Play The Diplomat‘s Quiz: July 5, 2015 Edition

Recent events in India’s restive Northeast have turned the spotlight yet again on the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), a controversial piece of legislation that confers vast powers on the armed forces deployed in “disturbed areas” of the country.

The National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, China’s national legislature, announced Wednesday morning that a controversial and broad national security law had passed. The law will go into effect across the People’s Republic, but will exclude the Special Administration Regions of Hong Kong and Macau. The new law will affect almost every domain of public life in China—the law’s mandate covers politics, the military, finance, religion, cyberspace, and even ideology and religion. According to Chinese officials, the new law passed in the NPC with 154 votes in favor, none against, and a single abstention.

The United States Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps are planning to acquire a total of 2,457 F-35 fighter jets with operation and maintenance costs estimated as high as $1,016 billion over the next four decades, according to the Office of the U.S. Secretary of Defense.

The 5^th generation stealthy multirole aircraft is primarily designed for ground attack, aerial reconnaissance, and air defense missions rather than air combat. Yet, the plane obviously should still have the capacity to successfully defend itself against enemy air superiority fighters (In fact, some countries interested in procuring the F-35 want to deploy it first and foremost in an air-superiority role).

However, according to a report obtained by War is Boring, defending itself against legacy 4^th generation air-superiority fighters is perhaps too tall of an order for the F-35. A five-page report by a test pilot of an aerial combat exercise over the Pacific Ocean near Edwards Air Force Base in California in January 2015 notes that the F-35 could not beat the F-16 in a close-range dogfight (aka “visual range air-to-air engagement tests”).

A framework agreement for the operations of the Chinese-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank was officially signed in Beijing today, with representatives from the 57 founding members gathering for the ceremony. However, only 50 countries actually signed the agreement – seven (Denmark, Kuwait, Malaysia, the Netherlands, the Philippines, South Africa, and Thailand) have to get the AIIB charter formally passed through domestic processes before they can officially sign. Chinese media said the seven are expected to join by the end of the year (although things may be more complicated in the case of the Philippines).

In 1975, the Vietnam War ended with the United States’ political defeat to the communists. Forty years later, if nothing changes, from 6-7 July the highest-ranking official of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) will visit Washington, D.C. for the first time. Though there have been disagreements about protocol procedures – General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has no direct counterpart from the United States – the trip is unquestionably historic one as it comes as both countries celebrate the 20th anniversary of their normalized relationship.

The Chinese government may have invited the militaries of both South and North Korea to participate in a Chinese military parade toward the end of September to mark the seventieth anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Asia. South Korea’s Yonhap News noted that a South Korean diplomatic source with knowledge of the matter notes that the parade is scheduled on September 3. Additionally, China has invited North Korea’s Kim Jong-un to visit Beijing for the commemoration of the seventieth anniversary of the war.

This will be the first time that foreign militaries are invited to participate in the Chinese parade. Though the participation of the Korean militaries remains uncertain, it is highly likely that Russia will send troops. Chinese President Xi Jinping went to Moscow in May at Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invitation to commemorate the war’s anniversary in Russia. Though North Korea’s Kim Jong-un was originally expected in Moscow—the trip would have been his first abroad in an official capacity since he took the reins in North Korea—he did not end up going.

There’s no consensus definition of what constitutes a tactical nuclear weapon, but considering the various things it’s used to describe—suitcase nuclear bombs, nuclear artillery, short-range nuclear missiles, nuclear depth charges, or “battlefield” nuclear weapons—it’s clear that tactical nuclear weapons are considered eminently usable nuclear weapons in the context of military planning.

According to Japanese government sources, a meeting between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan and President Vladimir Putin of Russia may take shape this November. According to the Yomiuri Shimbun, Abe and Putin spoke on the phone and agreed to meet on the sidelines of upcoming international conferences, including the Group of 20 nations (G20) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting (APEC). Both conferences are scheduled for November. The sideline meetings will set the ground for a proper leaders summit between the Japanese and Russian leaders, possibly later this year.

The cheapest beer in Asia can apparently be found in Delhi and the most expensive in Hong Kong. A travel search engine focused on Europe, GoEuro, recently compiled an index of beer prices across 75 cities, including 12 in Asia (13, if you include Moscow). The index encompasses both supermarket and bar prices, basing supermarket prices on the average across five imports and one local brew and bar prices off the same beers served in three hotel chains. Far from comprehensive, the index is still interesting, given the surge in global beer consumption is driven by Asia (as well as Africa).

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Central Asia and Russia for the first time next week–with counterterrorism and energy topping the agenda. The eight-day trip (July 6-13) will kick off with state visits to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan July 6 and 7. Then Modi will head north to the Russian city of Ufa for the combined BRICS/SCO summit from July 8 to 10. After the two day summit, Modi will return to Central Asia, visiting Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan before heading back to New Delhi on July 13.