travel to Japan and South Korea to “discuss a wide ranging agenda including extended deterrence, missile defense cooperation, and arms control and nonproliferation issues.” On May 10, she will deliver “Arms Control, Nonproliferation and the Enduring U.S.-ROK Alliance.”
May 6-11: The seventh meeting of the 11th Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee continues.
May 7: Russian President Vladimir Putin marks first year anniversary of his third term in office.
May 7: South Korean President Park Geun-hye will meet with President Barack Obama at the White House. She will deliver a speech to a joint session of Congress the following day.
May 7-8: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Russia this week to meet with President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Iran, Syria, the upcoming G-8 meeting, and the Boston Marathon bombings are all expected to be on the agenda.
May 8: China releases export, import, and trade balance data.
May 8-9: Taiwan and Japan will hold the first meeting of their new joint commission on fishing near the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands in Taipei.
May 8-9: Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi will visit Mongolia.
May 8-10: World Economic Forum on Africa will be held in Cape Town, South Africa. The theme will be Delivering on Africa’s Promise.
May 8-18: A delegation of Myanmar’s Opposition Party, National League for Democracy, will visit China. South China Morning Post reports that Aung San Suu Kyi will not be among the lawmakers owing to an alleged age restriction imposed on the trip by the host.
May 9: China releases Consumer and Producer’s Price Index.
May 9-10: India’s External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid will visit China Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The two sides are expected to discuss bilateral relations and prepare for Premier Li Keqiang’s upcoming visit to India. The two sides have been at loggerheads of their disputed borders. Over the weekend Khurshid traveled to Tehran where he co-hosted the 17th India-Iran joint commission meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi.
May 9-13: The first round of negotiations for Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will be held in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam.
May 10-11: G7 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting.
May 10: India releases trade data.
May 11: Parliamentary Elections in Pakistan.
May 11: 15th anniversary of the Indian nuclear test, "Pokhran II."
May 11: Defence Minister A.K. Antony will commission a new squadron MIG-29 K fighter planes into the Indian Navy.