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9TH EAST ASIA SUMMIT

03.28.2014

9th East Asian Summit

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Welcome to the 9th East Asia Summit!

Dear Delegates,

Welcome to the Five College Model UN VII! For the past several months, we have

been working hard to make this committee an inspiring experience for you. And

we are very excited to meet you all this spring!

As the politics and economies of the Asia-Pacific region profoundly influence the

rest of the world, the relationships among Asia-Pacific countries are not only vital

for the future of this region but also becoming of increasing importance for the

development of the global community. While cooperation is necessary, the many

maritime conflicts that have been prevalent recently are making cooperation

especially challenging. Therefore, the 9th East Asia Summit, involving leaders

from 18 nations in the Asia-Pacific, will provide a valuable opportunity for leaders

to engage on key strategic, political, security and economic issues and reviewed

progress in priority areas of functional cooperation such as regional economic and

financial integration, education, regional disaster response, energy and

environment, health and connectivity.

Introduction of crisis director: Xuan Xie is a first-year from Beijing, China. She is a


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prospective International Relations major with interests in East Asian Studies. She

is learning Spanish and Korean.

We hope you would read this guide carefully and find it helpful for your further

research and preparation. Please feel free to contact us if you have any

questions.

Good luck!


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History of the committee

The East Asia Summit is a main event for the Association of Southeast Asian

Nations (ASEAN), yet open to more than ASEAN members, uniting leaders from

18 nations in the Asia-Pacific.

The decision to hold the EAS was reached during the 2004 ASEAN Plus Three

summit and the initial 16 members determined at the ASEAN Plus Three

Ministerial Meeting held in Laos at the end of July 2005. The first EAS was

officially held in Malaysia in December 2005.

Prior to the first meeting there was significant discussion as to which countries

should be represented. At the time there were difficulties in the relationship

between the "Plus Three" members (i.e. Japan, China and South Korea) of

ASEAN Plus Three, and the perception that India and Australia and to a lesser

extent New Zealand were present to balance the growing China power all meant

the first meeting's achievements were limited. Russia expressed early interest in

EAS membership and attended the first EAS as an observer in 2005 at the

invitation of the host Malaysia.

The 3rd Summit issued the Singapore Declaration on Climate Change, Energy

and the Environment.The Summit also agreed to the establishment of the


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Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia and to receive the final

report on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership in East Asia at the Fourth

EAS.

The conflicts between nations and the internal political condition of each nation

have always had significant influence on the Summit. For example, the 4th EAS

was delayed and its location changed a number of times due to internal tensions

in Thailand, the host nation. And in the lead up to the summit there were several

border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia. Therefore, the summit is usually

considered to be an opportunity for discussions on the sidelines between the

respective nation's leaders.

After a period of review, the Summit grew from 16 to 18 nations by adding the

United States and Russia to the Summit. Initially represented by their Foreign

Ministers at the Fifth EAS, the two new members were invited to formally join with

the Sixth EAS.

This EAS is to be held in late 2014 in Burma.

Current Challenges

East Asia Maritime Disputes (East & South China Sea)

The maritime territorial disputes in East Asia has long been existing and continue


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to intensify especially in recent years. The disputes include the controversy

islands among China, Japan, the Koreas and Russia, the maritime boundary in

the Gulf of Tonkin, as well as maritime boundaries off the coasts of Vietnam,

Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines. There is a further dispute in the waters near

Indonesia's Natuna Islands. Additionally, there are disputes among the various

island chains of the South China Sea basin, including the Spratly Islands and the

Paracel Islands. The disputes has been a challenge to solve due to interests of

different nations include acquiring fishing areas around the two archipelagos, the

potential exploitation of suspected crude oil and natural gas under the waters of

various parts of the South China Sea, and the strategic control of important

shipping lanes. In and around the East China Sea, the conflicts between the ―3‖ of

―ASEAN Plus 3‖ have especially deteriorated recently because of Beijing's

announcement of its new East China Sea Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ)

and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to Yasukuni. And given the heightened

political tensions, the Summit has become part of Japan's pursuit of its "Strategic

Diplomacy" toward ASEAN countries in balancing China's increasing influence in

East Asia. With Russia and the US’ attendance, the Summit faces a challenge of

reaching regional cooperation under this tension, and most ASEAN countries

have to navigate through the conflicts between big powers without being

marginalized.


