The Tom Smith New Mexico Chapter 
Revision Date 3/11/2025
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Date Posted by Synopsis
10/07/11 Pete Bostwick A Positive Step In Burma - Voice Of America Oct. 7, 2011
COMMENT: This move by the Burmese government to suspend construction of this dam is an unprecedented break in the history of the Rangoon junta’s pattern of quiet cooperation with China. China covets the possibility of eventual overland access through Burma to the Andaman Sea and Indian Ocean, has been building roads and bridges in the border area for several years, and intended this dam to provide hydroelectric power to its southwestern development area. Rangoon’s motives are unknown at the moment, though it appears to be pursuing at least the appearance of greater openness and a form of government more acceptable both to its ASEAN neighbors and the international community. This is a tall order, since all attempts to drag the generals away from their penchant for an oppressive, self-aggrandizing approach to government have been like trying to socialize a rabid junkyard dog. This debate will be closely watched for its yet-unknown ramifications. - PB
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10/07/11 Pete Bostwick South China Sea: Rising Tensions but No Permanent Solutions on the Horizon - By Richard Rousseau - Foreign Policy Journal Sep. 16, 2011
Increased tensions in the South China Sea, especially between China and Vietnam, focus attention on vitally strategic area of interest, not only for the countries involved, but for the entire Asian continent. Global dynamics and balance of power are greatly affected by them. Between late May and early June of this year, a new round of negotiations over a topic that, according to many analysts, will become one of the most important geopolitical issues in the coming years, began. The geopolitical development of what is happening in the South China Sea will have immediate and long term consequences for global security. This is due in large part to the economic significance of the area, its strategic location, the sheer number of states directly and indirectly involved with it (China, South Korea, Japan, etc), and their economic significance on the global level. Rising tensions and regional developments are being carefully followed by many stakeholders.
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10/07/11 Pete Bostwick The South China Sea is not China's Sea - By Huy Duong - Speaking Freely - Asia Times Online - Oct. 5, 2011
It would be rather absurd if England were to try to claim sovereignty over most of the English Channel, Iran the Persian Gulf, Thailand the Gulf of Thailand, Vietnam the Gulf of Tonkin, Japan the Sea of Japan, or Mexico the Gulf of Mexico. But that is exactly what China is trying to do by claiming most of the South China Sea, a body of water about the size of the Mediterranean Sea bordered by nine nations plus Taiwan, and the main gateway between the Pacific and the Indian Ocean.
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04/28/10 Pete Bostwick Thailand: The Geography of Instability - APRIL 14, 2010
April 10 clashes between protesters and security forces resulted in the deadliest political violence in Thailand in 18 years. But the recent round of protests are just the latest in a history of cyclical instability, the roots of which can be found in the country’s geography.
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