Afghanistan Parliament Building, Kabul. Funded by India.
May 18 – With the U.S. pulling out of Afghanistan, India is poised to become the nation’s largest investor. When NATO withdraws troops by 2014, the Indian government is keen to take up the mantle of helping redevelop the country.
U.S. research has suggested some US$1 trillion of minerals and deposits exist in Afghanistan, with Indian investors looking to secure contracts to obtain mining and processing rights. India’s Geological Survey Department and the National Mineral Development Corporation are already involved with the country. Delhi is also hosting a Global Investors Afghanistan Conference in the Fall, among several that have started to be announced recently, including recent events that have taken place in Dubai and the Middle East. India already supplies helicopters to the Afghan military, and the Afghan police force has been undergoing training in camps in Hyderabad for some time. Continue reading
May 10 – The South China Sea (SCS) continues to act as a regional flashpoint in the Asia Pacific, recently exemplified by the ongoing naval standoff between China and the Philippines. The current standoff began at the beginning of April when the Filipino navy intercepted Chinese fishing vessels in Scarborough Shoal, who they claimed were illegally operating inside of its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Before the fishermen were arrested, however, China sent vessels from its maritime surveillance unit who placed themselves between the Filipino navy and Chinese fishing vessels – thus starting the standoff. 
Apr. 26 – Gyaltsen Norbu, the individual that China’s central government has hand-selected as the 11th Panchen Lama, made his first official speech outside of Mainland China on Thursday.
Apr. 10 – In meetings that Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari had with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Delhi on Sunday, emphasis was made on improving ties and moving decades of mistrust aside.