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US “pivot” to Asia

The United States government is in the early stages of a substantial national

project: reorienting significant elements of its foreign policy towards the Asia-

Pacific region and encouraging many of its partners outside the region to do the

same. The ―strategic pivot‖ or rebalancing, launched four years ago, is premised

on the recognition that the lion’s share of the political and economic history of the

21st century will be written in the Asia-Pacific region. To benefit from this shift in

global geopolitical dynamism and sustainably grow its economy, the United States

is building extensive diplomatic, economic, development, people-to-people and

security ties with the region. There is a vast and dynamic increase in US focus

and depth of engagement in the region. The Summit is an important chance for

bot US and ASEAN countries for reaching strategic cooperation.

Member States’ Domestic Conditions

Although ASEAN has the principle of not intervening into domestic affairs of each

member nation, the internal political condition of member nations will sure have

influence on their leaders’ attendance and decisions.

-Thailand

Controversial anti-government protests have been taking place in Thailand since


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October 2013, triggered by a proposed amnesty bill that would have pardoned

Thai politicians AbhisitVejjajiva, SuthepThaugsuban and former prime minister

Thaksin Shinawatra. The bill could have made it possible for Thaksin, brother of

the current prime ministerYingluckShinawatra, to return to Thailand after a

self-imposed exile without facing a corruption conviction. After opposition from

both the Democrat Party and the pro-government Red Shirt movement the bill

was rejected unanimously by the Senate of Thailand on 11 November. On 20

November the Constitutional Court ruled that a government-proposed

amendment to the criticized 2007 constitution that would have made the Senate a

fully elected body was invalid. Protests against the amnesty bill, led by former

Democrat MP SuthepThaugsuban, continued and turned towards an

anti-government agenda.

On 25 November, anti-government protesters led by Suthep began surrounding

and forcing their way into several government offices, resulting in their closure.

Police made no attempt to regain control of the ministries in order to avoid

violence. The protests have been of a peaceful nature throughout, despite short

violent clashes between anti and pro-government groups on 30 November and 1

December that resulted in 4 deaths and 57 injuries. As a result pro-government

protesters cancelled all demonstrations within Bangkok. An escalation of protests

on 1 December resulted in security forces attempting to block protesters for the


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first time and saw two days of clashes between anti-government protesters and

the police, who used tear gas and water cannons to halt the protesters as they

attempted to force their way into Government House. On 3 December, the police

removed their barricades and allowed protesters to enter the site, reducing

tensions in order to allow both sides to celebrate the King of Thailand's birthday.

Protest leaders said they would continue rallying until their demands to remove

"Thaksinocracy" from Thai politics were met, and demonstrations were set to

resume on 9 December, with all 153 Democrat Party MPs resigning the previous

day. On the morning of 9 December, Yingluck dissolved the House of

Representatives, triggering a general election scheduled for 2 February 2014.

The anti-government movement rejected the election in favor of an unelected

"people's council" to oversee reforms, which has been criticized by several groups

of Thai academics. The protesters also declared their intention to indefinitely

occupy Bangkok, starting on 13 January 2014.

-Russia

Russia has over 10 million Muslim citizens and while the vast majority are

moderate and peaceful, many—especially in the North Caucasus—resent

Russian rule. Though murdering civilians is unjustifiable however one feels, their

attitudes have deep historical roots as some of their ancestors fought bitterly to

avoid incorporation into the Russian empire in the nineteenth century and others


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faced severe repression, forced relocation, and internal exile under Soviet leader

Josef Stalin. By way of contrast, Christian Georgia joined the tsarist empire

voluntarily and Georgians integrated successfully into both the aristocracy and the

intellectual elite. (They even held a privileged place in Stalin’s U.S.S.R., as Stalin

himself was a Georgian.)

