There is the perception in Japan that a reforming Myanmar is Japan’s “final frontier” in Asia. Indeed, Japan is enthusiastically seeking a larger political and economic role there and appears confident about competing with China for influence.

The aid dependence of Cambodian NGOs has resulted in a predominantly donor-driven peace-building process. Notwithstanding some crucial reconciliation initiatives that predate donor involvement and are rooted in local—often Buddhist—traditions, recent key initiatives in the area of transitional justice would not have happened without significant international funding and support.

The two key events of 2010 in Sri Lanka were the respective presidential and parliamentary elections, which enabled President Mahinda Rajapaksha's government to consolidate power in both the executive and legislative branches of the state in the post-civil war era. Regime priority has been toward political consolidation, rather than ethnic reconciliation and a political solution to potential ethnic tensions in the country.