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June 29-July 31, 2008: RIMPAC, the world’s largest multinational naval exercise with more than 35 ships, six submarines, and 150 aircraft from more than 10 countries is held in the waters near Hawaii. July 1-2, 2008: Chinese officials meet representatives of the Dalai Lama in Beijing. July 2, 2008: The Russian Duma approves the U.S.-Russia Civilian Nuclear Power Agreement or the so-called 123 Agreement, wherein the U.S. provides aid to help Russia dismantle its nuclear, chemical and other weapons. July 7-8, 2008: The G8 summit is held in Hokkaido, Japan. The G8 leaders representing the U.S., Japan, Russia, France, Britain, Canada, Italy and Germany are joined by African leaders and the leaders of China, India and other rapidly growing economies. July 10-12, 2008: Six-Party Talks are held in Beijing after a nine-month hiatus. The four issues on the agenda are development of a verification and monitoring mechanism, an economic aid plan to North Korea, planning for a meeting of the six foreign ministers, and devising the framework for the “third phase” of implementation. July 11, 2008: South Korean President Lee Myung-bak offers to resume dialogue and provide humanitarian aid to North Korea, but the move is overshadowed by the fatal shooting of a South Korean woman by a North Korean soldier at the tourist enclave at Mt. Kumgang. July 14, 2008: Japan announces new guidelines for school teachers that imply Tokyo’s territorial claim to the Dokdo/Takeshima islets. South Korea responds by recalling Ambassador to Japan Kwon Chul-hyun and reinforcing control of islets, saying it is reviewing whether to go ahead with diplomatic events with Japan. July 18, 2008: A WTO dispute panel confirms the judgment that China has violated fair trade rules by discriminating against imported auto parts, ruling in favor of the U.S. EU, and Canada. July 21, 2008: The 41st ASEAN Ministerial Meeting is held in Singapore. July 21, 2008: Burma announces that it has ratified the ASEAN Charter. July 22, 2008: Foreign ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations along with South Korea, China, and Japan hold an ASEAN Plus Three meeting. Plans to carry out the joint statement adopted last year to promote economic, political and socio-cultural cooperation in East Asia are a key topic of discussion. After this meeting, the ministers were joined by Australia, New Zealand, and India for East Asia Summit informal consultations. Regional Overview 10 October 2008 July 23, 2008: Foreign ministers from the U.S., China, South Korea, Japan, North Korea, and Russia meet on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) to discuss progress being made in the Six-Party Talks on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. July 24, 2008: The 15th ARF is held in Singapore. Disaster relief dominated discussions. Other topics included North Korea’s nuclear program, terrorism, the border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand, and the current food and energy crisis. July 24, 2008: North Korea signs the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) following the conclusion of the 15th ARF. July 28, 2008: Cambodian National Election Committee announces that Prime Minister Hun Sen won nearly 60 percent of the vote in elections held on July 27 compared with nearly 21 percent for the nearest rival, the main opposition Sam Rainsy Party. International observers raise concerns about voter intimidation. July 29, 2008: World Trade Organization negotiations in Geneva collapse when the U.S., China, India fail to resolve differences over protection for agricultural goods in developing countries. Aug. 4-11, 2008: President Bush visits South Korea, Thailand, and China. He and Mrs. Bush attend the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games on August 8. Aug. 5, 2008: Mindanao peace talks collapse when the Philippine government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front cancel the signing of a memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain. Aug. 6, 2008: Presidents Bush and Lee Myung-bak meet in Seoul and issue a joint statement pressing North Korea to improve its citizens’ human rights, a rare mention of the North Korean human rights issue in a U.S.-South Korean joint statement. Aug. 7-8, 2008: In response to Georgian attacks on Ossetian separatists, Russian troops invade and occupy South Ossetia and from there launch attacks into Georgia proper. Aug. 8, 2008: The 2008 Olympics Games officially open in Beijing. Aug. 12, 2008: President Ma Ying-jeou transits Los Angeles en route to Latin America. Aug. 13, 2008: After two days of talks described as being under the auspices of the Six-Party Talks, Japan and North Korea agree to reopen an inquiry into Pyongyang’s abduction of Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s Aug. 11, 2008: The Supreme Court of Thailand issues arrest warrants for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife Pojaman after they fled to London instead of appearing before the Supreme Court to face corruption charges. Regional Overview 11 October 2008 Aug. 15, 2008: In a ceremony marking the 63rd anniversary of the end of the Second World War, Japanese Prime Minister Fukuda Yasuo expresses his country’s remorse for military aggression during the war and stays clear of the Yasukuni Shrine. Aug. 17, 2008: President Ma transits San Francisco en route to Taiwan from South America. August 18-22, 2008: South Korea and the U.S. stage a joint military exercise named Ulchi-Freedom Guardian, with about 10,000 U.S. troops participating. The South Korean Army takes charge of the exercise with assistance from the U.S. troops in preparation for the transfer of full control of Korean troops to Seoul in 2012. Aug. 19-21, 2008: The 39th annual Pacific Island Forum Leaders