On top of this, many of Russia’s Muslims live in poorer regions or face hostility

when they travel or work elsewhere—something that further expands the pool of

disenchanted or angry potential terrorists. Moreover, unlike in the United States or

Europe, many of Russia’s Muslims live in predominantly Muslim regions with

sometimes-rough terrain, considerable geographic scope, and centuries-old

family and clan networks difficult for outsiders to penetrate. In its totality, Russia’s

domestic terrorism problem is more like Pakistan’s than America’s. In fact,

Russia’s problem may be worse than Pakistan’s, because Moscow can’t risk

using (or tacitly permitting) armed drone attacks on its own territory.

- Korean Peninsula

In east Asia, the global interests of the four big powers—the United States, China,

Russia, and Japan—intersect in complicated ways with the Nuclear

Non-Proliferation in North Korea, which not only is a security problem, but also

may have great impact on the environments and people’s health. The Summit has


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always faced the problem of how to institutionalize security cooperation in east

Asia, especially for this year--as 2013 has witnessed new levels of threatening

behavior from North Korea: a satellite launch that could portend an improved

long-range ballistic missile capability; a third nuclear test; and declarations that

the Korean peninsula would witness ―an all-out war, a nuclear war.‖ Recent

perturbations among the North Korean leadership also raise the possibility of

greater instability and unpredictability.

Committee Structure & Procedure

• This committee will be consisted mainly with moderated and un-moderated

caucuses, with focusing topics like food & energy security, regional security,

climate change, sustainable development, disaster management, etc. or more

specific changing via motions.

• Speaking time, topics of the caucuses and extra rules should be proposed via a

motion, subject to approval by the chair.

• Closed-door negotiations among three or less countries are allowed. But must

first gain approval from the dais by notes.Other public or larger group negotiations

should take place during un-moderated caucuses.

• Directives will be passed to address crises, with a two-thirds majority. A


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minimum of 10 signatories to see the declaration discussed and voted are

required for the declaration to be submitted and later introduced.

• Crisis may come in at any time during the sessions with updates of natural,

domestic or international crisis. The committee is expected to react efficiently with

declarations.

Committee Positions

Australia

Prime Minister Tony Abbott

Anthony John "Tony" Abbott (born 4 November 1957) is an Australian politician

who has been the 28th Prime Minister of Australia since 2013 and Leader of the

Liberal Party since 2009. He has been the Member of Parliament for Warringah

since 1994.

Abbott was born in London, England, and emigrated to

Australia with his family in 1960. Prior to entering

Parliament, he studied for a Bachelor of Economics and

a Bachelor of Laws at the University of Sydney, and

later for a Master of Arts in Philosophy, Politics and


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Economics as a Rhodes Scholar at The Queen's College, Oxford.

He trained as a Roman Catholic seminarian, before working as a journalist,

business manager and political advisor. In 1992, he was appointed Director of

Australians for Constitutional Monarchy, a position he held until 1994 when he

successfully stood in the Warringah by-election. He was first appointed to the

Cabinet in 1998 under the Howard Government, as Minister for Employment,

Workplace Relations and Small Business. In 2003, he became Minister for Health

and Ageing, retaining this position until the defeat of the Howard Government at

the 2007 election. Initially serving in the Shadow Cabinets of Brendan Nelson and

then Malcolm Turnbull, he resigned from the frontbench in November 2009 in

protest against Turnbull's support for the Rudd Government's proposed

Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). Forcing a leadership ballot on the subject,

Abbott defeated Turnbull by 42 votes to 41, therefore becoming Leader of the

Liberal Party and Leader of the Opposition.

Abbott led the Liberal/National Coalition at the 2010 election, which resulted in a

hung parliament. Following negotiations, Labor formed a Government with the

support of one Green MP and three independent MPs, and Abbott was re-elected

as Liberal Leader unopposed. He went on to lead the Coalition to victory at the

2013 election, and was sworn in as the 28th Prime Minister of Australia on 18

September.


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Brunei

Sultan HassanalBolkiah

HassanalBolkiah is the 29th and current Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei.

