Raja Ampat is a collection of some 600 islands in Indonesia’s West Papua province. It is a beautiful area with clear blue waters and coral reefs that is mostly untouched by development except for the recent growth of a nickel mining industry that has split locals. We go to Raja Ampat and her from people who want mining jobs and those that want to protect the fishing and tourism in the area.  You can see a stunning visual report about Indonesia’s nickel mining dilemma at NPR.org

The U.S. defense secretary said there is “rightful alarm” of China’s military build up. But he also struck a more moderate tone on U.S.-China relations – and notably sidestepped bringing up Taiwan.

The tour comes as Myanmar’s new government tries to consolidate its political position regionally, while continuing to wage a brutal civil war.

Sri Lanka was careening from crisis to crisis, then came the Mideast war. People say they’ve got no buffer left.

The Shangri-La Dialogue, hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, will also address tensions in the Middle East and Russia’s war on Ukraine.