India has been in the news recently for all the wrong reasons: corrupt officials and ministers, nationwide protests against corruption, falling economic growth rate and most recently the rape of a 23-year-old paramedical student on a moving bus in the capital New Delhi.
Tensions between China and Japan over the Diaoyu Islands, known as the Senkaku in Japan, have alarmed trade and diplomatic circles around the world. The timing was particularly disconcerting because of the signs of a downturn in economic performance in both countries.
The start of the year has brought the withdrawal of US-led international troops from Afghanistan one step closer. This year will be pivotal, as it becomes ever more pressing to shore up the security situation in the Central Asian country and arrange the details of the transition that leads up to next year's withdrawal.
Although the cornerstone of Japan's foreign policy is its alliance with the United States, the newly formed cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is seeking to "encircle" China by consolidating ties with neighboring countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
China's rapid economic development and its ever-growing international economic and political clout over the past decades have produced many optimistic predictions at home and abroad about its future.
The United States' move to bolster its strategic presence in the Asia-Pacific region to contain China's rise and Beijing's response to it will define the security environment in the region in 2013. If Washington is expected to continue exploiting maritime disputes in Asia-Pacific to strengthen its security ties with its allies in the region, China is likely to be more determined to safeguard its maritime territories and sovereignty and resolve the islands disputes in the East China Sea and the South China Sea.
The penal action against Samsung and LG, and four Taiwan companies, earlier this month for manipulating the prices of LCD panels on the Chinese mainland sent another signal to multinational companies to abide by China's Anti-Monopoly Law.
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