He is also the first and incumbent Prime Minister of Brunei. The eldest son of Sir

Muda Omar Ali Saifuddien III and Raja IsteriPengiranAnakDamit, he succeeded to

the throne as the Sultan of Brunei, following the abdication of his father on 4

October 1967.

Under Brunei's 1959 constitution, the Sultan is the head of state with full executive

authority, including emergency powers since 1962. On 9 March 2006, the Sultan

was reported to have amended Brunei's constitution to make himself infallible

under Bruneian law.[1] Bolkiah is also the Prime Minister as well as holding the

portfolios of Minister of Defence and Finance. As Minister of Defence he is also

the Supreme Commander of the Royal Brunei

Armed Forces; an Honorary General in theBritish

and Indonesian armed forces and an Honorary

Admiral of the Fleet in the Royal Navy. He

appointed himself as Inspector General of Police

(IGP) of the Royal Brunei Police Force.


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He addressed the United Nations General Assembly on Brunei Darussalam's

admission to the United Nations in September 1984. In 1991, he introduced a

conservative ideology to Brunei called Melayu Islam Beraja (Malay Islamic

Monarchy, MIB), which presents the monarchy as the defender of the faith.[2] He

has recently favoured Brunei government democratization and declared himself

Prime Minister and President. In 2004, the Legislative Council, which had been

dissolved since 1962, was reopened.[3]

His designated successor is his eldest son, Prince Al-MuhtadeeBillah.

The Sultan's official residence is the Istana NurulIman, with 1,888 rooms, 290

bathrooms, and a floor area of 2,152,782 square feet (200,000 m2). The Istana

also houses several offices of government, including that of the Office of the

Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan, the Office of the Grand Chamberlain as well as the

offices within the Prime Minister's Department. Parts of the Ministry of Defence

and Ministry of Finance are also located at the palace. The Crown Prince, who is

the Senior Minister, also works from offices at the Istana. Hyatt Borneo

Management Services and HM The Sultan's flight also maintain offices there.

Cambodia


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Prime Minister Hun Sen

Hun Sen is the 59th and current Prime Minister of Cambodia since 14 January

1985, and leader of the Cambodian People's Party (CPP), which has governed

Cambodia since the Vietnamese-backed overthrow of the Khmer Rouge in 1979.

His full honorary title is "Lord Prime Minister, Supreme Military Commander Hun

Sen".

Since the restoration of what is referred to as multi-party democracy in 1993, the

CPP has been in a coalition with the royalist Funcinpec party however the CPP

has been the majority party following the 1997 Coup and purge against the

FUNCINPEC. Hun Sen is the longest serving non-royal leader in Southeast Asia

and is one of the longest serving prime ministers in the world, having been in

power through various coalitions since 1985.

Hun Sen is widely viewed as a dictator that has assumed authoritarian power in

Cambodia using violence and intimidation and corruption to maintain his power

base. Hun Sen has accumulated highly

centralized power in Cambodia, including a

'praetorian guard that appears to rival the

capabilities of the country’s regular military units.


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China

Premier Li Keqiang

Li Keqiang is the current Premier of the People's Republic of China and party

secretary of the State Council. An economist by training, Li is China's head of

government as well as the leading figure behind its economic policy. He is also

the second ranked member of the CPC Politburo Standing Committee, the de

facto highest decision-making body of the country. From 2008 to 2013, Li served

as the First Vice-Premier under then-Premier Wen Jiabao. During this tenure, Li's

official portfolio included economic development, price controls, finance, climate

change, and macroeconomic management.

Li rose through the party ranks through the Communist Youth League. From 1998

to 2004, Li served as the Governor of Henan and the province's Party secretary,

and then the Liaoning party secretary, an office that made him first-in-charge in

that province. Li is a leading figure in the "fifth

generation" (Xi-Li Administration) of Communist Party

leadership.

India


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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

Manmohan Singh is the 13th and current Prime Minister of India. A renowned

economist, he is the only Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to return to

power after completing a full five-year term, and the first Sikh to hold the office.

