{"id":15784,"date":"2014-09-12T14:30:32","date_gmt":"2014-09-12T04:30:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=15784"},"modified":"2014-09-16T09:32:19","modified_gmt":"2014-09-15T23:32:19","slug":"aspi-suggests-12sept","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/aspi-suggests-12sept\/","title":{"rendered":"ASPI suggests"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Lego<\/a><\/figure>\n

Today’s first pick is a piece on The Bridge<\/em><\/a> by Australian Army officer Jason Logue on how to effectively counter ISIS’ strategic communications and stem recruitment of Australian fighters. He writes,<\/p>\n

Playing the counter-propaganda game in this era of instantaneous global reach is for the most part pointless unless it is nested within a wider and comprehensive anti-propaganda concept designed to partially inoculate our own populations and persuade those who are yet to enter [terrorist organisations].<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Logue recommends that counter-narratives employ language that deliberately avoids giving further legitimacy to the Islamic ‘State’. Keep reading here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And ICYMI here’s President Obama’s statement on ISIL: read the text<\/a> or watch the video<\/a> (14mins). Emphasising Logue’s approach above, the President stated: ‘Now let\u2019s make two things clear: ‘ISIL is not \u201cIslamic.\u201d No religion condones the killing of innocents. And the vast majority of ISIL\u2019s victims have been Muslim. And ISIL is certainly not a state.’<\/p>\n

Turning closer to our region, are there ties between the Philippines’ militant groups and ISIS? In a new RSIS commentary<\/a>, Joseph Franco argues the links are tenuous\u2014they’re normative rather than operational given the ideological dissonance between Mindanao rebels and ISIS.<\/p>\n

Here’s a longer piece by Carnegie Endowment’s James L. Schoff<\/a> on what Myanmar means for the US\u2013Japan alliance. Schoff explores the opportunities in Myanmar’s reform from both American and Japanese perspectives and discusses the potential for policy coordination in trade, intergovernmental assistance, and military engagement. In a rush? Watch the three-minute video<\/a> of Schoff outlining the strategic opportunities arising from Myanmar’s reform.<\/p>\n

Are China and Taiwan about to become BFFs? Justine Doody over at East Asia Forum<\/em> examines<\/a> recent developments towards rapprochement but notes that while political and business circles have welcomed closer trade and economic ties, not all of Taiwan’s citizens want to embrace the mainland with open arms.<\/p>\n

CNAS’ Patrick Cronin has a new working paper<\/a> on how to respond to maritime coercion. He argues that cost-imposing strategies are a critical component alongside engagement and binding, and recommends a range of diplomatic, informational, military and economic measures that could raise the cost of assertive actions in the Indo-Pacific.<\/p>\n

Over at Arms Control Wonk<\/em>, Michael Krepon looks at how to establish<\/a> norms in outer space, pointing in particular to a need for stronger norms in relation to debris, harmful interference and traffic management. Krepon discusses which of three options\u2014an ambitious treaty, a narrow treaty, or an international code of conduct\u2014the US, China, Russia and India each prefer. Russia and China favour the first option but, in his view, ‘The Russian and Chinese draft treaty is not a serious diplomatic initiative; it\u2019s a dodge.’ Keep reading here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lastly, and on a lighter note, what happens when think tanks receive foreign money? Robin Davies on DevPolicy<\/em> looks at what happened<\/a> when the US-based Center for Global Development got a wad of cash from the Norwegian Government to advocate that wealthier countries should spend to combat global warming. (Full disclosure: ASPI did not receive money from the Norwegian Government to publish this post.)<\/p>\n

Update<\/em>: on the anniversary of 9\/11, former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer tweeted<\/a> a stream of recollections\u00a0and images from 11 September 2001:<\/p>\n

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9:05 WH Chief of Staff Andy Card interrupts the Pres to whisper in his hear – the second tower has been hit. "America is under attack."<\/p>\n

— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) September 11, 2014<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n