Play The Diplomat’s Quiz: April 23, 2017 Edition

On April 12, Radio Free Asia cited local government sources as confirming that Lao government orders to shut down environmentally destructive Chinese-owned banana farms, first reported in Bokeo province in January, are in fact also in force in six other provinces in the Southeast Asian state. New revelations of the China banana ban are yet another testament to the reality that Beijing’s economic influence is a mixed blessing for other Asian governments, and that has resulted in growing scrutiny about Chinese influence that can lead to policy change.

North Korea hasn’t talked about that specific missile, but today, it appears that the U.S. government has gone public about what it might be. On Monday, U.S. officials told Fox News that the missile North Korea tested on Sunday — the day after the military parade — was something called the KN-17. That represents a brand-new KN missile designation by the United States, which just weeks ago unveiled that it would be calling the Pukkuksong-2 the KN-15. The KN-17, according to a U.S. official that spoke to Fox, is a single-stage, liquid-fueled missile that — critically — could be used to target ships.

On Saturday, North Korea staged a massive military parade to commemorate the 105th birth anniversary of Kim Il-sung, the country’s founder and grandfather of current leader, Kim Jong-un. The day, also known in the country as the ‘Day of the Sun,’ is the most important public holiday in North Korea. It commemorates not only the driving force behind the country’s founding, but also the patriarch of the Kim dynasty, whose personality cult rules supreme over North Korea to this day. The parade took place amid hot speculation in the United States, Japan, and South Korea that Pyongyang would look to also potentially test a sixth nuclear device, which it did not do.

Conflicts over land, between the state and the people, appear to be leading Vietnam into unpredictable developments. When news emerged on April 15 that Vietnamese villagers in the rural My Duc district Dong Tam, located in the outskirts of Hanoi, had detained 38 police officials in a protest over a land seizure, everyone was nervous about how the hostage crisis might end. Seven days later on April 22, everyone was breathing a collective sigh of relief that the hostages had been released unharmed. The people of Dong Tam became the first to secure some important commitments from the government, leading to the peaceful resolution.

See: Every North Korean Missile Launch Since 1984 Visualized

The Indian Ministry of Defense (MoD) has concluded a near $2 billion deal with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) for an advanced medium-range surface-to-air (MRSAM) missile system, according to an April 6 IAI press statement.

“In a mega-contract worth over $1.6 billion, considered to be the largest defense contract in Israel’s Defense Industries’ history, IAI will provide an advanced MRSAM air & missile defense systems to the Indian Army,” the statement reads. “The company will also supply additional LRSAM air & missile defense systems for the first build in India Indian aircraft carrier.”

The Whanganui River on New Zealand’s North Island has long been considered sacred by the Maori people of the region. Now, a settlement that has ended a historic struggle and has sparked widespread celebrations has given the river an extremely unique status.

The river, which is considered to be an ancestor by the Maori people, has been granted legal status and can now be represented in court. It will be represented by two guardians on behalf of the tribe and the crown.

“I know the initial inclination of some people will say it’s pretty strange to give a natural resource a legal personality,” said New Zealand’s Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson.

“But it’s no stranger than family trusts, or companies or incorporated societies.”

In the end, it wasn’t even close. The much anticipated second round election for Jakarta’s governorship was a dud, with challenger Anies Baswedan easily outperforming pre-election polls and soundly defeating incumbent Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama by 16 points. The result has sent shockwaves across Indonesia and the world, with many comparing the result to the election of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency.

“Mainstream political elites [used] religious and ethnic appeals to de-legitimize a candidate, to… crush an opponent. This is new to Indonesia,” said Douglas Ramage, a political analyst and the Managing Director of the consultancy BowerGroupAsia in Indonesia.

Stunningly, it seems that most of those who voted for the third-place finisher in the first round, Agus Yudhoyono, swung to Anies. Ahok’s strong debate performances, his record as governor, and the support, albeit not as forthcoming as might have been hoped, from President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo were not enough when facing the power of a force few had considered potent until today: conservative Islam.

On Thursday, two naval vessels from the Russian Pacific Fleet arrived in Manila for a four-day goodwill visit that will last until April 23. The arrival of the guided-missile cruiser Varyag and the large sea tanker Pechenga, which are on a broader naval mission across the Asia-Pacific, has once again drawn attention to the warming defense ties between Russia and the Philippines under President Rodrigo Duterte.