Play The Diplomat’s Quiz: September 11, 2016 Edition

The recent successful conduct of the 28th and 29th ASEAN Summits at Vientiane, Laos from September 6-8, 2016 bears testament to the legacy of the peaceful settlement and reconciliation of a little known war between two of ASEAN’s founding members. Fifty years ago, the Konfrontasi officially ended when both Indonesia and Malaysia signed a peace agreement on August 11, 1966.

China and Russia will launch an eight-day joint naval exercise in the South China Sea off the coast of China’s Guangdong province. The Joint Sea-2016 exercises between the two countries will involve surface ships, submarines, fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and amphibious vehicles, according to Chinese Navy spokesperson Liang Yang. The exercises will conclude on September 19.

North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test (second in 2016) on September 9, 2016, the 68th anniversary of the country’s founding. North Korea claimed the test would enable it to build a nuclear warhead that is “able to be mounted on strategic ballistic rockets.” South Korean President Park Geun-hye condemned the “fanatic recklessness” of the North Korean leadership. U.S. President Barack Obama stated that North Korea’s actions would have “serious consequences.” The Chinese foreign ministry stated that it was “resolutely opposed to North Korea’s latest nuclear test and strongly urges North Korea to stop taking any actions that will worsen the situation.”

Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar met his U.S. counterpart, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, on Monday in Washington, D.C. The visit is Parrikar’s second to the United States as India’s defense minister and resulted in the conclusion of a long-anticipated bilateral deal on military logistics exchange, known as the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA), that was first mooted in the early 2000s. Parrikar and Carter additionally addressed the gamut of defense and security issues on the U.S.-India agenda, including defense technology collaboration, expanding military-to-military exchanges, and the U.S. designation of India as a “Major Defense Partner” (MDP) earlier this year.

This time, will Indonesia do it right? One of the world’s most resource-rich countries is about to embark on another massive development project in the rich gas reserves in the Natuna Sea region, in the far north of the archipelago. As Pertamina, the national oil company, signs deals with foreign oil giants, Indonesia’s leaders are already talking about how this massive, multi-billion dollar project will help aid economic development and increase the wealth of regular Indonesians. However, if the the country’s history is any sign, chances are, it may do little for regular people, and instead enrich the well-connected, and, judging from the location, the military as well.

After analyzing the images released by the North Koreans, experts at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey believe that North Korea showed off its extended range (ER) Scud missile. Because North Korea hasn’t flown or shown off the Scud-ER, the system has received fairly limited attention. The 2016 U.S. Department of Defense report on North Korea’s military notes the existence of the system alongside the regularly tested Scud-B (Hwasong-5), Scud-C (Hwasong-6), and the shorter-range Toksa.

The ER is a variation on the Scud-C with an elongated fuselage to store additional fuel. According to CNS’ Jeffrey Lewis, the pictures released by North Korea suggest that the launchers use a slightly larger cradle, but appear to otherwise be the same kind that Pyongyang uses for other missile launches. The Scud-ER is thought to be capable of delivering a 500 kg payload to roughly 1,000 km, Lewis adds. The payload is considerably reduced from the Scud-C–a trade-off that allows for a longer-range delivery.

The 47th Pacific Islands Forum leaders’ meeting began this week on the island of Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia. The meeting will bring together the leaders of 16 Pacific Island states to provide a platform discuss the prominent economic, development, and security issues of the region, and seek solutions to the region’s mutual problems.

The forum describes its mission as: “to work in support of forum member governments, to enhance the economic and social well-being of the people of the South Pacific by fostering cooperation between governments and between international agencies, and by representing the interests of forum members in ways agreed by the forum.” It has met annually since 1971, when the forum was founded as the South Pacific Forum.

This week will see a dispute between Australia and Timor-Leste over maritime boundaries begin in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. At the center of the disputed territory lie the Greater Sunrise oil and gas fields. These fields are estimated to contain around US$40 billion worth of oil and gas deposits.

The conciliation proceedings fall under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). This is a convention that Australia has signed, and Canberra has urged China adhere to UNCLOS with regard to Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea. However, Australia has a preference for bilateral negotiations for maritime boundaries, rather than international conventions. This is an acceptable practice within international law, but in this case remains a process between two vastly unequal partners.