Born in Gah (now in Punjab, Pakistan), Singh's family migrated to India during its

partition in 1947. After obtaining his doctorate in economics from Oxford, Singh

worked for the United Nations in 1966–69. He

subsequently began his bureaucratic career

when Lalit Narayan Mishra hired him as an

advisor in the Ministry of Foreign Trade. Over the

70s and 80s, Singh held several key posts in the

Government of India, such as Chief Economic

Advisor (1972–76), Reserve Bank governor

(1982–85) and Planning Commission head

(1985–87).

In 1991, as India faced a severe economic crisis, newly elected Prime Minister P.

V. Narasimha Rao surprisingly inducted the apolitical Singh into his cabinet as

Finance Minister. Over the next few years, despite strong opposition, he as a

Finance Minister carried out several structural reforms that liberalised India's

economy. Although these measures proved successful in averting the crisis, and


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enhanced Singh's reputation globally as a leading reform-minded economist, the

incumbent Congress party fared poorly in the 1996 general election.

Subsequently, Singh served as Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha (the

upper house of India's Parliament) during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government of

1998–2004.

In 2004, when the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) came to

power, its chairperson Sonia Gandhi unexpectedly relinquished the premiership to

Manmohan Singh. This Singh-led "UPA I" government executed several key

legislations and projects, including the Rural Health Mission, Unique Identification

Authority, Rural Employment Guarantee scheme and Right to Information Act. In

2008, opposition to a historic civil nuclear agreement with the United States nearly

caused Singh's government to fall after Left Front parties withdrew their support.

Although India's economy grew rapidly under UPA I, its security was threatened

by several terrorist incidents (including the 2008 Mumbai attacks) and the

continuing Maoist insurgency.

The 2009 general election saw the UPA return with an increased mandate, with

Singh retaining the office of Prime Minister. Singh has announced that he intends

to step down after the 2014 general election.

Indonesia


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President SusiloBambangYudhoyono

SusiloBambangYudhoyono is an Indonesian politician and retired Army general

officer who has been President of Indonesia since 2004. He is currently the

chairman of the Democratic Party of Indonesia.

Yudhoyono won the 2004 presidential election, defeating incumbent President

Megawati Sukarnoputri. Widely known in Indonesia by his initials "SBY", he was

sworn into office on 20 October 2004, together

with JusufKalla as

Vice President. He

ran for re-election in

2009 with Boediono

as his running mate,

and won with an

outright majority of the votes in the first round of

balloting; he was sworn in for a second term on 20 October 2009.

Japan

Prime Minister Shinzō Abe

Shinzō Abe is the Prime Minister of Japan and in office since December 2012. He


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previously served as Prime Minister from 2006 to 2007. Abe is the President of

the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and chairman of the Oyagaku propulsion

parliamentary group.

Abe became the 90th Japanese Prime Minister when he was elected by a special

session of the National Diet on September 26, 2006. He became Japan's

youngest prime minister since World War II, and is the first to be born after the war.

Abe served as prime minister for less than a year, resigning on September 12,

2007. He was replaced by Yasuo Fukuda, beginning a string of Prime Ministers,

none of whom retained office for more than one year.

On September 26, 2012, Abe defeated former Minister of Defense Shigeru Ishiba

in a run-off vote to win the LDP presidential election. Abe became the Prime

Minister again on December 26, 2012, following the LDP's landslide victory in the

2012 general election. He is the first former Prime Minister to return to the office

since Shigeru Yoshida in 1948.

Abe is occasionally viewed as a right-wing nationalist and holds views that have

caused concern in China and South Korea.

Laos


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Prime Minister ThongsingThammavong

ThongsingThammavong is a Laotian politician who has been Prime Minister of

Laos since 2010. He is a member of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP)

and has been a member of the LPRP Politburo since 1991. He currently serves in

the National Assembly of Laos, representing LuangPrabang Province

(Constituency 6), and was the President of the National Assembly from 2006 to

2010. He became Prime Minister on 23 December

2010.

