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Aidan Foster-Carter, honorary senior research fellow in sociology and modern Korea at Leeds University, England, writes, “South Korea’s real problems run deeper than soundbites. They include jobless graduates – too many study the wrong subjects – and, above all, how to create a growth model to meet China’s challenge. That entails boosting services, which means more FDI. Mr Roh, to his credit, saw this. Does Mr Lee?”

Mark J. Valencia, a Maritime Policy Analyst and Nautilus Institute Associate, writes, “But if the mighty U.S. Navy vessels truly felt threatened by the lightly armed speedboats, then they should have argued they were engaging in self-defense or have even taken the issue to the UN Security Council. But to claim and pursue transit passage in a provocative manner while refusing to ratify the Convention-and then crying ‘foul’ –smacks of hypocrisy or worse.”

Richard Tanter, Director of the Australia office of the Nautilus Institute, writes, “While the violence of the attempted coup is shocking, it should not be a surprise. East Timor has been moving into multi-dimensional crisis for several years. For a variety of reasons, most foreign observers have been averting their eyes from this growing crisis, leaving their audience surprised when violence finally broke out again.”