Meeting is held in Niue. Issues discussed include Fiji’s return to democratic rule, climate change, and Australia’s recently announced guest worker scheme. Frank Bainamarama, the interim prime minister of Fiji boycotts the meeting. Aug. 25-30, 2008: Chinese President Hu Jintao pays state visits to South Korea, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. Hu also attends the 8th annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on August 28 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Aug. 29, 2008: The Japanese government unveils economic stimulus package of $107 billion. Sept. 1, 2008: Japanese Prime Minister Fukuda resigns. Sept. 2, 2008: Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej declares a state of emergency in Bangkok to put down a running battle between supporters and opponents of the government. Sept. 2, 2008: The IAEA reports that it was informed on Aug. 18 that North Korea had suspended disablement of the Yongbyon nuclear facility. Sept. 5, 2008: Fukuda Cabinet approves Defense White Paper 2008, which cites concerns about the lack of transparency in China’s military build-up and Russian military drills close to Japan. Sept. 6, 2008: The Nuclear Suppliers Group agrees to provide an exemption that permits its member states to engage in civil nuclear cooperation with India. Sept. 8, 2008: The White House formally withdraws an agreement for civilian nuclear cooperation with Russia from congressional consideration. Sept. 9, 2008: Thailand’s Constitutional Court rules that Prime Minister Samak violated the Constitution by accepting payments for appearances on cooking shows while in office, forcing him to resign. Sept. 9, 2008: North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s failure to appear at a military parade celebrating the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea prompts speculation regarding his health and rumors that he has suffered a stroke. Regional Overview 12 October 2008 Sept. 15, 2008: China files an appeal at the World Trade Organization, challenging the ruling in favor of the U.S., European Union and Canada in a dispute over car parts. Sept. 17, 2008: Thailand’s Parliament elects Somchai Wongsawat as prime minister. Sept 17, 2008: Thailand signs an agreement to join Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia in maritime patrols aimed at securing the Malacca Straits. Sept. 17, 2008: Thailand’s Prime Minister Somchai says he is prepared to hold talks with his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen to resolve the border dispute between the two countries. Sept. 18, 2008: North and South Korea meet in Panmunjom at the request of Pyongyang to discuss energy assistance to the North under the framework of the Six-Party Talks. Sept. 18, 2008: The DPRK Foreign Ministry releases a statement that North Korea no longer wishes to be removed from the U.S. State Sponsors of Terrorism List and confirms that it has begun reassembling the Yongbyon facility that can produce weapons-grade plutonium. Sept. 18, 2008: Thailand becomes the eighth of ASEAN’s ten members to ratify the ASEAN Charter. Indonesia and the Philippines are expected to follow suit in October. Sept. 21, 2008: Indonesia-mediated peace talks between the Thai government and representatives of the Muslim community in southern Thailand conclude with both sides agreeing that “the settlement should be conducted peacefully through dialogue forums, and should be in line with the Constitution of Thailand.” Sept. 22, 2008: “Workshop on Large Scale Disaster Recovery in APEC” opens in Taipei. Sept. 22, 2008: The head of China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, Li Changjiang, resigns amid a scandal over toxic milk that has killed four children and sickened nearly 53,000. Sept. 22, 2008: North Korea asks International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors in Yongbyon to remove seals and surveillance equipment so they can “carry out tests at the reprocessing plant, which they say will not involve nuclear material.” Sept. 22, 2008: Aso Taro is elected president of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party. Sept. 22-26, 2008: The 63rd session of the UN General Assembly is held in New York. Sept 23, 2008: Burma’s military government announces the release of 9,002 prisoners, including the country’s longest-serving political prisoner, Win Tin, and four people elected to Parliament in the landslide victory of opposition parties in 1990. Sept. 24, 2008: Japan’s Parliament confirms the election of Aso Taro as prime minister. Regional Overview 13 October 2008 Regional Overview 14 October 2008 Sept. 24, 2008: The IAEA announces that North Korea has expelled the UN monitors from its reprocessing plant at Yongbyon and plans to introduce nuclear material to the facility next week. Sept. 25, 2008: The USS George Washington arrives at Yokosuka Naval Station becoming the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to be deployed in Japan. Sept. 25, 2008: Cambodia’s Parliament re-elects Hun Sen as prime minister, extending his 23-year tenure, at a session boycotted by parties disputing the results of the July general election. Sept. 26, 2008: APEC Disaster Recovery Workshop moves from Taipei to Sichuan. Sept. 30, 2008: The Japanese government announces a six-month extension of economic sanctions against North Korea in response to Pyongyang’s failure to reopen an investigation of Japanese abductees and its decision to restart nuclear processing at the Yongbyon complex. Sept. 30, 2008: U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Christopher Hill arrives in Seoul to confer with counterparts in the six party talks on North Korea’s nuclear programs and prepare for an Oct. 1 visit to Pyongyang. Oct. 3, 2008: The Bush administration notifies Congress of a $6.5 billion arms package for Taiwan.