Malaysia

Prime Minister NajibTunRazak

Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak (born 23 July 1953)

is a Malaysian politician who has been the sixth

Prime Minister of Malaysia since 2009. He

previously held the post of Deputy Prime

Minister from 7 January 2004 until he succeeded

Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as Prime Minister

on 3 April 2009, and The 13-party

BarisanNasional (National Front), led by Prime


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Minister NajibRazak, again secured 112 of the 222 parliamentary seats on 5 May

2013, Najib is President of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO). He

is the son of Malaysia's second prime minister, Tun Abdul Razak and the nephew

of Malaysia's third prime minister, Tun Hussein Onn. Najib is also the Minister of

Finance.

Najib succeeded Abdullah at a time after his ruling coalition, the BarisanNasional,

lost its long held two-thirds majority in parliament to the opposition led by former

Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in the 2008 parliamentary election. Since

then Najib has tried to build a moderate image for himself and the UMNO through

the 1Malaysia campaign.

Myanmar (Hosting Country)

President TheinSein

TheinSein is a Burmese politician and former

military commander who has been President of

Burma (Myanmar) since March 2011. He was

the Prime Minister from 2007 until 2011 and

considered by some as a moderate and

reformist in the post-junta government. His new


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government undertook a series of political reforms including some deregulation of

the country's censored media, releasing many political prisoners and halting the

country’s controversial large Chinese-led hydro-power project. The striking

developments that followed included Myanmar’s appointment to chair ASEAN in

2014, improved relations with the US, the reinstatement of major opposition party

National League for Democracy (NLD) in the by-election held on 1 April 2012.

New Zealand

Prime Minister John Key

John Phillip Key (born 9 August 1961) is the 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand,

in office since 2008. He has led the New Zealand National Party since 2006.

Born in Auckland before moving to Christchurch when he was a child, Key

attended the University of Canterbury and graduated in 1981 with a bachelor of

commerce. He began a career in the foreign

exchange market in New Zealand before moving

overseas to work for Merrill Lynch, in which he

became head of global foreign exchange in 1995,

a position he would hold for six years. In 1999 he

was appointed a member of the Foreign Exchange


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Committee of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York until leaving in 2001.

Key entered the New Zealand Parliament representing the Auckland electorate of

Helensville as one of the few new National members of parliament in the election

of 2002 following National's significant defeat of that year. He has held the seat

since then. In 2004, he was appointed Finance Spokesman for National and

eventually succeeded Don Brash as the National Party leader in 2006. After two

years as Leader of the Opposition, Key led his party to victory in both the

November 2008 and the November 2011 general elections.

As Prime Minister, Key leads the Fifth National Government of New Zealand

which entered government at the beginning of the late-2000s recession in 2008.

In his first term, Key's government implemented a GST rise and personal tax cuts.

In February 2011, a major earthquake in Christchurch, the nation's second largest

city, significantly affected the national economy and the government formed the

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority in response. In its second term, Key's

government announced a policy of partial privatisation of state-owned assets. In

foreign policy, Key announced the withdrawal of New Zealand Defence Force

personnel from their deployment in the war in Afghanistan, signed the Wellington

Declaration with the United States and pushed for more nations to join the

Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership.

Philippines


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President Benigno S. Aquino III

Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III, also

known as Noynoy Aquino or PNoy, is a

Filipino politician who has been the 15th

President of the Philippines since June

2010.

Aquino is a fourth-generation politician: his

great-grandfather, Servillano "Mianong"

Aquino, served as a delegate to the Malolos Congress; his grandfather, Benigno

Aquino, Sr., served as Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines

from 1943 to 1944; and his parents were President Corazon Aquino and Senator

Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. Aquino is a member of the Liberal Party. In the Liberal

Party, Aquino held various positions such as Secretary General and Vice

President for Luzon. Aquino is the Chairman of the Liberal Party.

Born in Manila, Aquino finished his Bachelor of Arts Major in Economics from

Ateneo de Manila University in 1981 and joined his family in their exile in the

United States shortly thereafter. He returned to the Philippines in 1983 shortly

after the assassination of his father and held several positions working in the

private sector. In 1998, he was elected to the House of Representatives as

Representative of the 2nd district of Tarlac province. He was subsequently


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re-elected to the House in 2001 and 2004. In 2007, having been barred from

running for re-election to the House due to term limits, he was elected to the

Senate in the 14th Congress of the Philippines.

