Play The Diplomat’s Quiz: September 10, 2017 Edition

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Myanmar this week has once again underlined why New Delhi struggles to maintain a delicate balance between its strategic interests and its democratic ideals when it comes to its neighborhood. This visit came at a time when the Myanmar government and Aung San Suu Kyi are facing global condemnation for their handling of the Rohingya crisis in a repeat of what had happened five years ago during a military campaign that displaced more than 100,000 Rohingya.

Though far from shocking, the arrest of Kem Sokha, the leader of Cambodia’s main opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), without a warrant and in violation of his parliamentary immunity, is yet another step that illustrates the Cambodian government’s rising intolerance of dissent ahead of upcoming polls next year.

Kem Sokha’s arrest on account of treason, which made headlines the world over, has been disputed by the CNRP and is part of an ongoing pattern of politically motivated acts taken by the Cambodian state against the country’s opposition. Given the significance of the event, it is worth examining this development in greater detail as well as considering the consequences it might have for Cambodian politics going forward.

Pakistan is one of the most populated countries in the world. Last week, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics released a provisional report of the country’s sixth population census. According to the report, Pakistan’s population now stands at well over 200 million, which is almost 60 percent more than what it was during the last census that took place in 1998.

Last week, the Pakistan Air Force and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army-Air Force (PLAAF) began joint training exercises dubbed “Shaheen VI” in China.

The exercises began on Thursday and will run until September 27.

North Korea’s sixth nuclear test on Sunday released 140 kilotons of TNT equivalent, according to a new U.S. intelligence assessment. The margin of error on the early U.S. assessment is not known and the specific explosive yield figure may be revised, but the U.S. intelligence community assesses this device to have been several times more powerful than North Korea’s previously most powerful nuclear test in September 2016.

China’s K-12 education system is anchored by the gaokao, the country’s high stakes college entrance exam. Students spend countless hours mastering the exam’s subject matter, and the pressure is so intense that some local governments now deploy drones to catch cheaters and sometimes carry out draconian punishments including years in jail. Unlike their American counterparts, who may pad their college applications with GPAs, letters of recommendation, or personal statements, Chinese students who want to go to one of the country’s better universities know that a high score on the gaokao is the only ticket.

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation’s (CASC) latest and most capable attack and reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the Caihong 5 (CH-5), or Rainbow 5, is ready for mass production, according to Chinese media reports.

The first mass-produced CH-5 made its 20-minute maiden flight at an airport in China’s northern Hebei Province on July 14, China Daily reports. “Today’s flight means the CH-5’s design has been finalized and we are ready to mass-produce it,” said Ou Zhongming, CH-5 project manager.

The CH-5 is intended for export. Several countries have purportedly already expressed interest in the new combat drone. The CH-5s developers, however, have so far not revealed the names of potential customers. The major draw for buyers is the drone’s relative cheap price tag in comparison to Western models.