US-India IT Cooperation Needs Change/'Failed States' & Terrorism in Pacific/Tackling Asia's AIDS

THREE NEW EAST-WEST CENTER PUBLICATIONS:

1. 'Failed States'and Terrorism in Pacific

2. Tackling Asia's AIDS

3. US-India IT Cooperation Needs Change

1. AUSTRALIA MUST EMPOWER SOLOMON ISLANDERS TO INCREASE SECURITY IN PACIFIC

Growing Concern That 'Failed States' Can Be Springboards for Terrorism

"'Failed State' and the War on Terror: Intervention in Solomon Islands," by Tarcisius Tara Kabutaulaka, AsiaPacific Issues, No. 72, 8 pp. Free PDF file: http://www.eastwestcenter.org/res-rp-publicationdetails.asp?pub_ID="1446.

2. HIGH POTENTIAL FOR GROWING HIV/AIDS EPIDEMIC IN ASIA

Programs in Thailand, Cambodia Succeed But Most Countries Respond Poorly

"Tackling the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Asia," by Tim Brown. Asia-Pacific Population & Policy, No. 68, 4 pp. Free PDF file: http://www.eastwestcenter.org/res-rp-publicationdetails.asp?pub_ID="1447."

3. INDO-U.S. TECHNOLOGY COOPERATION ON RISE

Nature of Cooperation Must Change To Meet Demands of Globalization, Liberalization

"U.S.-India Technology Cooperation and Capability Building: The Role of Interfirm Alliances in Knowledge-Based Industries," by Rakesh Basant. East-West Center Occasional Papers, Economics Series, No. 2, 50 pp. Free PDF file: http://www.eastwestcenter.org/res-rp-publicationdetails.asp?pub_ID="1445."

Summaries of publications below:

1. AUSTRALIA MUST EMPOWER SOLOMON ISLANDERS TO INCREASE SECURITY IN PACIFIC

Growing Concern That 'Failed States' Can Be Springboards for Terrorism

HONOLULU -- While the Australian-led Pacific islands military presence in the Solomons has been a short-term success, its long-term ability to achieve either well-being for the Solomon Islands or security for the region is questionable, according to a new East-West Center publication.

"Its emphasis on shoring up a perennially weak central government, and its inattention to other pillars of Solomons society, threaten to undermine its success and create a crippling sense of dependency," writes Tarcisius Tara Kabutaulaka in "'Failed State' and the War on Terror: Intervention in Solomon Islands."

"For the mission to succeed, Australia must empower Solomon Islanders

to take charge of their own destiny," writes Kabutaulaka, a research fellow in the East-West Center's Pacific Islands Development Program.

Since the Sept. 11 tragedy, concern has risen that so-called "failed states," nations losing their struggle to maintain law and order at home, could become springboards for terrorism. This has led Australia to shed its reluctance to intervene militarily in Pacific island trouble-spots such as the Solomon Islands, whose descent into chaos and violence was sparked in 1998 by civil unrest on Guadalcanal. With regional support, Australia led a mission in 2003 to restore law and order in the Solomons.

Tarcisius Tara Kabutaulaka can be reached at 808-944-7598 or kabutaut@eastwestcenter.org

2. HIGH POTENTIAL FOR GROWING AIDS EPIDEMIC IN ASIA

Programs in Thailand, Cambodia Succeed But Most Countries Respond Poorly

HONOLULU -- Experience in Thailand and Cambodia shows that well-targeted prevention programs can be extremely effective, according to a new East-West Center publication. However, the potential for expanding HIV epidemics in Asia is high.

"Despite strong evidence that HIV is spreading, national responses in most countries remain weak," writes Tim Brown in "Tackling the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Asia."

"Surveillance systems are inadequate, and the coverage of prevention and care programs is extremely limited," writes Brown, a senior research fellow in population and health at the East-West Center.

While Asian epidemics will almost certainly never rise to the levels seen in Sub-Saharan Africa, prevalence rates for the region as a whole could easily reach 2-5 percent over the next decade if effective prevention programs are not implemented, Brown writes.

And if Asia's two largest countries, China and India, reach prevalence levels of only 2-3 percent, they will account for more than half of all infections in the world.

Societies in Asia will bear much greater costs tomorrow, both in human and financial terms, Brown writes, should they fail to prevent expansion of the HIV epidemic today.