Following the death of his mother on August 1, 2009, many people began calling

on Aquino to run for president. On September 9, 2009, Aquino officially

announced he would be a candidate in the 2010 presidential election, held on

May 10, 2010. On June 9, 2010, the Congress of the Philippines proclaimed

Aquino the winner of the 2010 presidential election. On June 30, 2010, at the

Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park, Manila, Aquino was sworn into office as the

fifteenth President of the Philippines, succeeding Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, by

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines

ConchitaCarpio-Morales.

In 2013, TIME magazine named him one of the 100 Most Influential People in the

World.

Although the official residence of the President is the Malacañang Palace, Aquino

actually resides in the BahayPangarap (House of Dreams), located within the

Palace grounds.


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Russia

President Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is a Russian politician who has been the President of

Russia since 7 May 2012. He previously served as President from 2000 to 2008,

and as Prime Minister of Russia from 1999 to 2000 and again from 2008 to 2012.

During that last term as Prime Minister, he was also the Chairman of the United

Russia political party.

For 16 years Putin served as an officer in the KGB,

rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before he

retired to enter politics in his native Saint Petersburg

in 1991. He moved to Moscow in 1996 and joined

President Boris Yeltsin's administration where he

rose quickly, becoming Acting President on 31

December 1999 when Yeltsin resigned unexpectedly.

Putin won the subsequent 2000 presidential election and was re-elected in 2004.

Because of constitutionally mandated term limits, Putin was ineligible to run for a

third consecutive presidential term in 2008. Dmitry Medvedev won the 2008

presidential election and appointed Putin as Prime Minister, beginning a period of

so-called "tandemocracy". In September 2011, following a change in the law

extending the presidential term from four years to six, Putin announced that he


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would seek a third, non-consecutive term as President in the 2012 presidential

election, an announcement which led to large-scale protests in many Russian

cities. He won the election in March 2012 and is serving a six-year term.

Many of Putin's actions are regarded by the domestic opposition and foreign

observers as undemocratic. The 2011 Democracy Index stated that Russia was in

"a long process of regression [that] culminated in a move from a hybrid to an

authoritarian regime" in view of Putin's candidacy and flawed parliamentary

elections.

During Putin's first premiership and presidency (1999–2008), real incomes

increased by a factor of 2.5, real wages more than tripled; unemployment and

poverty more than halved and the Russians' self-assessed life satisfaction rose

significantly. Putin's first presidency was marked by high economic growth: the

Russian economy grew for eight straight years, seeing GDP increase by 72% in

PPP (sixfold in nominal). As Russia's president, Putin and the Federal Assembly

passed into law a flat income tax of 13%, a reduced profits tax, and new land and

legal codes. As Prime Minister, Putin oversaw large scale military and police

reform. His energy policy has affirmed Russia's position as an energy superpower.

Putin supported high-tech industries such as the nuclear and defence industries.

A rise in foreign investment contributed to a boom in such sectors as the

automotive industry. Putin has cultivated a "he-man" and "super hero" image and


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is a pop cultural icon in Russia with many commercial products named after him.

Singapore

Prime Minister Lee HsienLoong

Lee HsienLoong (born 10 February 1952) is the third Prime Minister of Singapore,

in office since 2004. He is the eldest son of Singapore's first Prime Minister, Lee

Kuan Yew.

As the Secretary-General of the People's Action

Party (PAP), Lee became Prime Minister in

August 2004, succeeding Goh Chok Tong. He

has been a Member of Parliament (MP) for Teck

Ghee since 1984 and a member of the Cabinet

since 1987, and was one of the key leaders in

Singapore's political transition in the 1980s and

1990s. Before becoming Prime Minister in 2004 he served as the Minister for

Trade and Industry, Minister for Finance and Deputy Prime Minister. Prior to his

election to Parliament, he served as an officer in the Singapore Armed Forces,

quickly rising to the rank of Brigadier-General.

South Korea


FCMUN VII

President Park Geun-hye

Park Geun-hye is the eleventh and current President of South Korea. She is the

first woman to be elected as President in South Korea, and is serving the 18th

presidential term. She also is the first woman head of state in modern history of

Northeast Asia. Prior to her presidency, she was the chairwoman of the

conservative Grand National Party (GNP) between 2004 and 2006 and between

2011 and 2012 (the GNP changed its name to

"Saenuri Party" in February 2012). Park was

also a member of the Korean National Assembly,

and had served four consecutive parliamentary

terms as a constituency representative between

1998 and 2012; starting her fifth term as a

proportional representative from June 2012. Her

father was Park Chung-hee, President of South

Korea from 1963 to 1979. She is generally considered to be one of the most

influential politicians in Korea since the presidencies of the two Kims: Kim

Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung.


FCMUN VII

Thailand

Prime Minister YingluckShinawatra

YingluckShinawatra is a Thai businesswoman and

politician, member of the Pheu Thai Party, the 28th

and current Prime Minister of Thailand following the

2011 general election. Yingluck is Thailand's first

female Prime Minister and at 45 is one of the youngest Prime Ministers to rule

Thailand in over 60 years.

Born in Chiang Mai Province into a wealthy family of Chinese descent,

YingluckShinawatra earned a bachelor's degree from Chiang Mai University and a

master's degree from Kentucky State University, both in public administration.

She became an executive in the businesses founded by her elder brother,

Thaksin Shinawatra, and later became the president of property developer SC

Asset and managing director of Advanced Info Service. Meanwhile, her brother

Thaksin became Prime Minister, was overthrown in a military coup, he jumped

bail when court permission was given to attend the Olympics in China. He was

convicted in absentia and sentenced to prison. In May 2011, the Pheu Thai Party,

which maintains close ties to Thaksin, nominated Yingluck as their candidate for

Prime Minister in the 2011 general election. Pheu Thai campaigned with a slogan


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of "Thaksin Thinks, Pheu Thai Does". She campaigned on a platform of national

reconciliation, poverty eradication, and corporate income tax reduction, but the

ruling Democratic Party claimed that she would act primarily in the interests of her

exiled brother. The Pheu Thai Party won a landslide victory with 47% of the vote,

winning 265 seats in the 500 seat House of Representatives of Thailand, It was

only the second time in Thai political history that a single party won a

parliamentary majority; the first was her brother's Thai Rak Thai Party.

United States

President Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States,

and the first African American to hold the office. During his first two years in office,

Obama signed into law economic stimulus legislation in response to the Great

Recession in the form of the American Recovery

and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and the Tax Relief,

Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and

Job Creation Act of 2010. Other major domestic

initiatives in his first term include the Patient

Protection and Affordable Care Act, often referred


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to as "Obamacare"; the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer

Protection Act; and the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010. In foreign policy,

Obama ended U.S. military involvement in the Iraq War, increased U.S. troop

levels in Afghanistan, signed the New START arms control treaty with Russia,

ordered U.S. military involvement in Libya, and ordered the military operation that

resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden. In November 2010, the Republicans

regained control of the House of Representatives as the Democratic Party lost a

total of 63 seats, and after a lengthy debate over federal spending and whether or

not to raise the nation's debt limit, Obama signed the Budget Control Act of 2011

and the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012.

During his second term, Obama has promoted domestic policies related to gun

control in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, has called for

full equality for LGBT Americans, and his administration filed briefs which urged

the Supreme Court to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 and

California's Proposition 8 as unconstitutional. In foreign policy, Obama has

continued the process of ending U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan.

Vietnam


FCMUN VII

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung

NguyễnTấnDũng is the Prime Minister of Vietnam. He was confirmed by the

National Assembly on 27 June 2006, having been nominated by his predecessor,

PhanVănKhải, who retired from office. Since a party congress in January 2011,

Dũng has been ranked third in the hierarchy of the Communist Party of Vietnam,

after State President TrươngTấn Sang and Defense Minister PhungQuangThanh.

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